(from Matt Stiles of the Chron)
Residents in local apartments owned by state Rep. Hubert Vo live in conditions that appear to violate numerous health and building standards, a Houston Chronicle review of the properties has found.
In recent days, the Houston Chronicle documented exposed electrical wires, rotting wood, broken and boarded-up windows and other potential violations of the city's "minimum standards" for occupied buildings.
After seeing the Chronicle's photographs, inspectors from two city departments pledged investigations into properties owned by Vo, D-Houston, saying the conditions could lead to misdemeanor criminal citations.
"There was nothing in those pictures that wasn't a violation," said Jodi Silva, a spokeswoman for the Houston Police Department's neighborhood protection division. "You have to keep your property to certain minimum standards, and that's what these are falling under."
The Chronicle's inquiry began last week after city inspectors, acting on complaints, cited Vo for conditions at an apartment complex he owns in the East End. There, inspectors found open electrical boxes, loose wiring and inadequate balcony railings — all misdemeanor violations.
Vo's other properties, in varying degrees, showed similar problems, though one complex was outside the city limits and not subject to post-construction inspections.
Among other potential city violations at three complexes were overflowing Dumpsters, damaged parking lots and an algae-filled swimming pool — all conditions that could prompt criminal fines.
There SHOULD be outrage because of this. But this is Houston, and Vo still has a lot of political capitol stored up as the man who took out Talmidge Heflin. He's the Viet Rock Star of the Democratic Party. Sure, maybe he's undergoing a slight bit of rehab at the Betty Ford Clinic right now, but hey, isn't that the kind of activity we EXPECT from our "heroes"?
At least Vo understands the REAL issue....
Vo said he knew he would face criticism:
"It's going to affect me very much. It's going to kill my reputation. I just have to move on and try to repair the damage."
Yes, Hubert it's all about you.
OTHER EYES:
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