A couple of Houston City Council members say they're surprised by the indictment of Mayor Sylvester Turner's former press secretary.
A Harris County grand jury charged Darian Ward on Thursday with failure to provide public information. Ward resigned earlier this year after it was revealed she used her city email to benefit the production company she owned.
Council members Dave Martin and Michael Kubosh both expressed surprise at Ward's indictment. Kubosh tells our TV partner KPRC Channel-2 the mayor should have been tougher on Ward...
"This indictment has got everybody's attention. He really should have let her go; he shouldn't have kept her around. Yes, he did defend her... but he should have let her go at that point."
Ward faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Mayor Turner is traveling in South America, but his office released a statement saying he expects all city employees to comply with public information requests.
Failure to comply with a Texas Public Information Act Request is seldom prosecuted.