Subpoenas issued in vaccine outreach bid
Harris County leaders could face a grand jury over the now-canceled $11 million contract
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office has issued subpoenas seeking records related to the award of an $11 million contract for COVID-19 vaccine outreach services, Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said.
County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle declined to confirm they, too, had received subpoenas. Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey’s office staff said they were unaware of any.
Garcia issued a statement saying his office was in the process of gathering all information requested.
“We will continue to cooperate and pledge full transparency in this matter, as we do in everything,” Garcia said.
The offices of the district attorney and county attorney also declined to comment. Prosecutors typically issue subpoenas while preparing a case to present to a grand jury, which determines whether sufficient evidence exists to bring a criminal charge.
The since-canceled contract has been the subject of controversy since shortly after it was awarded in June.
It sprang from a desire of Hidalgo’s to improve Harris County’s vaccination rate, especially among hard-to-reach populations that are disproportionately poor, lack health care and have limited English language skills.
Her office in March convened a procurement committee that included three members of her staff and two from the county health department to evaluate proposals for a vaccine outreach program.
Including staff from political offices on procurement committees is uncommon, though Hidalgo’s spokesman said the arrangement was proper, given how involved the county judge has been in directing the government’s response to the pandemic.
The committee scored four submitted proposals using criteria that included management experience and plans to canvass neighborhoods. UT Health Sci
ence Center placed first with a bid of $7.5 million, followed by Elevate Strategies, with a bid of $19.3 million. The two other vendors received far lower scores.
Following an interview stage with the two top bidders, the committee selected Elevate Strategies as the winner.
Rafael Lemaitre, Hidalgo’s spokesman, said the committee worried the UT Health proposal was insufficiently ambitious. He said in contrast, Elevate impressed the group with its doorknocking proposal.
The contract required Elevate to launch a digital advertising effort, as well as hire dozens of canvassers to run the door-to-door campaign. It was to include text messaging and direct mail outreach efforts.
Commissioners Court approved the contract on a 4-1 vote in June, with Cagle the lone dissenter.
Weeks later, Ramsey and Cagle, the lone Republicans on the court, seized on the contract as evidence of corruption, noting their staffs had not been included on the selection committee. They said they were particularly troubled that Elevate Strategies had a small staff and would have to expand quickly to be able to manage the vaccine outreach effort.
The pair also pointed out that Felicity Pereyra, the head of Elevate Strategies, had assisted the 2015 Houston mayoral campaign of Democrat Adrian Garcia, the current Precinct 2 commissioner, and worked on Democrat Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Garcia said he had no involvement in awarding the contract and was unaware of Pereyra’s connection until afterward.
The criticism came to head during an August meeting when Hidalgo accused Cagle of lying about the contract, prompting a heated exchange in which Cagle slammed the dais and Hidalgo asserted she was more ethical than her Republican colleagues, citing their reliance on political contributions from county vendors.
“Spare me the outrage,” Hidalgo said then. “Bring it on, y’all. Because there is nothing here other than an appropriate COVID response and someone who has gone to lengths to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
Commissioners Court canceled the contract in September at the request of Hidalgo, who said it had become political. She maintained there was nothing improper, and said Republicans had helped spread conspiracy theories about the plan.