EUB member: Zheng the Kliff Kingsbury of LP&L

In response to accusations of racism, an Electric Utility Board member told a group of Texas Tech faculty that, as the public face of Lubbock Power & Light, embattled director Gary Zheng must be held to a higher standard.

Comparing Zheng's position within LP&L to football coach Kliff Kingsbury's position with Tech, EUB member Charlie Dunn maintained that the scrutiny of the CEO's employment was not racially charged.

Dunn's statements came after the TTU Chinese Faculty and Staff Association sent an open letter - authored by President Daan Liang and including more than 50 signatures - to Lubbock Mayor Glen Robertson, stating they "have been deeply troubled by the series of events revolving around Dr. Gary Zheng."

The letter goes on to state that at no point has any corruption or criminal activity on Zheng's part been proven, yet Robertson has continued to say Zheng should be fired.

"It dawned on us that you first assumed Dr. Zheng to be guilty and then started fishing for evidence," the letter reads. "As no evidence can be found, you just want to have Dr. Zheng fired on the basis of your own allegations."

The letter then compares Robertson's actions to the "McCarthyist-style 'witch hunt' " against Wen Ho Lee, a former nuclear scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, who was accused in the media of being a Chinese spy.

Zheng said he did not encourage the association to send the letter.

"My sole focus is working with the Electric Utility Board, my staff at LP&L, the mayor and City Council of Lubbock and all interested stakeholders in this community to tackle the very real challenges before us," he said in an email. "I am appreciative of anyone's support but it is important for everyone to know that I did not have any part in organizing or encouraging the letter distributed by TTU Chinese Faculty and Chinese American community of Lubbock."

Robertson, in an email to Liang that was copied to A-J Media, declined to comment on Zheng's employment but also said he was bothered by this becoming about race instead of job performance.

"This issue is much bigger than Gary or myself," he wrote. "... It has nothing to do with anybody's ethnic background, only the ability to perform job duties."

In an interview with A-J Media, the mayor noted Zheng's race was never an issue until it was brought up by an organization "created along racial lines."

When asked if he still believed Zheng's employment should have been terminated last fall, Robertson declined to comment, citing litigation threats against himself and the city.

"My first job is fiduciary responsibility to the citizens, so from this point forward I'm going to keep any comments about Gary Zheng and his job performance to executive sessions when that is being discussed," Robertson said.

Dunn, writing only on his behalf, said since Zheng is the highest-paid city employee and runs a department with a budget of $200 million and a staff of 300, he is held responsible for LP&L's entire operation.

He then drew a comparison between Zheng and Kingsbury, who is the face of Tech football and is under heavy scrutiny for his team's performance even though he does not play football.

"My point in the illustration above is that Dr. Zheng is responsible for the performance of LP&L because of his position of leadership over it," Dunn wrote. "As such, he is subject to public criticism when LP&L falls short of providing the service that the taxpayers of Lubbock deserve. This would be the same if Dr. Zheng were not of Chinese origin."

A report released in March looking into potential bid rigging found no criminal activity in LP&L's process, though it did detail Zheng's incorrect statements regarding where LP&L got its request-for-proposal template.

Zheng initially said he did not know where the template came from, then said he had forgotten a consultant sent it to him.

At the time that report was released, Robertson told the media Zheng should have been fired the previous fall.

Robertson in his email asked the Tech group to "refrain from attempting to make this a racial issue in what appears to be preparation for future litigation."

"The only mention of race in this entire issue has been made by you and your association," Robertson's email reads. "Your attempt to divert attention from the real issues facing Lubbock and our electrical department by making racist comments and allegations is counterproductive to finding solutions to serious problems we face as a growing and vibrant city."