HOUSTON – A high-profile witness took the stand Monday in Houston's controversial Equal Rights Ordinance trial.
Mayor Annise Parker testified earlierMonday and then held a news conference. The mayor did not call her testimony Monday a waste of time, but she did wonder why she was called to testify, explaining that she wasn't actually asked any questions about things she did.
The plaintiffs are suing the city claiming they wrongly invalidated thousands of signatures from people who signed a petition to get the controversial HERO on the ballot.
The plaintiffs claim they had 31,000 verified signatures. But the city says there were only 5,000.
A little more than 17,000 were needed to force a referendum to repeal the measure.
It was the duty of the city secretary to validate those signatures. She is up next on the witness stand as the trial continues.
Last week, Parker spoke on opposition for the ordinance at a City Council meeting.
"Nothing in the ordinance, nothing in the ordinance in any way allows anyone to break the law or to somehow stalk and attack women," she said. "That is just absolutely absurd."
The trial began on Jan. 20.