Texas Republican Party sues Houston mayor for canceling party's in-person convention
CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 7/9/2020, 2:38 p.m.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is being sued by the Texas Republican Party for canceling a contract to hold the state party's convention in the city.
Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
By Ryan Nobles and Caroline Kelly, CNN
(CNN) -- The Texas Republican Party is suing Democratic Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner for canceling a contract to hold the state party's convention in the city.
"Our objective is that the courts will hear and rule in our favor in time to open up the George R. Brown Convention Center Monday morning so that we may safely begin our vital work in the electoral process," the party said in a statement Thursday.
Turner said Wednesday that he had asked the city's legal department to review the contract between the State Republican Executive Committee and the convention venue's operator, Houston First Corporation. He announced later Wednesday that he had officially instructed Houston First Corporation to cancel its contract with the state GOP.
The party is suing Turner, Houston First Corporation and the city of Houston for breach of contract, according to a news release.
Turner garnered national attention in making the announcement, with the Democrat speaking in deeply personal terms about the memory of his late mother to explain his decision.
"The linchpin for me (was) when one of the people on my staff, combined with my sister, who said to me, 'Mayor, brother, your mom was a maid working at these hotels. And if your mom was alive today working at one of these hotels (would) you as the mayor still allow this convention to go forth and run the risk of infecting your mom?' " he said.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
