{"id":46534,"date":"2025-11-12T15:32:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T15:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/46534\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T15:32:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T15:32:09","slug":"why-were-taking-legal-action-asking-lubbock-county-expo-center-leaders-to-be-transparent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/46534\/","title":{"rendered":"Why we’re taking legal action asking Lubbock County Expo Center leaders to be transparent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lubbock Lights and publisher, L. Scott Mann, have filed suit to encourage the Lubbock County Expo Center to release public records connected to the long-delayed Expo Center project.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s make something clear \u2013 we\u2019re not against the Expo Center \u2013 Lubbock needs this facility. And to make things even more clear \u2013 we\u2019re not for or against anything.<\/p>\n

Since Lubbock Lights became a news website in October 2023, we don\u2019t do opinion. We do news.<\/p>\n

But in our previous iteration, we did opinion and urged voters to approve using visitor tax to help pay for the Expo Center.<\/p>\n

Before either iteration of Lubbock Lights, Scott and I \u2013 separately \u2013 have been adamant about open records, open government and all the transparency our laws demand. Because as we all know \u2013 people generally make better decisions when they know people are watching.<\/p>\n

Since working together, if anything, our interest in transparency has only gotten stronger.<\/p>\n

Back to the Expo Center. Scott was getting frustrated with a lack of transparency and told me he was thinking of legal action as our publisher. He asked if the newsroom wanted to be involved. I said yes. <\/p>\n

None of which is to suggest the Lubbock County Expo Center leadership has done anything wrong. But the public has a right to know what they are doing.<\/p>\n

And yes, the Expo Center folks are a private organization. But they are connected to public money and for us, that makes their business public.<\/p>\n

Preliminary hearings are more open thanks to actions of the Minot (N.D.) Daily News when I was editor there in the mid-1980s and the same in Illinois when I was editor of the The Pantagraph in Bloomington, Illinois about 20 years ago.<\/p>\n

Want to set me off? Tell me we can\u2019t cover a public meeting or a public document is unavailable.<\/p>\n

I hope the Expo Center is built. Where? That\u2019s a good question and will hopefully be worked out soon. Appreciate all the good people trying to make this happen.<\/p>\n

But public money? Please do your business in public.<\/p>\n

Press release detailing the lawsuit<\/p>\n

Scott Mann and Lubbock Lights file petition to enforce Texas Public Information Act against Lubbock County Expo Center, Inc.<\/p>\n

Lubbock Lights Publisher Scott Mann, along with Lubbock Lights, has filed a petition for a writ of mandamus against Lubbock County Expo Center, Inc. (LCEC), seeking to compel the release of public records related to the long-delayed Expo Center project.<\/p>\n

The filing asserts that LCEC has repeatedly violated the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA) by ignoring two lawful open records requests submitted in October and refusing to produce any documents or request an Attorney General opinion as required by law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t about politics or personalities \u2014 it\u2019s about the public\u2019s right to know how taxpayer money is being spent,\u201d said Scott Mann, founder of Lubbock Lights.
\u201cSeven years and seven million dollars later, Lubbock County residents still don\u2019t have a building \u2014 and still don\u2019t have answers. Transparency is not optional when public funds are at stake.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Petition<\/p>\n

The petition, filed in Lubbock County District Court, details the following:<\/p>\n

Two lawful open records requests were submitted to LCEC on October 16 and 22, 2025.<\/p>\n

The organization acknowledged receipt but failed to respond within the required ten business days.<\/p>\n

Instead, the group\u2019s representative stated, \u201cYes, we intend to comply \u2014 but it will be on my timeline, not yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

No request for an Attorney General opinion was ever filed, making the information presumed public under state law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe law is clear \u2014 when an entity takes public money or operates a publicly approved project, it must operate transparently,\u201d said attorney Christina Duffy. \u201cOur clients followed the law to the letter. The Expo Center did not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why It Matters<\/p>\n

The Expo Center project was approved by Lubbock County voters in 2018 and tied to a $7 million commitment of hotel-occupancy tax revenue.
To date, the project has produced no completed facility, and questions persist regarding expenditures, contracts, and financial oversight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis case is about restoring public trust,\u201d Mann added. \u201cLubbock County residents deserve clear, factual answers \u2014 not delays and secrecy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Relief Sought<\/p>\n

The petition asks the court to:<\/p>\n

Compel LCEC to immediately release all requested records.<\/p>\n

Declare the withheld information public under the Texas Government Code.<\/p>\n

Prohibit further delay or obstruction of future requests.<\/p>\n

Award attorney\u2019s fees and court costs as permitted by law.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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