HOUSTON — The City of Houston’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has declined to investigate Mayor John Whitmire’s $60,000 taxpayer-funded contract for a city podcast, saying a complaint filed by the Houston Progressive Caucus falls outside its authority.
In a letter shared Thursday by the Houston Progressive Caucus, the OIG said the complaint involved a legislative matter rather than one subject to investigation.
“Because your concern relates to a legislative, rather than an investigatory matter, OIG is not the correct venue,” the letter stated.
The Houston Progressive Caucus said it filed the complaint more than a month ago, alleging waste in the city’s agreement with podcast producer Owen Conflenti.
Following the OIG’s decision, the group criticized the office, noting that it operates under the Houston City Attorney’s Office.
“The mayor built the system that just cleared him,” the caucus said in a statement. It called on the Houston City Council to move oversight of the inspector general outside the City Attorney’s Office and consider establishing an elected city attorney.
Whitmire’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The caucus said it has also filed complaints with the Texas Ethics Commission and the Houston City Controller’s waste, fraud and abuse division.
The Controller’s Office declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation. The Texas Ethics Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The dispute follows reporting in April that Whitmire’s office approved a contract worth up to $60,000 for the production of the podcast, “901 Bagby: Inside the Mayor’s Office.” City records describe the agreement with Conflenti Media owner Owen Conflenti, a former KPRC 2 news anchor, as payment for advertising services.
A six-month engagement outline obtained in June states that Conflenti would produce and host the weekly podcast, produce and host a weekly department feature for the city’s City Pulse program, and provide editorial and production support for City Pulse.
Since March, Conflenti has produced and hosted 12 podcast episodes over an 18-week period. About half featured Whitmire as the primary guest, while others featured senior city officials, including the library director and fire chief.
Houston Public Media reported that it found no evidence that a weekly department feature hosted by Conflenti had been produced during the contract period.
Neither Whitmire’s office nor Conflenti responded to questions about the agreement.
Conflenti also holds a separate contract with the Houston First Corporation, the city’s tourism and convention agency. Under that agreement, he receives $2,000 per project to produce social media videos and related content, with up to eight projects scheduled from March through December for a total value of $16,000.
The Houston Progressive Caucus previously clashed with Whitmire in December when it led an effort to revoke his endorsement eligibility from the Harris County Democratic Party. Whitmire at the time described those behind the effort as “a small portion of the Democratic electorate.”