Sekula-Gibbs demands probe of aides who quit

Houston Chronicle ^ | 11-17-06 | EUN KYUNG KIM and MICHELLE MITTELSTADT

[Snickering Hound]

WASHINGTON — The turmoil in newly elected Rep. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs' office deepened Thursday with the Houston Republican demanding a congressional investigation of aides who quit in a mass walkout earlier this week.

Sekula-Gibbs said the staffers, holdovers from her predecessor Tom DeLay, deleted records from the office's computers Monday, the day before seven of them resigned in apparent protest of their treatment.

"As public servants, they have harmed the 22nd Congressional District and they have brought shame to this office," Sekula-Gibbs said in a statement. "I have a duty to investigate."

Sekula-Gibbs was elected to complete DeLay's term. Democrat Nick Lampson will succeed her when the next two-year term begins in January.

David James, who was chief of staff under DeLay and ran the office after the Texas Republican resigned in June, flatly denied that he or his colleagues had acted improperly.

House rules demand that computers be scrubbed clean before a new representative takes over, James noted.

James had previously been unwilling to discuss his five-day experience working for Sekula-Gibbs, but said he could no longer remain silent after accusations against him and co-workers with more than 30 years combined experience on Capitol Hill.

"Never has any member of Congress treated us with as much disrespect and unprofessionalism as we witnessed during those five days," he said. He declined to detail specific behavior.

Sekula-Gibbs also leveled charges of unprofessionalism against the former aides, saying they "left without notice and their departure raises suspicions." An eighth staffer who left was a part-time employee shared with other offices.

The congresswoman, who was sworn in Monday to fill the remaining two months of DeLay's term, has asked the House's chief administrative officer to investigate. The office didn't return calls Thursday, and had yet to respond to Sekula-Gibbs' request, said her chief of staff, Lisa Dimond.

Defenders of the departed aides were puzzled by Sekula-Gibbs' actions, saying the former DeLay staff members were hard-working, loyal employees dedicated to the Texas district, particularly at a time when the office lacked a representative.

"We had the good fortune of working with them over the years and every one of them, to a person, has unimpeachable character and integrity," said Tony Essalih, chief of staff to Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston.

"I hope it is just a misunderstanding," said Essalih, who described Sekula-Gibbs as a dedicated legislator. "I do have a lot of respect for her and I think she's going to do a fine job, but I've never known any of these staffers to be anything but top-notch."

A former congressional staffer familiar with the 22nd District's operations also praised the aides. "They know the district like the back of their hand; it has been their lives for years and it was with a heavy heart that they had to leave," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Sekula-Gibbs' current staff includes two employees who came with her from Houston and an intern borrowed from another congressional office.

While Dimond acknowledged the computers were clean when the congresswoman opened the office on Nov. 9, she said the former aides deleted recently created files Monday, the day before they walked out. The files related to research on Ellington Field, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Medicare, she said.

James denied the accusation. "The memos, press releases, and speeches that we wrote for her in the brief time we were there were provided to her electronically or in hard copy, or both," he said.

Sekula-Gibbs has attracted national attention during her brief stay in Washington, in part because she came to the Capitol in an electoral quirk. On Nov. 7, she won a special election to fill DeLay's term but fell short as a write-in candidate for the next term.

But she's also raised eyebrows with the staff turmoil and ambitious goals that include reforming immigration and cutting taxes during her seven-week tenure.

[isthisnickcool]

NIXON: "Hey, I'm dead and they are still plotting against me! They are always after me!"

SSG: "I have the same probem. If they are not watching me they are out smoking in a bar! A bar! Smoking! They can't smoke unless I tell them they can! My former staffers implanted a device in my brain and they are controlling me from their Playstation 3!"

NIXON: "Playstation 3? Those are sweet! Hey, I had Checkers stuffed, want to pet him?"

SSG: "No thanks, he obviously has a hidden tape recorder inside of him".

NIXON: "Damn! Caught again!"

[rhinohunter]

Did you see this?

You need to do what you can to insure that a real conservative gets nominated in '08.

[Madeleine Ward]

Kind of quick to judge here, I think.

If these people deleted and erased computer files, I think someone ought to be just a tad bit curious.

