By Elizabeth Pierson Hernandez
State Rep. Hubert Vo was sued for problems at his Houston apartment complexes years before the Houston Chronicle investigation in April exposed run-down conditions at the properties.
His Republican challenger, Greg Meyers, offers that as proof that Vo has a history of problems as a landlord and undercuts the incumbent's claim that problems in his properties were fixed as soon as he knew of them. Meyers said it's hypocritical for Vo to say he's working in the Legislature to improve voters' lives while allowing his tenants to live in bad conditions.
"You can't claim to be for quality-of-life on the west side of town and run apartments like these on the east side of town," Meyers said.
The lawsuits highlight tenant problems that surfaced long before the troubles covered by the Chronicle and cited by city inspectors (broken balcony railings and electrical problems, for example), a list that, according to Vo's campaign, was addressed immediately.
But there were earlier concerns.
In 2001, Vo settled with tenant Juan Rodriguez for an undisclosed sum of money. According to the lawsuit, Rodriguez was changing a light bulb when he found water in the glass globe cover. The globe broke and the water, heated by the bulb, spilled on his face, neck and shoulders, severely burning him.
The tenant in the apartment above Rodriguez had asked management to fix a leak in his air-conditioning unit on four separate occasions before Rodriguez was burned, according to the lawsuit.
Vo settled another case in February 2007. This one started in 2004 when security guards working for his Capewood Apartments detained tenant Victor Arias, threw him to the pavement and handcuffed him, according to the lawsuit. The guard hit his wife in the face when she tried to help.
The next day, the guards stopped Arias' vehicle and tried to arrest him, but instead Harris County sheriff's deputies admonished the guards for attempting to file false charges, according to the lawsuit.
Karen Loper, Vo's spokeswoman, said he wouldn't be available for an interview. Instead, she released a statement: "Rep. Vo has had hundreds of satisfied residents in his apartment units over many years and to take two lawsuits and allege that it shows a "pattern of neglect" is typical of the low road taken by his opponent."
The Meyers campaign is publicizing the Rodriguez and Arias lawsuits, as well as a third involving Wall Street Square Apartments, a complex Vo now owns. Tenant Alecia Alexander settled with Vo in 2003. She had sued him for what she said was a violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. She complained that she had backed-up sewage, feces in the bedroom and rodents in the apartment. After she filed complaints, the complex tried to evict her in August 2000.
Alexander, who is African-American, asked to be relocated to other units, but management said none were available. However, she frequently witnessed other tenants who were not African-American being relocated, the lawsuit said.
Loper said Vo doesn't deny being the owner when the first two lawsuits were settled. But she said Vo bought the Wall Street Square Apartments in October 2000, two months after Alexander filed her complaints with management. "Simply stated, he was not the owner at the time of the problems," she said in a written statement.