Bay Area Houston

The 8 day out report for Fort Bend United has been filed.

Raising Campaign Cash:

According to the report filed by Fort Bend United, they raised $28,836 from only 10 individuals with Sylvia Smith donating $10,000 and Amir Mireskandari donating $9000. The entire list of donors for this period of Jan 1, 2022 to Feb 22, 2022. 

Over $15,000 was donated in January yet FBU did not file a 30 day out report.

Spending Campaign Cash:

During this period FBU spent $35,300 although some were in January and should have been reported in a 30 day out report. They paid $23,800 to The Wright Touch for printing of the Voters Guide. The actual printer, according to the Union Stamp, Local Union printer #43 is Aspen Imaging DBA Signature. Probably The Wright Touch hired out the actual printing.

FBU’s report claims to be supporting various candidates such as Beto O’Rourke and others yet there are just a few expenditures for various candidates such as Lesley Briones, Sonia Rah, and Neeta Sane. The complete list of expenditures is below:

I’ve written about Fort Bend United a recently formed PAC that sent our a multi paged mailer with “recommendations” in the Democratic primary including recommending the opponents of Judge Lina Hidalgo and Commissioner Adrian Garcia, the only Latinos on the Commission.

Both Hidalgo and Garcia have swept up endorsements from legitimate organizations. Their opponents Erica Davis and Judge George Risner have received only from groups such as Houston Police Officers Union and Fort Bend United. HPOU are the guys who came out on live TV blaming Black Lives Matter for the shooting of 4 police officers during a no knock raid. It turned out to be a botched raid leading to the deaths of the two occupants, indictments of police, and dropping of many cases due to the indictments. The President, Joe Gamaldi, has since been replaced.

Ericka Davis and George Risner received their endorsement. It’s the only endorsements they have received as of today. Both have not raised the money needed to run a competitive race in November. Both have been ghosts in the Democratic Party. Both are under qualified to be the nominee.

But….Fort Bend United recommends them over the two accomplished Latinos on the Commission. Go figure.

Fort Bend United is a General Purpose Committee and registered with the Texas Ethics Commission in 2019. The Treasurer is Shapnick Khan. More on him later. FBU recently mailed a multi paged color booklet to Democratic primary voters with the title of Harris County Democratic Voters Guide. Let’s discuss…..

This booklet did NOT come from the Harris County Democratic Party. It did NOT come from the Harris County Elections Administrator. A mailer of this type requires a significant amount of money depending upon the number that was mailed. As an example a single page endorsement mailer to 16,000 voters would cost about $8000. The mailer states, as by law, it was paid for by FBU but….

According to the Texas Ethics Commission FBU has not spent any money for the entire year of 2022. FBU has raised about $67,000 since they have registered. They have spent about $50,000 with a few donations to a couple of judicial candidates. They have paid a Houston printing company about $11,000 most coming in 2020 and 2021. 

According to the mailer Absolute ColorPlex, the printer FBU has used in the past, is a Union printer but perusing their site there is no mention of their association with the Union. Maybe they used a different printer? Once again, more on this later.

There are a number of questions that remain such as who printed this mailer, how much did it cost, who paid for it, and why is a GPAC in Fort Bend County messing with Harris County Democrats.

The mailer is deceiving. It may not be illegal much like Eric Dicks famous mailer in 2019. (Note: Eric Dick is scheduled for a formal hearing at the Texas Ethics Commission in March) Here is what I think:

Much like another group which Shapnick Khan has established, FBU is probably run by one or two individuals. The recommendations for endorsement are made by these individuals without interviews or research. The goal is to make it look like a legitimate Democratic political organization is endorsing a couple of select candidates such as Erica Davis and George Risner. Pictured above is George Risner at a party by Shapnick Khan. 

More tomorrow.

During the last gerrymandering session SD15 went through some changes. I have no idea of how much bluer this district become or if it is becoming competitive. Eitherway 3 candidates are running for the seat, 2 Democrats with 1 incumbent, and 1 republican.

The incumbent, Senator John Whitmire, raised about $411,000 since July 2021. He has a Cash on Hand in the millions after serving the district for many years and frugal spending. The challenger Molly Cook raised $51,000 during the same period with $19,000 coming from her husband in the form of a $10,000 donation, and a $1000 in-kind contribution, and a personal loan of about $8000.

The republican George Brian Vachris raised enough money to pay his gas bill, about $1000. 

Pic from Fort Worth Star

With no limits on campaign donations in Texas, Greg Abbott is rolling in dough. 

From July 1, 2021 to the present, Abbott, through the Texans for Greg Abbott PAC, has raised over $20 Million. Over $5 Million came from just 53 donors ranging from $800,000 to $50,000 in donations. His largest donors are Javaid Anwar of Midland Energy for over $800,000, Bobby Cox for $500,000, Tilman Fertitta for $200,000 and Joseph Agresti for $300,000. 

Various PACs, including Wells Fargo and USAA donated considerable amounts of money. $4 Million came from out of state. The entire spreadsheet can be found here. Here is a list of his top donors for this period. Abbott has over $62 Million in Cash on Hand.