District 7 Councilmember Ken Houston is known for his colorful comments at council meetings. But Houston set a new bar a couple of weeks ago when he announced that he had filed an ethics complaint against an unnamed city official.<\/p>\n
Houston\u2019s remark occurred during a Nov. 4 City Council meeting, shortly after the council withdrew a proposal to award a $10.4 million paving contract<\/a> for traffic improvements on 27th Street.\u00a0<\/p>\n The council withdrew the proposal at the request of Josh Rowan, director of the city\u2019s Public Works and Transportation Department, who said at the meeting there had been \u201can inappropriate effort to bid protest\u201d that needed to be addressed. A bid protest is when a contractor who lost out on a competitive city contract lodges a protest with the city, hoping officials will reconsider.<\/p>\n Houston thanked his colleagues for withdrawing the item, then surprised the room by announcing he had filed a complaint with the city\u2019s ethics watchdog regarding a comment about him \u201cthat\u2019s not true.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a new councilmember,\u201d Houston said. \u201cIf I say something that is not right, or a little bit harsh, teach me. Show me. But I don\u2019t appreciate people saying things that aren\u2019t true to my staff.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe public will find out very, very soon what I\u2019m talking about,\u201d Houston added.\u00a0<\/p>\n These cryptic comments mystified City Hall observers. What comments was Houston talking about?<\/p>\n Interviews and public records obtained by The Oaklandside reveal that Houston was talking about Rowan. The two men have been locked in a feud that appears to go back many months, but the announcement by Houston that he filed an ethics complaint marked an escalation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Houston filed his complaint against Rowan on Oct. 30. He confirmed this to The Oaklandside but refused to share a copy of the complaint, stressing that he doesn\u2019t want to interfere with the investigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Houston also wouldn\u2019t say what his complaint is about, insisting that we contact his council aide, Trinity Hall, and City Administrator Jestin Johnson. Hall and Johnson did not respond to requests for more information.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rowan declined to be interviewed by The Oaklandside.<\/p>\n Houston and Rowan have clashed repeatedly over public contracts<\/p>\n Five days after Houston filed his ethics complaint against Rowan, Rowan filed a complaint<\/a> to the city administrator and city attorney, accusing Houston of violating the City Council\u2019s code of conduct by making \u201cabusive\u201d comments that were intended \u201cto humiliate and embarrass me.\u201d He demanded the City Council censure Houston \u2014 a rare formal reprimand.<\/p>\n That same day, Nov. 4, Rowan also filed an ethics complaint<\/a> against Houston. Ethics complaints go to the city\u2019s Public Ethics Commission, which assesses whether a city official or staffer\u2019s conduct violated city ethics rules or laws, which can lead to warnings and even financial penalties.<\/p>\n According to Rowan\u2019s complaint, Houston has engaged in a \u201csustained pattern of interference, intimidation, and misconduct,\u201d by allegedly trying to scuttle a parking meter operations contract in order to allow a local firm to get the job; interfering with the City Hall security contract; and improperly involving himself in a road construction contract, among other matters.<\/p>\n In the most recent incident, which apparently sparked the dueling ethics complaints, Rowan claims that Houston tried to help the construction firm McGuire and Hester protest the city\u2019s decision to award a $10.4 million paving contract to a competitor. According to the complaint, Houston \u201cpublicly advocated for the protesting contractor\u201d and his office sent Rowan\u2019s department a copy of McGuire and Hester\u2019s request for a reevaluation.\u00a0<\/p>\n In an email<\/a> to his boss, Rowan accused Houston of trying to \u201crig\u201d the bid for McGuire and Hester.\u00a0<\/p>\n Houston denied these allegations and said he doesn\u2019t have any conflicts of interest with McGuire and Hester. He also said Rowan\u2019s comments about rigging a bid amount to defamation. \u201cHe\u2019s not getting away with this,\u201d said Houston.\u00a0<\/p>\n A representative for McGuire and Hester told The Oaklandside their firm respects the city\u2019s established procedures and submitted their request to the city through the proper channels.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rowan cited another incident that allegedly occurred just a couple of months after Houston took office. In March, the City Council awarded a nearly $8 million contract to a San Diego-based firm to maintain Oakland\u2019s parking meters<\/a>. At a Feb. 25 Public Works meeting<\/a>, Houston voted in favor of the contract moving forward but asked staff if there were any local firms that could handle the work.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m an advocate of local, local, local,\u201d Houston said at the meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rowan claims that behind the scenes, Houston tried to spike the contract with the San Diego company before the full City Council voted on it. According to his complaint<\/a> and email records, Houston stopped Rowan in Frank Ogawa Plaza three days after the Public Works meeting and \u201cdemanded that the contract be awarded to a local electrician.\u201d<\/p>\n Rowan alleged that after he declined Houston\u2019s direction to award the contract to a local company, Houston told him, \u201cI\u2019ll show you how we do things in Oakland.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Email records show Rowan complained about this alleged incident to the city administrator in late February. He also forwarded an email from a city staffer who reported that Houston showed up in their office asking for information about the contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n When asked about Rowan\u2019s allegation, Houston said, \u201cI don\u2019t even know what the man is talking about,\u201d and called Rowan a liar. Houston also denied approaching a city staffer about the contract, saying that when staffers call him, he tells them to go through the proper channels.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rowan also alleged that Houston interfered in the awarding of a $45 million contract to guard city properties<\/a>, including City Hall. Rowan claims Houston derailed Public Works\u2019 plan to award the contract in order to allow a different company to get the work. He also alleged that Houston called for his termination after this incident for being disrespectful.\u00a0<\/p>\n Houston denied ever calling for Rowan to be fired and said he doesn\u2019t have any conflicts of interest. \u201cI wanted to back out and get someone who was going to be responsible,\u201d said Houston of the security contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rowan claims that at some point after this incident, he had a meeting with Houston and City Administrator Jestin Johnson. At that meeting, Rowan alleges that Houston called him arrogant and said that he came into office with \u201cbad blood\u201d for him. Houston said he was referring to a past conflict between them that he declined to describe. Johnson told The Oaklandside he didn\u2019t recall details from the meeting but did remember Houston calling Rowan arrogant and condescending.\u00a0<\/p>\n In his ethics complaint<\/a>, Rowan claims that Houston has violated Section 218 of the City Charter<\/a>, which prohibits elected officials from directing city staff or interfering with administrative matters, including the procurement of contracts.<\/p>\n Houston denies he has done anything wrong and said Rowan is engaging in \u201cdamage control.\u201d During a phone interview with The Oaklandside, Houston repeatedly called Rowan a liar who is trying to \u201ccover his tracks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s grabbing for straws, he\u2019s saying things that are not true,\u201d Houston said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Public Ethics Commission\u2019s enforcement chief Tovah Ackerman confirmed that her office received Houston and Rowan\u2019s complaints and is still doing intake and preliminary review. Once that is completed, she will determine when or if they merit investigation. \u00a0<\/p>\n “*” indicates required fields<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"District 7 Councilmember Ken Houston is known for his colorful comments at council meetings. 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