Texas Watchdog has posted an interesting bit of investigative journalism by Matt Pulle.
Pulle takes a closer look at state senator Rodney Ellis’ support of HISD’s 2007 bond proposal. Sen. Ellis’ support came at a fairly crucial time during the debate, since HISD somewhat bungled the politics of the proposal and it had drawn a fair amount of criticism. As it turns out, Ellis apparently had quite a conflict of interest that, until now, has gone unreported:
Ellis is a high-ranking partner in a New York-based company called Rice Financial Products that stands to make money when the school system issues bonds — like the one the voters passed in 2007.
For at least a decade, Rice, which specializes in bond and derivatives transactions, has served as the minority co-financial adviser with First Southwest Co. as a part of a contractual requirement that the bank work with a “minority or women-owned business.” That same contract says that “minority firms,” like Ellis’, are eligible to receive 30 percent of First Southwest’s compensation from the district.
So, in the midst of a tense debate over the merits of HISD’s financial plan, when Ellis reassured his constituents that the district’s bond package was a “good package
