YESTERDAY KEVIN WHITED NOTED that METRO VP Raequel “9-volt battery” Roberts gave a snippy response to Texas Watchdog’s Jennifer Peebles who was inquiring about media access to METRO Chairman David Wolff’s upcoming speech to the Greater Houston Partnership. Roberts said that Wolff was just following the lead of other local leaders, including Mayor White and Judge Emmett. That prompted a response today from Joe Stinebaker, Judge Emmett’s communications director:
As the communications director for Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, I can speak only to The “State Of The County” Address. We provide a free area in the room for the public and media to hear the address (sorry, no meal), and we actively encourage both to attend through news releases and public alerts. Afterward, Judge Emmett makes himself available at a publicly accessible news conference. In addition, the entire speech is videotaped and made available for some time on the judge’s Web site (and GHP’s, I believe). We try to ensure that the public is not only welcome, but encouraged, to hear what the judge has to say.
The ball is back in Roberts‘ court. Will METRO ensure that the media has access without paying for a (discounted!) $65 ticket?
