Houston chief files complaint over dismissal

HOUSTON — The fire chief who resigned as of Dec. 31 said he was summarily fired and told to clear out early by Houston Mayor Steve Frost. John E. Hodge is taking the termination and other complaints to the state Labor Board alleging Frost and the city have violated labor laws.

Hodge said he has also filed a public complaint with Houston City Clerk Daleann Pond alleging the mayor created a hostile work environment and violated city codes by terminating him without going through the required city process.

Hodge said he swore the same oath as the city council when he became chief and is a paid city employee who doesn’t take his oath lightly. Although terminated by the mayor, Hodge maintains he’s still a city employee.

“It’s still my job until I’m properly dismissed,” said Hodge, a 15-year veteran of the Houston Volunteer Fire Department.

Hodge gave the city notice of his intention to resign at the end of the year before the Oct. 2 election. He continued to serve as the city’s top fire official until Nov. 20, four days after deputy city clerk Cat Bullington quit. Bullington and Hodge have been together as a couple for 20 years and have two childen together. Bullington quit after a tumultuous meeting with Frost.

Hodge’s feud with the mayor, which came up at a recent City Council work session, may boil over again at a Dec. 13 council agenda.

Councilman Roger Purcell, a political rival of the mayor, has asked the complaint to be added as an agenda item and the mayor said Thursday he’ll be happy to do so.

Frost said if people want to “air the dirty laundry” in public, it’s best to do so as soon as possible and get on with productive city business.

Purcell alleges Frost violated the state Open Meetings Act by contacting more than four council members either in person or by telephone to gain their support and inform them of his reasons to dismiss Hodge.

“We as council members have a fiduciary responsibility to our constituents and must conduct the city’s business in full view of the public,” Purcell says in a letter to Frost. “Violating the Open Meetings Act and trying to stack the deck against fire chief Hodge before the appeal process has been completed is wrong and unethical.”

Frost released a copy of Hodge’s city complaint and the letter he sent Nov. 20 accepting Hodge’s resignation and wishing him well. He also released Purcell’s letter and denied there was any violation of the city’s regulations regarding open meetings.

Hodge appeared this week at a city council work session and demanded his reinstatement during the public comment part of the meeting. Frost said Hodge was not reinstated.

“He gave me his resignation, I accepted his resignation,” Frost said. “I have it on file.”

Hodge and the mayor have had many disagreements over fire department management and the mayor’s management style. Their relationship boiled over earlier this year when Frost was deputy mayor and changed the door locks to the fire station and ambulance bay because someone had left a fire truck’s lights on, former Councilwoman Ruth Blanchard reports.

Blanchard said Hodge came to see her at the Houston Lodge, which is owned by Councilwoman Rosemary Burnett, and told her and Burnett that Frost “had ranted, raved and cursed at him because someone had left the lights on in one of the trucks. … He was very upset about being talked to that way and not being able to respond [because of the changed locks] in case of an emergency.”

In his complaint to the state Labor Board, Hodge accuses the mayor of unfairly terminating him without justification or cause.

“My termination was forced,” he says in the complaint. “I was given immediate orders to clear out. I demand immediate action and [that] this complaint [be] looked into by all the council.”

The second complaint filed Tuesday alleges Frost provided “a hostile work environment since he was [deputy mayor] and verbally attacked me in public with witnesses. He has gone against the codes by trying to run my department and my men.”

Frost said has already run the action and a complaint filed by Hodge past the city attorney but declined to comment further.

Contact John R. Moses at john.moses@frontiersman.com of call 352-2270.