Bynam completes first full week as Houston interim housing director while city investigates allegations of his fired predecessor

Keith Bynam has finished his first full week as Houston's interim housing director while the city seeks a replacement for the previous department head who was fired after claiming the mayor gave millions in federal Hurricane Harvey relief money to one favored developer.

Mayor Sylvester Turner appointed Bynam to the interim job the day after firing now former Housing Director Tom McCasland, according to Houston Public Media's coverage of the controversy. Bynam previously was the department's compliance and operations deputy director.

Turner also ordered an investigation into McCasland's claims that Turner gave more than $15 million in U.S. Housing and Urban Development funds, earmarked for Hurricane Harvey damage repair, to the Huntington at Bay Area project. McCasland claimed during a Sept. 21 City Council Housing Committee meeting that Turner's decision to spend that money in one place would land the city with 274 fewer units than it would have gotten through other projects that housing officials recommended.

The company attached to the project, Harbor Venture Group, is operated by Turner’s former law partner Barry Barnes, and a partner at Barnes' firm, Jermaine Thomas.

"I'm being forced to participate in a charade that this was a competitive process when I know it was not a competitive process," McCasland said during his remarks to council members.

Turner denied any wrongdoing and fired McCasland that same afternoon.

During a press briefing later that day, Turner announced an investigation on himself. Turner told reporters that the project had been fully vetted by city officials, including McCasland, before he made his decision to award the funds to Harbor Venture Group.

"It is my understanding [that] Tom made no objections," Turner said.

When a reporter commented that "he sure did today though, didn't he?" Turner replied, "Well, which I find puzzling and let me just say this: I have stood by Tom McCasland, as you all very well know, as the director of housing over the last several years. I have stood by Tom. When Tom tendered his resignation to me last year – in the heat of the challenges with GLO [the state's General Land Office] - I said, 'I would stand by you.' I wanted to move this program forward."

Turner said he stood by McCasland then and now he found "all of this puzzling."

Turner followed up on his briefing with a press release the following week, saying the investigation was underway by the city's legal department into McCasland's claims and that his administration "works extremely hard to avoid potential conflicts of interest."

City Attorney Arturo Michel "has full authority and discretion to conduct the investigation and will have no interference from my administration or me," Turner said in his press release.