In a special joint session of the Harris County Commissioners Court and Houston City Council, elected officials praised Ric Campo and voted unanimously to reappoint him to chair the Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority.
The seven Port Commissioners are Harris County residents who serve two-year terms without pay and may serve up to 12 years. The commissioners are responsible for setting policy and providing guidance for staff.
Campo’s reappointment comes amid a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against his Houston-based landlord company, Camden Property Trust. Camden is one of six companies recently accused by the Biden Justice Department of allegedly coordinating with competitors by sharing information about pricing strategies and using pricing algorithms that resulted in inflated prices for millions of renters.
“While Americans across the country struggled to afford housing, the landlords named in today’s lawsuit shared sensitive information about rental prices and used algorithms to coordinate to keep the price of rent high,” wrote Acting Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.
The DOJ lawsuit against Camden is part of a larger antitrust lawsuit against property management software company RealPage. The company provided a service to landlords that helped them set rent prices and optimize revenue from their properties.
The DOJ alleges that RealPage’s pricing algorithms violate antitrust laws because competing landlords share nonpublic, competitively sensitive information with RealPage which is then used by its algorithms to suggest pricing strategies to landlords that would otherwise compete in a free market.
Camden Property Trust released a statement disagreeing with these allegations and promised to vigorously defend itself against the DOJ claims.
“Rental rates are a result of many factors, most importantly government regulations limiting housing supply. When supply is limited by government regulations, rents go up. Camden is committed to doing its part in expanding the nation’s housing supply,” wrote Senior Vice President of Investor Relations Kim Callahan.
Campo’s reappointment was met with praise from Houston and Harris County officials despite the DOJ allegations.
Both Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo expressed strong support for Campo.
“I have confidence in Ric Campos’ leadership to continue to move the Port forward and represent all our communities. As chairman, he will foster collaboration between the city and the county. He understands the importance of collaboration, economic development, and having everyone at the table, especially the communities bordering the Port,” said Whitmire.
Campo’s leadership on Project 11 has been praised by local leaders. The project is set to expand the Houston ship channel to add capacity and increase safety. It is reportedly on budget and schedule.
“The Port of Houston just closed out one of its most successful years to date, and that’s a huge testament to the hard work of everyone on the Port Commission and the Pilot Commissions, but especially Ric Campo and Frances Castañeda Dyess,” said Hidalgo.
Ric Campo is the CEO of Camden Property Trust and serves on the Board of Directors of the Houston Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
The Port of Houston declined to comment and Campo did not respond before publication.