Saturday, April 7, 2001

Griffin case may change state law

AUSTIN - A shameful state government saga ended recently with the prison sentencing of Florita Bell Griffin, a former board member of the state's low-income housing agency.
   In 1995, then-Gov. George W. Bush appointed Griffin to a six-year term on the Department of Housing and Community Affairs board, which funds low-cost housing and community support services.
   But scandal and allegations marred Griffin's tenure and Bush's opponents used her problems against him in the presidential campaign. Now, lawmakers are using Griffin's plight to push legislation that would remove governor appointees convicted of a felony.
   A federal grand jury in Houston indicted Griffin in June on charges of conspiring to accept money and property in exchange for her influence in approving lucrative federal tax credits for a low-income housing development in Bryan.
   Griffin, who is black, dismissed the allegations as racially motivated. But in November, a Houston jury convicted her of money laundering, bribery, theft, mail fraud and conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas sentenced the former Bryan city planner on March 28 to seven years and three months in prison.
   Bush didn't ask Griffin to resign after she was indicted on June 7. But after her conviction, a Bush spokeswoman issued a statement, saying that ''it is in the best interest of Texas'' for Griffin to resign.
   But Griffin never resigned and continued to attend board meetings, although she did not have voting privileges. She attended her last meeting as a board member on March 27, one day before her prison sentencing.
   Griffin's refusal to resign was not surprising. She was defiant and often lodged her own allegations against state officials and lawmakers. An example was her testimony before the Sunset Advisory Commission in May, less than a month before she was indicted.
   "I am the infamous Florita Bell Griffin, the most notorious member of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs," Griffin told the commission, which was considering whether lawmakers should continue the agency, downsize it or eliminate it. Griffin then chastised lawmakers for ''maliciously nitpicking'' the department and pressuring agency officials to approve projects in their districts. And it went downhill from there as she rattled off a wide range of allegations.
   Shocking allegations
   "With the help of private investigators, information regarding elected officials that I was not even seeking was uncovered,'' she said. ''Including affairs with lobbyists, homosexual orgies, and a host of other activities that I found to be contrary to the high moral character that the Texas state House and Senate claim to adhere to."
   Those attending sat in shock and staff members of the agency wanted to disappear.
   Griffin's actions were highly unusual because most state board members and executive directors show respect for lawmakers - even when they disagree with them.
   Interestingly, Griffin was right about lawmakers pressuring agencies to approve projects in their districts. Officials with other agencies make similar charges but they do so privately.
   But Griffin should never have lodged such allegations against lawmakers in a public forum. Her actions were deplorable, as was her refusal to step down from the housing board
   Bush could have forced her to resign but state law makes it difficult for a governor to do that. A governor must have two-thirds consent of the Senate and the governor must call a special session of the Senate if they are not in session.
   The Legislature is currently considering a bill in which appointees would be immediately removed or disqualified if convicted of a felony.
   This makes sense because no state official or appointee convicted of a felony should represent Texas. Just ask state housing department officials who are still trying to recover from embarrassment.
  

---

Ty Meighan is chief of the Scripps Howard Austin Bureau. You can reach him by phone at (512) 334-6640 or by email at meighant@scripps.com.

| Discuss about birdwatching | | Home |

---

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

---

[ Printer-friendly version ]
[ Subscribe to newspaper ]

SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND

---

2000 Caller-Times Publishing Company, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.