Harris County-Houston Sports Authority chairman J. Kent Friedman is stepping down, he confirmed to the Chronicle on Friday morning.
Mayor John Whitmire requested Friedman be replaced by Juan C. Garcia as chair, according to city council agenda documents. Garcia’s confirmation will come before Houston City Council on Wednesday.
Friedman presided as chair over the organization, which is in charge of financing the city’s professional sports stadiums and protecting city and county credit ratings, since 2003.
Friedman said he will step down sometime next week, but did not offer more details about his exit. A spokesperson for the sports authority referred questions about Friedman’s departure to City Hall.
All the sports authority’s board of directors members are appointed by city and county leaders. Garcia’s confirmation will also have to be passed by Harris County Commissioners Court, according to council agenda documents.
Garcia’s appointment will come before the commissioners Tuesday, according to agenda documents.
Garcia, a lawyer, is also extensively involved in RODEOHouston. He has served the organization as an executive committee member, board of director member, risk management committee member and lifetime president, according to a copy of his resume provided by Whitmire’s office.
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Friedman’s exit from the organization marks another high profile departure in recent weeks. The Board of Directors recently moved to fire longtime CEO Janis Burke, who led the organization for 18 years, after she came under fire for transparency and facility maintenance concerns by Whitmire and other top sports executives.
Burke’s interim replacement is Chris Canetti, who serves as the World Cup host committee president. The sports authority board plans to gather a committee to hunt for a permanent CEO.
See here for the background. Friedman’s one of those guys who feels like he’s been around since the Allen Brothers, but I suppose all things do eventually come to an end. I remain agnostic about the personnel changes and curious about the original motivation for canning Janis Burke. Still waiting for someone to speak out of turn about that one.