Lisa Chambers, you’ll recall, used to be the director of Dallas County’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management office — until she was fired. Chambers says she was canned after she refused a request from county administrator Darryl Martin to run counter surveillance on the FBI. Today, though, County Judge Clay Jenkins said he fired her because, among other reasons, she drinks too much. Or at least she drank too much on one occasion. According to the Morning News account of the Commissioners Court meeting:
[Jenkins] said he was concerned about the amount of alcohol Chambers drank at a July 4 event in which she almost passed out. … He said she “fell onto” his father-in-law and had trouble maintaining her balance. “I personally watched her consume large amounts of alcohol,” Jenkins said, noting that those who wish to cause chaos often target holidays. “She and I have to remain vigilant and capable at all times.”
I asked Chambers about this July 4 event. She says she hosted a going-away party for a friend at the Sports Club at Four Seasons. She invited other county employees, including Jenkins and county spokeswoman Maria Arita, who Chambers says brought a case of wine to the party and was also drunk. “I had too much to drink. Definitely,” Chambers says. But she had a room at the hotel and wasn’t driving around.
So what are we talking about here? Does Chambers have a drinking problem, something that would compromise her ability to do her job? Or did she just overserve herself one night and fall on Jenkins’ father-in-law, thereby giving Jenkins and the other John Wiley Price loyalists some great ammunition? As in: “Heck, no, I didn’t fire her because she said it was inappropriate to run counter surveillance on the FBI. I fired her because she’s a drunk!” All I can tell you is this: I have twice (that I can recall) had drinks with Chambers in a social setting. It was after work. I wasn’t counting, but I’d guess she had two beers on each occasion. I didn’t see someone who had trouble regulating how much she drank. (And, yes, I know what’s about to happen in the comments.)
One more thing. Chambers says that her boss is a drinker, too. And, yes, Jenkins sometimes overserves himself.
“When the relationship was good, he would call me all the time,” Chambers says. “He would call me late at night, and the conversation would go like this –” at which point she makes noises that sound like Chewbacca. “I have had conversations with him in the evening where he was just slurring his words. There were times when I talked to him and I didn’t feel like he was 100 percent there. There were some ideas given to me over the phone late at night, and they didn’t even make sense.”
16 comments
After overserving myself, I often come up with late night ideas that allegedly don’t make sense — those usually end up with me sleeping on the couch and the kids waking me up the next morning while asking what I did to make mommy unhappy with me again.
Dear God.
One of the complaints Jenkins made (according to the WFAA story I saw last night) was that some of her work related emails were made in the wee hours of the morning. Is this really a valid complaint? I constantly send work emails late at night because I’m actually working very late at night. Maybe it doesn’t work that way in the world of the government employee I suppose. I don’t have any opinion of Chambers one way or another, but the reasons for firing her come across as someone looking for an excuse, any excuse.
Let’s be honest. In a world where John Wiley Price and Jenkins have power…a good person would have to drink.
Lisa Chambers would have to have a visit from Human Resources about any excess alcohol consumption with a first warning. One party county government is bad whether Democrat or Republican.
This guy is a DOUCHE! Bet me he goes to First Baptist! I think he has handled himself, extremely inappropriately . What is wrong with him, to use name calling, OMG now we got him and JWP !!! Lord help us all!!
These people ALL need to shut up. Now. It gets sillier each time they open their mouths. The county commissioners meeting today was horrendous. Someone once told me that life is really just high school all over again. I contend that it’s more like junior high after witnessing this craziness.
I beg the OCCUPIERS to camp out at city hall and get rid of Jenkins and Price. Please, pretty please.
All of you who wrote condemning the Price/Jenkins debacle – let’s go picket the place. Let’s take our city back!!!
County Commissioners do not meet at City Hall.
I believe that what the media should take away from this is that Jenkins can fulfill a FOIA request in no time at all. When he wants to. If I were the suspicious type, I’d suspect a cover-up any time he hems, haws and delays on such a request.
I couldn’t believe the unprofessionalism at the Commissioner’s meeting. (okay, I CAN believe it, but still)
For a County Commissioner to denigrate a former employee in public like that is beyond anything a government official or private business person should do. If that’s not reason for some kind of lawsuit, I don’t know what is.
It was nice to see Maureen Dickey stand up to Jenkins, though.
If Jenkins thinks he is going to win a PR battle with Lisa Chambers, he is sadly mistaken. He has already proven time and time again that he is totally incompetent in front of a microphone and camera, while she seems quite capable of basically eviscerating anyone in her path.
I would LOVE to see her go after Thompson and JWP – I get the distinct feeling she would relish getting into a “discussion” with JWP on camera. Her calmness and affability would probably make his head explode.
@Long Memory has it right: It’s AMAZING how quickly these goofballs can pull up documents when they want to, but they haven’t as been able to find those missing generators, have they?
“…those that wish to cause chaos often target holidays”.
Correct. They are members of my family.
I am sick and tired of the mess in Dallas County, as people sit and occupy City Hall, politicians bicker at the County Commissioners office, the world is moving forward. Its about time we stop the mudslinging and get down to the real issues, the economy, people want jobs and a clear concise stand on immigration reform, etc. Yes the mess at Dallas County disgust me, it also frightens me that we live in a state with two former presidents that engaged in wars. Is Dallas County ready for a terrorist attack? NO, we were not even ready for the Superbowl Snow storm. I do not care if someone was fired because of drunkeness, I want to know what will happen in a natural and man-made disaster….taxpayers whether red or blue need to clean house and reevaluate who is representing us. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
Chef Tonne,
Put your head on your knees. Put your head on your hands. Put your hands over your eyes. Put your hands on your head. Put your hands on your hips. (Heh heh.) We are going down. We are all going down, together.
You know, I’ve got a funny feeling I’ve seen this all before.
Why? Because I’m a caveman.
Why? Because I’ve got eyes in the back of my head.
Why? It’s the heat.
If anyone is old enough to remember Mortimer Snerd, whom Jenkins resembles, you would have your answer.