Scott Stroud: Hartman's Mirasol probe role may affect possible mayoral bid When Mayor Phil Hardberger touted homebuilder Gordon Hartman for the Mirasol Task Force back in the spring, it looked to some City Hall insiders like he might be anointing his successor as mayor. But what if Scarnato turns out to have been an honest broker? What if he found so many problems with the homes' original construction that the effort to make them inhabitable threatened to break the bank of the San Antonio Housing Authority?... A former homebuilder — emphasis on former, since some people around here see that as the devil's work — he has a natural, well-heeled constituency for bankrolling a bid for the mayor's office.

Scott Stroud: Hartman's Mirasol probe role may affect possible mayoral bid
10/12/2007 San Antonio Express-News 

When Mayor Phil Hardberger touted homebuilder Gordon Hartman for the Mirasol Task Force back in the spring, it looked to some City Hall insiders like he might be anointing his successor as mayor.

Now, though, any thank you that might be forthcoming from Hartman might be laced with sarcasm.

This week, Hartman, the task force chairman, accepted the resignation of Tony Scarnato, the architect who had been overseeing repairs at the troubled West Side housing project on behalf of the task force. Hartman also abruptly canceled Wednesday's meeting.

The reasons given for Scarnato's resignation were mysterious, although there were complaints that he wasn't working fast enough for what he was charging. It also wasn't clear whether Hartman asked him to step down, though Scarnato, in his resignation letter, said the decision was reached "by mutual consent."

Ironically, when the task force was put together, some Mirasol residents suspected that the deck was being stacked against them.

But what if Scarnato turns out to have been an honest broker? What if he found so many problems with the homes' original construction that the effort to make them inhabitable threatened to break the bank of the San Antonio Housing Authority?

I'm not sure that's what happened. It remains, as they say, to be seen. I hope the real reasons behind Scarnato's resignation become clear fairly soon, but there's no guarantee that will happen.

In the course of his work for the task force, Scarnato did seem to be winning the trust of residents. His efforts to investigate water damage and other construction irregularities appeared to be turning up significant problems.

But now Hartman finds himself with a different kind of problem. He must find an honest broker as a replacement. Limiting the investigation's scope in any significant way would raise suspicions that he never wanted to know what went wrong when the houses were built.

It's funny — except maybe to Hartman — to think about where he might be if he hadn't answered Hardberger's call.

A former homebuilder — emphasis on former, since some people around here see that as the devil's work — he has a natural, well-heeled constituency for bankrolling a bid for the mayor's office.

He occupied his time by running the Gordon Hartman Foundation. Perhaps his biggest cause was building a special needs park, a cause dear to his heart because his daughter is disabled.

The foundation's work, coincidentally, has been featured in TV ads. So whether he had designs on being mayor or not, Hartman clearly was building a resume befitting a potential mayor.

Now he faces a real dilemma. He's still on the short list — well, it's growing of late — of viable candidates to be San Antonio's next mayor, but he's going to have to show real leadership to stay there.

His ongoing effort to get to the bottom of what happened to the 246 homes at Mirasol needs to be honest, thorough and fair. It needs to deliver results that, if they don't entirely satisfy residents' concerns, bring the matter to a decent conclusion.

And Hardberger — who in forming the task force managed to slip the punches that Hartman's been taking — needs to do his part to make sure the investigation doesn't turn into a whitewash.

Scott Stroud is the Express-News politics/government editor. E-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it