Dallas City Attorney Tom PerkinsThe General Investigating and Ethics and Criminal Jurisprudence Committees of the Texas House have just issued their reports on the City of Dallas’s public-nuisance abatement ordinance, and they draw blood.

The scathing report charges that Dallas officials abused the public-nuisance abatement ordinance to shake down businesses and intimidate those who appealed or opposed city policy. The report labeled it “ward-based politics run amok.” It says the city used the ordinance to blame businesses for being crime victims, intimidated witnesses, and "encouraged" business owners to hire off-duty police to work security under threat of prosecution and fine. (Pronounce it "protection money.")

The Dallas City Attorney's office was singled out for the witness intimidation. Specifically, the charge is that the City Attorney’s office initiated an internal affairs investigation against a police officer who wrote a letter in favor of a business accused of being a public nuisance. The state wants city attorneys turned over to the State Bar of Texas for disciplinary action.

DallasBlog spoke with City Attorney Tom Perkins about the report Friday afternoon.

"We disagree with the characterizations. Our position is our lawyers acted entirely appropriately and we're prepared to address that if referrals (to the State Bar of Texas) are made," Mr. Perkins said.

"I would point out in the five years prior, (the city) handled 2,000 cases and only 60 resulted in lawsuits. Of those the majority of the business owners reached an agreement to resolve the case and adjust the problem, or had a formal consent decree (in the city's favor,)" he said.

Regarding the charge that the city attorney's office initiated an internal affairs investigation against a police officer, Mr. Perkins had this to say.

"In that instance in the discovery process it was found that a police officer was living on the site (a hotel involved in a code compliance complaint) and we simply informed his superior officers," Mr. Perkins said.

And in what may be the biggest case of closing the barn door after the horses were out since, heck, examples are hard to come by, Mr. Perkins said that following the initiation of the state's investigation, the city commissioned a group of business leaders, city staff, Dallas Police, and city attorneys to audit and reform the process for code compliance and code enforcement.

Peachy.

Mayor Laura Miller's office said she will issue a statement on the committee's findings on Monday, after she has had time to review the 38-page report.

Deputy Chief David Brown, designated spokesman on the issue, could not be reached for comment.

In a few days, we will know if the efforts of key Republican donors will have impacted several Republican primaries in Texas and possibly the future of school finance in Texas.

In some cases, the failure of certain legislators to change the school finance system in previous legislative sessions has resulted in property taxes remaining one of the chief funding sources for public schools in Texas. According to the Dallas Morning News, Rep. Kent Grusendorf is one legislator facing a well-financed challenger in the primaries.

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The General Investigating and Ethics and Criminal Jurisprudence Committees of the Texas House have just issued their reports on the City of Dallas’s public nuisance ordinance. It is scathing. In the report, the Committee clerks are directed to refer employees of the Dallas City Attorney’s office to the State Bar of Texas for disciplinary action. The charge is that the City Attorney’s office initiated an internal affairs investigation against a police officer who wrote a letter in favor of a business accused of being a public nuisance. 

The charges made against the City in this report are serious and should give every resident of Dallas pause.  It’s disturbing reading.

Click here for full report ...

Rep. Charlie GerenRepublican State Representatives Bill Keffer, Jodie Laubenberg, Bill Zedler, Mary Denny, and Linda Harper-Brown endorsed West Point graduate and retired Lt. Col. Christ Hatley in his campaign to oust incumbent Representative Charlie Geren from office in a heated Republican primary in Tarrant County.

The area legislators are key members of the conservative coalition in the Texas House of Representatives. Their endorsement of Hatley, Geren’s conservative challenger, comes only days after the Speaker of the House Tom Craddick endorsed the re-election bid of Representative Geren. Geren is viewed by conservative legislators – and conservative activists in his district as more of a "Republican of convenience" – who (they maintain) switched parties in order to get elected.

While Lt. Gov. Dewhurst and Speaker Craddick have endorsed Geren’s candidacy, the decision by conservative legislators to break ranks with Craddick and endorse Geren’s opponent suggests that Craddick may be losing some of his influence over the rank and file members of the Republican majority in the House.

Tarrant County is the scene of two of the most significant Republican primary races in the state this year. Conservative incumbent and Chairman of the House Education Committee, Kent Grusendorf, is trying to withstand a major challenge from Diane Patrick. Patrick has the strong backing of the education lobby.

Meanwhile, conservative challenger Chris Hatley (who has received major financial backing from conservative businessman James Leninger) is hoping to unseat Charles Geren. The incumbent is backed by the education lobby, and many of the Austin business lobbyists also are helping Geren’s re-election bid.

We will know the outcome of both these races next Tuesday evening.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has gotten North Texas lawmakers to stand down and see if Dallas Mayor Laura Miller and Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief can work out a solution to the Wright Amendment.

In a written statement to DallasBlog, Mayor Miller said:

"The Dallas City Council will vote on our resolution, which asks Congress to take no action on the Wright Amendment between now and Oct 1 while the two cities negotiate, next Wednesday, March 8. The City of Dallas is eager to work with Fort Worth to find a solution to this problem, and because the working relationship between the two cities is a good one, chances are high that this will be a successful endeavor."

"Mayor Moncrief and I will continue meeting and talking on a regular basis, which we have been doing for weeks, and the substance of our talks will be reflective of what our two City Councils believe should happen with our respective aviation assets."

Get the popcorn.

Having solved illegal immigration, the war on terror, the Iraq war and health care, the Bush administration turns its eye elsewhere.

Reflections on a disappointing night in San Antonio. ... and reflections on other must-know-about topics going into the sporting weekend. Click on 'The School of Fish' for more. ...

A new Rasmussen poll finds that 23% of all Americans believe you would have to spend at least $50,000 to influence a member of Congress.  That nothing, 9% think it will take $100,000 and 18% think it will take more than that.  Still, Rasmussen found that 56% oppose public funding for campaign.