Mayor’s Press Secretary Suspended for Hiding Emails
Style Magazine Newswire | 1/5/2018, 6:19 a.m.
Darian Ward/Facebook
Source: ABC13.com
Mayor Sylvester Turner's press secretary was suspended for two weeks without pay after she failed to turn over thousands of documents required to be released under Texas law. Darian Ward was asked to turn over emails relating to her work on non-city related projects, including a private side business called "Joy in Motion Productions." Ward told Trent Siebert, the journalist who requested the records, and her bosses that she only had 30 emails relating to the request. The city's Office of Inspector General searched the city system and found about 5,000 emails dealing with Ward's side business "Joy in Motion, or other personal, non-city business matters over the three year period" requested, a city memo said. In those emails were proposals with film and TV companies for Ward's "personal business ideas" for reality shows. Ward was reprimanded for violating city computer use policies, undertaking outside employment without approval and for a city ordinance prohibiting city employees from using their city job to "secure special advantage".
