Mayor Turner Orders City Legal Department to Review Claims Made by the Former Department of Housing and Community Development Director

September 23, 2021 -- This morning, Mayor Sylvester Turner ordered a full investigation into claims made by the former director of the City of Houston Department of Housing and Community Development.

Please attribute the following statement to Mayor Turner.

"I have instructed the City of Houston Legal Department to do a full review of former HCDD Director Tom McCasland's claims relating to the affordable housing matter. City Attorney Arturo Michel is instructed to review the allegations  from top to bottom to determine whether there were any illegalities, fraud, conflicts of interests, violations of procedures, practices, and policies. City Legal is also instructed to do this review as quickly as possible and make its findings public.

"My administration works extremely hard to avoid potential conflicts of interest, and I have not conducted business differently than any former mayor in the city of Houston. Mr. Michel has full authority and discretion to conduct the investigation and will have no interference from my administration or me."