By FireRescue1 Staff
HOUSTON — A judge ordered the city of Houston to remove a video of a meeting on the firefighter pay parity initiative after the firefighter’s union filed a lawsuit.
ABC13 reported a temporary restraining order was issued against Mayor Sylvester Turner after he and council member Dave Martin used a subcommittee finance meeting discussing firefighter pay parity to campaign against the initiative.
Turner initially posted a video of the meeting on his Twitter page.
“Turner and Martin directly advocated against the measure,” the lawsuit read.
HPFFA attorney Cris Feldman said the officials used city resources to campaign against the measure.
“All we want is a vote, up or down,” Feldman said.
Turner posted on Twitter, saying he disagreed with the judge’s decision.
“I believe the judge erred in his ruling,” the tweet read.
“The lawsuit the Houston Professional Firefighters Association has brought against me is a disservice to the public and their right to transparency,” Martin said in a statement. “I have not used the Budget and Fiscal Affairs (BFA) Committee to ‘electioneer’ as no positions to support or oppose pay parity were a topic of conversation. What my committee did discuss, was the possible fiscal implications of the proposed Firefighter Charter Amendment that will be on the ballot in November. “
https://twitter.com/SylvesterTurner/status/1024349649174495233