Former Houston Controller Chris Brown defended his role as officials clashed over his hours, emails and attendance.
City of Houston TV
Houston City Council briefly derailed Wednesday after former Controller Chris Brown publicly defended his $127,000 role in Mayor John Whitmire’s administration for the first time.
Brown, who now serves as Whitmire’s senior adviser for financial integrity, has been under scrutiny since a Houston Chronicle investigation found he was largely absent from City Hall despite drawing a six-figure salary. The Chronicle reported Brown rarely swiped into city offices and sent less than one email per week, on average.
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On Wednesday, Brown publicly defended his work for the first time, criticized Controller Chris Hollins’ investigation into his role and said his job has been advisory, remote and based on projects rather than a traditional hourly schedule.
“This is a political attack, I think you need to go back to doing the important business for the city of Houston,” Brown told council members. “I have a level of experience that is incomparable.”
The meeting grew tense as Brown, Whitmire, Hollins and council members talked over each other, prompting Whitmire to pause the meeting.
When things turned ugly
Arguably the sharpest exchange came after Council Member Alejandra Salinas questioned Brown about his hours. Brown said he worked about 15 hours a week before the Chronicle story was published but said he now has a full-time workload. City rules, however, say salaried employees are expected to work at least 40 hours per week.
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Council Member Alejandra Salinas questioned Brown about his hours worked.
City of Houston TV
“The reason your name has come up for public scrutiny is because you are making $127,000 a year and have reported to work for 13 days and sent 12 emails,” Salinas said before asking how many hours on average he worked per week.
Whitmire then pushed back on Salinas’ questioning.
“You’re trying to pin him down to a maximum of 15 hours,” Whitmire said during the meeting. “That’s not what the gentleman said. I will let you ask, but I will not let him be deposed or cross-examined with misleading questions.”
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Salinas responded that her questions were not political.
“Mayor, I’m not running against you, I’m not running against the controller, I have no politics to play here,” Salinas said.
Former Houston Controller Chris Brown defended his role as officials clashed over his hours, emails and attendance.
City of Houston TV
Background
The fight centers on Brown’s job in Whitmire’s office, a role created after Brown left elected office. Brown served as Houston controller from 2016 to 2023 before joining the Whitmire administration as senior adviser for financial integrity.
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Hollins launched an investigation earlier this year into Brown’s role, attendance and use of taxpayer resources after the Chronicle’s reporting. Hollins has since accused the administration of withholding information his office requested about Brown’s work.
Fight is far from over
After Wednesday’s meeting, Hollins spoke with reporters, calling Brown’s testimony a “clown show” and said his office still wants answers, according to Houston Public Media.
In a later post on social media, Hollins called out Mayor Whitmire for “railroading” his office’s investigation.
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“Now, instead of simply providing the facts, the mayor is grandstanding and retaliating politically. Politics will not distract us from the job Houstonians elected this office to do,” the statement read. “The principle here is bigger than one employee, one investigation or one Council meeting. Whenever public money is spent, the public is entitled to accountability.”
Brown, meanwhile, pushed back saying Hollins has made his job increasingly more difficult.
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“Controller Hollins has questioned my value to this city, my role, my attendance, my output,” Brown said. “It’s difficult to be criticized for not showing up when the person raising a criticism is not making himself available.”
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The dispute is far from over. Hollins has said his office will continue pursuing records tied to Brown’s role, while Whitmire has accused Hollins of playing politics and exceeding the scope of his authority.