I think I'll just wait until more facts are in, and not listen to all the hysterics over this situation.

After all, it would take ALOT for me to walk out of a job that quickly. So, I'm kind of suspicious now.

And, I'm also wondering if those vouching for the character and integrity of these aides are the same ones who vouched for Mark Foley, and who stuck up for Jefferson.

[proudpapa]

Sekula-Gibbs also leveled charges of unprofessionalism against the former aides, saying they "left without notice and their departure raises suspicions." An eighth staffer who left was a part-time employee shared with other offices.

An Eighth STAFFER???

Why in the world does a congresscritter need more than ONE assistant and ONE secretary???


This is nuts.

[lilylangtree]

She thought she could release some juicy tidbits to the press, but found she couldn't. She's upset because she was outmaneuvered. Hehehehehehe!!

[B.O. Plenty]

Is she a Dim plant or something...

Her hyphenated name suggests so, don't you think? I don't know of many conservatives who have two names seperated by a hyphen. I am sure that there are a few...

[AntiGuv]

I think they are trying to make both Delay's team and Mrs. Gibbs look bad so that they can keep Republcans divided in CD22.

Actually, nothing in this account makes DeLay's team sound bad. They sound quite good, if anything. Only Sekula-Gibbs sounds like a witch in this report. The undeniable fact of the matter is that she is ridiculously and petulantly calling for an investigation of Mr. DeLay's staff, who don't work for her anymore. No one made that up..

[AntiGuv]

This was actually DeLay's old Majority Leader staff..

[Night Hides Not]

I guess yesterday's thread was a quarter of the story. I can hardly wait to hear the rest.

[Diddle E. Squat]

[AntiGuv]

If these people deleted and erased computer files, I think someone ought to be just a tad bit curious.

I guess you missed this part.

"House rules demand that computers be scrubbed clean before a new representative takes over, James noted."

[Snickering Hound]

Back when she was running for City Council in 2000 she sought the endorsement of Planned Parenthood saying she was pro-choice. This came out during this campaign and she claimed she had changed her mind and was now pro-life.

She also voted with the Houston City Council during this campaign to ban smoking from Houston bars and restaurants except for so-called Cigar Bars. Her proviso for these Cigar Bars was that they had to provide health care coverage for their employees.

She really is a piece of work.

[NonValueAdded]

Oh, I was expecting azconservative or scrappleface treatment but she's series ... does that stune your beeber or what?

[SmoothTalker]

"Why in the world does a congresscritter need more than ONE assistant and ONE secretary???
"

Because the volume of mail that comes through the offices is tremendous and the amount of constituent requests (help with social security, help navigating government bureaucracy, help booking a tour of the White House etc, etc) are really high. Congress also handles a tremendous amount of issues and considers a tremendous number of bills. One or two people can't possibly keep up with what is happening with all the bills and all the committees out there. It takes a lot of people to keep an office functioning. Most offices have around 20 staff and they are still understaffed.

[HitmanLV]

The turmoil in newly elected Rep. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs' office deepened Thursday with the Houston Republican demanding a congressional investigation of aides who quit in a mass walkout earlier this week.

What a peice of work. I think that, given what we have seen of Sekula-Gibbs in a mercilessly short period of time, quitting en mass is probably to their great credit!

[HereInTheHeartland]

They're coming to take me away, they're coming to take me away....

[steve-b]

Holy crap -- it's starting to look more and more like the GOP dodged a bullet in not getting this flake elected to a real term.

[eyedigress]

"House rules demand that computers be scrubbed clean before a new representative takes over, James noted."

Are they talking about just plain ole soap and water, or some industrial cleaning agent?

[FreePaul]

I don't understand the problem. The party couldn't wait to throw DeLay out when he was accused of wrongdoing by a political hack. After careful deliberation they chose this dim bulb as a replacement. It isn't as if they didn't have a lot of past performance on which to judge her. The problem with the Republican Party is the Republican Party.

I never agreed with anything our councilwoman Carol Alvarado said in the past but she may have been correct in her opinion of Shelly Sekula-Gibbs.

[NeoCaveman]

Shortest. Career. Ever.