Mayor Owns Whataburger Next to Development Site

Mayor & Some Council Members Disclosure Forms Incomplete. Bidders say Adame will step down from Coliseum Committee. Maybe there is a reason some council members except Nelda Martinez and Priscilla Leal were willing to weaken the Ethics Policy prohibiting members contracting with the City.

After being more than willing to throw out the 20 year prohibition it took Martinez’s persistence to get it back in. Conflict of interest and disclosure seem to be confusing concepts to some Council members.

For instance Mayor Joe Adame owns the land between Shoreline Blvd and Water St. on the south side of John Sartrain St., the site of the downtown Whataburger less than a block from land he thought could be developed up until the last Coliseum committee meeting. When asked by WtP if he thought the property, owned by him (ironically owned through a company called Whatadeal, LLC) constituted even the appearance of a conflict of interest he stated no. Further, exploration of the Mayor’s financial disclosure forms indicate several inadequacies in the completion of his and some other council members information.

State disclosure laws under the Texas Ethics Commission require members to list among other things, interests in business entities, assets of those entities, real property and those holding an interest in those properties other than a spouse or dependent child.

While Adame shows a 12.17% interest in Shutters Mangement, Ltd. and a 16.66% interest in Shutters Venture, LLC. he does not list the other owners on his disclousre forms as required. State Comptrollers records show the registered agent of Shutters Mangerment as Mark Adame, while Shutters Venture, LLC show other members as Mark and Chris Adame, Jared Shope and Reese and Reid Ryan. Shutters owns the Atlantic Lofts project.

Adame also shows a 50% interest in Lazarus LP a real estate investment company owning buildings and land, lists the address as his managment company address 4550 Corona but failed to identify any real property or other owners. Tax records indicate the company owns property at 5635 Everhardt and 6526 S. Staples. He reports owning 33 1/3% of another company JJG, Investments, LLC but lists no assets or the names of other investors. On the Storage Company, LLC he states he is a 80% owner, lists its assets as building and land but shows The address given again is Adame’s office and fails to identify who owns the other 20%. Tax records indicate it is at 4602 Everhardt.

District Four Councilwoman Chris Adler shows income of $10-24,000 a year from consulting, where it asks name and address of the sources of income, Adler put “various”.

Mark Scott who has been written about before during his last term concerning conflict of interest lists himself as an employee of Kailo Communications, the PR firm of his wife and school board president Carol. Scott also works for San Jacinto Title Company and declared an interest in an insurance company Mark Scott & Associates and Coastal Cove LP. While Scott did show the address of assets of Coastal Cove as 14292 Encantada, he merely lists “land/Port Aransas”. He did not list any of these properties under the real property requirement or list any partners. State records shows Alex Harris as the registered agent.

Meanwhile regarding the Coliseum, Adame was asked how he had come to know Brass Real Estate executive Rick Rodriquez after rumors surfaced that he had encouraged Brass to put in a proposal. Adame said he met them when discussing what he sees as a need for a hotel next to the Convention Center and asked them to look at the coliseum as well. When Adame was asked who said parkland could be used for the proposal he laid the blame at the feet of City Economic Development Services, saying they told him the land could be swapped.

The site of the old City Hall was ruled out because of a Texas Parks and Wildlife grant that requires the land be replaced with property of equal or greater value. The Brass proposal declared sidewalks and parking lots parks and wanted the City to take full responsibility for their maintenance, policing and indemnify them against any legal issues. Quite a deal if you can get it.

Oh that new City Council Ethics policy that they did pass won’t prevent any of their companies contracting with the City; it only prevents them from contracting with the City as an individual, not as a business entity. Aren’t we all proud?