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The People's Republic
The Long Awaited Toby Futrell Post
Wells Dunbar
Mon Jul 9, 4:02pm
, 2007
What can you really say about the
news over the weekend regarding Toby Futrell – the allegation her brother-in-law got hired at Austin Energy thanks to her?
As countless political scandals have shown us, it's not the crime but the maneuvering behind the scenes that spins out of control. Futrell's quick to point out the hiring wasn't illegal under city nepotism rules (although her "we're not related" defense is pretty lame) – more damaging is the perception created by city e-mails that the hiring was a fait accompli the moment Futrell brought it to bear, that blowback would ensue if the hire wasn't made. But what's far more astonishing – and practically unparalleled – are the quotes from current Assistant City Manager Rudy Garza ("The expectation is that it was something we do pretty quickly") and Austin Energy general manager Juan Garza (recalling former AE Vice President Al Lujan felt pressured to hire Futrell's kin.) Instead of soft-pedaling the accusations – Futrell compares it to some municipal version of the telephone game, where she makes a suggestion that's read as a dictate by the time it winds down the food chain – Rudy and Juan practically go out of their way to finger her, the latter dragging in an outside figure (Lujan) to make her look bad when he couldn't give Statesman reporter Tony Plohetski the goods himself. It has the hallmarks of a cover-your-ass operation; wary that the info would get out making them look bad, they freely admit they felt pressured by Futrell.
It's a reminder that the area we've come to think of as the juiciest – the jockeying between Futrell's office and City Council – is only part of the equation. Having worked her way up the city bureaucracy after God knows how many years, there's assuredly a Byzantine web of politics at work on the staff level most observers are completely oblivious to. With the expectation that she will announce her retirement soon, possibly her heir apparents got tired of waiting and wanted to speed up the process. (Of course it's just as likely the news will have the opposite effect, making her dig in her heels as not to leave under a cloud.) All the mechanics in engineering the story – including a neck-snappingly quick turnaround on the Statesman's public information request (made Friday; story runs Saturday) – unfold at the staff level. Despite the love lost between her and certain council members, it may be staff's fingerprints on the tip to Plohetski. There are many other unanswered questions, including what this means for Futrell's relationship to the Statesman. They've been extremely deferential to her in the past, and so far they've resisted piling on the original story with a hand-wringing editorial or some schadenfreude fest from John Kelso. But that may change – word is getting around that they're working on a piece discussing her resignation. Whether it will be editorializing one way or another or simply floating the idea to see if it catches any wind (more likely) remains to be seen.
It's a little tired by now, but Futrell's quote about "realms of influence," made to Michael King in January, is, sadly, more apropos than ever. Justify her firing of Earth Tech/Austin Clean Water Program Director Bill Moriarty over the appearance of a conflict of interest in a hiring matter, it was trotted out again once Chronic pointed to Futrell's admitted conflict of interest with Wal-Mart (her husband does HVAC work for them). But here it is again, in all its hoary glory:
Whatever the contractual details, Futrell said, it would appear to the public that "under the program that he manages, he was in a position to influence the hiring of the person that he was living with.'
"To me," the city manager continued, "that raises a judgment issue, that raises a conflict-of-interest issue, and that raises a realm-of-influence issue. … These are high-level principles with a whole host of ramifications." Faced with that apparent situation, says Futrell, the city had no choice but to go to Earth Tech and request that it replace Moriarty.
Which raises another question: If the accused were anyone other than Futrell, what are the chances they'd be on administrative leave this very second, pending an investigation?
As countless political scandals have shown us, it's not the crime but the maneuvering behind the scenes that spins out of control. Futrell's quick to point out the hiring wasn't illegal under city nepotism rules (although her "we're not related" defense is pretty lame) – more damaging is the perception created by city e-mails that the hiring was a fait accompli the moment Futrell brought it to bear, that blowback would ensue if the hire wasn't made. But what's far more astonishing – and practically unparalleled – are the quotes from current Assistant City Manager Rudy Garza ("The expectation is that it was something we do pretty quickly") and Austin Energy general manager Juan Garza (recalling former AE Vice President Al Lujan felt pressured to hire Futrell's kin.) Instead of soft-pedaling the accusations – Futrell compares it to some municipal version of the telephone game, where she makes a suggestion that's read as a dictate by the time it winds down the food chain – Rudy and Juan practically go out of their way to finger her, the latter dragging in an outside figure (Lujan) to make her look bad when he couldn't give Statesman reporter Tony Plohetski the goods himself. It has the hallmarks of a cover-your-ass operation; wary that the info would get out making them look bad, they freely admit they felt pressured by Futrell.
It's a reminder that the area we've come to think of as the juiciest – the jockeying between Futrell's office and City Council – is only part of the equation. Having worked her way up the city bureaucracy after God knows how many years, there's assuredly a Byzantine web of politics at work on the staff level most observers are completely oblivious to. With the expectation that she will announce her retirement soon, possibly her heir apparents got tired of waiting and wanted to speed up the process. (Of course it's just as likely the news will have the opposite effect, making her dig in her heels as not to leave under a cloud.) All the mechanics in engineering the story – including a neck-snappingly quick turnaround on the Statesman's public information request (made Friday; story runs Saturday) – unfold at the staff level. Despite the love lost between her and certain council members, it may be staff's fingerprints on the tip to Plohetski. There are many other unanswered questions, including what this means for Futrell's relationship to the Statesman. They've been extremely deferential to her in the past, and so far they've resisted piling on the original story with a hand-wringing editorial or some schadenfreude fest from John Kelso. But that may change – word is getting around that they're working on a piece discussing her resignation. Whether it will be editorializing one way or another or simply floating the idea to see if it catches any wind (more likely) remains to be seen.
It's a little tired by now, but Futrell's quote about "realms of influence," made to Michael King in January, is, sadly, more apropos than ever. Justify her firing of Earth Tech/Austin Clean Water Program Director Bill Moriarty over the appearance of a conflict of interest in a hiring matter, it was trotted out again once Chronic pointed to Futrell's admitted conflict of interest with Wal-Mart (her husband does HVAC work for them). But here it is again, in all its hoary glory:
Whatever the contractual details, Futrell said, it would appear to the public that "under the program that he manages, he was in a position to influence the hiring of the person that he was living with.'
"To me," the city manager continued, "that raises a judgment issue, that raises a conflict-of-interest issue, and that raises a realm-of-influence issue. … These are high-level principles with a whole host of ramifications." Faced with that apparent situation, says Futrell, the city had no choice but to go to Earth Tech and request that it replace Moriarty.
Which raises another question: If the accused were anyone other than Futrell, what are the chances they'd be on administrative leave this very second, pending an investigation?
FEATURED IN ON THE LEGE
Primary Filings: The Democrats
Richard Whittaker, Tue Jan 5
Breaking down the election filings for the Dems
Richard Whittaker, Tue Jan 5
Breaking down the election filings for the Dems
MORE IN NEWS
COMMENTS
6
Toby is a Criminal
guest Jul 09, 2007 - 08:12 pm
HA!!!
me Jul 10, 2007 - 07:58 am
"African-American" has nothing to do with race
guest Jul 10, 2007 - 08:26 am
black white brown
guest Jul 10, 2007 - 02:49 pm
Futrell is history
Pretty Boy Floyd Jul 10, 2007 - 04:08 pm
Toby is the most corrupt CM
guest Jul 10, 2007 - 06:28 pm
