HOUSTON—Months before 11 News uncovered Metro’s document-shredding scandal, the transit authority’s embattled CEO and president applied for a new job outside of Houston.
RTD, the transit authority in Denver, has confirmed that Frank Wilson applied for a job as the head of the transit authority there late last year. His application was presented to a board of directors in Denver but it was eventually denied.
Still, his job application has community leaders here questioning if Wilson had planned to leave Houston even before a recent series of scandals broke.
Wilson has more than two years left on his contract with Metro, a contract that pays him more than $300,000 a year.
"We need someone that’s focused on Houston, not someone who’s off looking for another job in another city," former Houston City Council member Peter Brown said. Brown, who has shown a longtime interest in transit issues in Houston, said this is just the latest in a string of bad decisions Wilson has made.
"That’s troubling. It’s cause for real concern," Brown said. "That’s very demoralizing for the staff."
KHOU broke a series of stories that led Wilson to admit Metro employees shredded documents while he was serving as its president. While Wilson denied ordering the shredding, the stories prompted an ongoing criminal investigation, allegations Wilson used public money to further an "improper" relationship with a female staffer, and calls for him to be fired by Houston Mayor Annise Parker.
Parker reinforced her full support for expanding rail in Houston and has traveled to Washington D.C. to communicate that message to federal officials. She also said she plans to install five new board members at Metro by the end of the week. They are expected to oversee a management overhaul.
If that overhaul includes firing Wilson, it could become an expensive proposition for taxpayers. If his contract is terminated before 2012 and the firing is not "for cause," it could trigger a pricy escape clause Wilson negotiated into his most recent contract.
The clause includes an automatic two years worth of salary (more than $600,000 in total), an agreement to move his family to any city in the United States, automatic qualification for a pension and payments of $40,000 a year for the rest of his life, which would begin when he reaches retirement age.
If Metro terminates his contract "for cause," those provisions do not become effective.
We asked Metro and Wilson for a response. A Metro spokesperson said in a statement "Wilson receives three to four overtures a year from recruiters about opportunities in other cities. Mr. Wilson has a commitment to Houston Metro and plans to fulfill it."
