07:19 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 24, 2006

By Doug Miller / 11 News

Click to watch video

Another week another argument, another delay.  Houston City Council postponed voting on a contract for a day labor site.

11 News took a looked back at one councilmember’s voting record on day labor sites.

With day laborers hanging out on Houston streets, the city government decided years ago to spend federal funds on day labor sites.

And the contracts have sailed through city council.  But not this year with immigration being such a white hot national political controversy.

“You know, the last time we voted on this, I don’t remember such lively and long debate,” said Houston City Councilmember Carol Alvarado.

“It is not a matter of being prejudiced or trying to discriminate.  It is a matter of law,” said Houston City Councilmember Addie Wiseman.

Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, who is running for Congress, is one of the city council members who spoke out against a day labor site.

City records indicate that in 2004, she voted for a $90,000 contract for the very same day labor site now on the council agenda.

“It hasn’t worked,” said Houston City Councilmember Shelley Sekula-Gibbs.  “Citizens are still complaining that laborers are still congregating in lots of different places around the city.  It has not been effective.  We can’t keep supporting failed programs.  And this is truly a failed program.”

“It’s politics,” Alvarado said.  “You have council members looking for the next position to run for and it’s purely political.  That’s one of the problems with term limits.”

Gibbs said that is just not true and that even if she weren’t running for Congress she would now vote against day labor sites. 

Interesting what you find when you look back at the record.  A couple of years ago, Sekula-Gibbs herself accused another council member of basically pandering on immigration, which is what some of her colleagues claim she is doing now.

Maybe you remember it Mark Ellis who was then a council member was running for state Senate and illegal immigration was a hot issue.

He proposed changing a police department policy on illegal immigrants.

Check out what Sekula-Gibbs told the Houston Chronicle:  “It’s a political stunt ... If he was really interested in this subject, he would have started this before now.”  That was last November.

This November, she hopes to run for Congress and next week she plans to vote against the day labor site that she previously supported.