Texas Rep. Hubert Vo, the first Vietnamese American Democrat to serve in state office, has faced a trio of scandals lately.
Vo’s biggest scandal has been the condition of the apartment complexes he owns. A Houston City Councilman, responding to complaints from his constituency, alerted the housing authorities to the condition of one of the complexes. You can see pictures of the poor upkeep of Vo’s properties here. In April, the violations were in the process of being repaired. Inspectors now say all necessary repairs have been made.
Probably the worst of the scandals, Vo used his government letterhead to send this letter to the part of the Houston Police Department responsible for ensuring multi-family dwelling code compliance. Kuff offers a simple rule for all elected officials to follow. In short, don’t use any official government tool for non-government business. After reading Vo’s letter, I wonder why Kuff’s rule was not obvious. Vo may have repaired his apartments, but I’m not sure how he can repair this glaring, disgusting abuse of his office.
And there’s a third controversy Vo has faced this year. Republicans allege “Vo failed to report costs associated with” a fundraiser at Lot 8 “as an in-kind contribution.” Lot 8 provided facilities for the fundraiser and permitted invitations to the event to include discounts for purchases made at the store. Texas has few restrictions on political contributions. Corporate contributions are absolutely prohibited, but individuals are permitted to donate unlimited amounts. Donations over $20 must be reported. Miya finds the allegation pretty pathetic.
Vo will face Houston Independent School District trustee Grey Meyers in what is sure to be another hard-fought race.
- Justin Gillenwater
