Who is funding the Mexican MAGAt in Deer Park?

March 4, 2024

That’s Bianca Gracia meeting with Enrique Tarrio, head of the Proud Boys and Stewart Rhodes head of the Oath Keepers the day before the Jan 6 riot. Tarrio and Rhodes were convicted of seditious conspiracy against the United States by a unanimous vote by a jury. They are each serving over 20 years in prison.

Gracia is running for the Texas House against State Representative “Little Baby” Briscoe Cain, of Deer Park, pictured below with his mom and younger siblings. Cain was one of those republicans who voted to impeach Ken Paxton and has little if any accomplishments to brag about but as the Houston Chronicle has said:

We’re no fans of state Rep. Briscoe Cain and his botched attempt to lead the passage of a voter suppression bill, but we’ll take his buffoonery and occasional principled stand over the far edges of extremism. 

So who is funding Gracia? Since filing Gracia has raised over $173,000 which is nothing to sneeze at. $105,000 came from those giving $5,000 or more. Patrick Byrne of Utah and former CEO of Overstock, gave her $25,000. Over $100,000 came from out of state. Only $11,000 came from within Deer Park.

You can see her top donor below.

Contributor NameAmountCityState
Byrne ,Patrick25,000.00Park CityUT
Ebarb ,Travis12,000.00las vegasNV
Fromme ,Kellye10,000.00HudsonWI
The Trafalgar Group LLC8,500.00WilmingtonDE
Defiant Projects5,000.00ConroeTX
Moore ,Danny5,000.00Cripple CreekCO
Jackson ,Larry5,000.00CrosbyTX
Paolini ,Vivian5,000.00Deer ParkTX
Garza ,Lazaro5,000.00HebbronvilleTX
Pinedo ,Socorro5,000.00HesperiaCA
Elswick ,Roger5,000.00HoustonTX
Ebarb ,Travis5,000.00las vegasNV
Integrated Digital Strategies 5,000.00OrlandoFL
Integrated Digital Strategies 5,000.00OrlandoFL

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Posted by johncoby

Raising Campaign Cash: CCISD Elections

March 4, 2024

CCISD Trustee elections for District 4 will be held on May 4, 2024. Candidates should raise money from within the district and refuse all PAC money.

Over the last couple of years school districts across the State have been flooded with out of district, special interest, PAC money. It used to be a school board election would cost about $2000 and a few signs. That has changed. In Keller ISD Patriot Mobile PAC spent $150,000 to elect three white wing MAGAts to the board. One has since resigned and one will soon. CCISD has had it’s own infusion of PAC money.

In 2023 Defend Texas Liberty, a PAC that has since become irrelevant due to their association with a known white supremacist, financed Peter Lauzon’s campaign with a $5000 donation. They attempted to donate to another candidate but she refused their donation. They donated $2000 to Trustee Scott Bowen who has refused to return it. Harris County Republican Party has also donated by sending out mailers.

School Board elections should be about three things and three things only, Students, Teachers, and Parents. Nothing else. This years election should be local. Candidates should pledge the following:

  • Will not accept PAC money
  • Will not accept out of district donations
  • Will not accept in-kind donations from partisan organizations
  • Will not self finance their campaigns

Trustee Jeff Larson and Albert Wittliff should both take this pledge. Raise money from within the district, from your neighbors, parents and teachers. Out of district influence must stop. This is our school district. We do not need meddling from white supremacist organizations or any political organizations in our elections.

You can find campaign finance reports for both candidates at the CCISD Elections webpage. Both candidates start the campaign with little or no funds. First reports are due April 5.

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Posted by johncoby

Billionaire meddling in Harris County DA race

March 1, 2024

Finally! Both sides are doing it. Sort of.

Harris County DA Kim Ogg has criticized her primary challenger for taking support from the republican boogey man, George Soros. Before all you republican bed wetters start whining like a bunch of little bitches, just remember your own two billionaires, Timothy Dunn and Farris Wilks, have pumped nearly $4 Million into primary races in just the last two months. So, yes, both sides are doing it. Sort of.

The Texas Justice and Public Safety PAC since 2018 has raised over $8 Million. $7.8 Million was donated by George Soros. The PAC has spent $9,717,012 with $1.6 Million spent in support of DA candidate Sean Teare. That is a HUGE amount to be spending in a DA race, but before all you Democratic bed wetters start whining just remember Soros spent $500,000 to get Ogg elected in 2016. Soros has since soured on Ogg and is looking for the next far left “progressive”. I think we will be disappointed once Teare is elected.

Teare isn’t the only DAs race Soros is supporting. He gave to candidates in Travis, Bexar, Dallas, Tarrant, and Fort Bend. I wonder if he will continue contributing during the general election.

CandidateAmountCounty
Joe Gonzales$2,500,000Bexar
Sean Teare$1,600,000Harris
John Creuzot$962,000Dallas
Albert Roberts$788,139Tarrant
Brian Middleton$623,000Fort Bend
Jose Garza$525,821Travis

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Posted by johncoby

Raising Campaign Cash: Jimmy Fullen Feb 26 report

February 29, 2024

Lots of donations…..from just a few people.

In his report, dated February 26, Fullen raised $181,570, spent $159,757, has $78,469 Cash On Hand, and has loans totaling $71,559.

His $100,000 personal loan has been removed with no evidence of it actually being loaned to his campaign or paid.

Of the $181,570 $159,059 came from 9 donors. You can view his entire report here. Below are his top donors:

Donations
DonorAmountLocation
Sullivan Bothers$10,000Galveston
Jerry Caoon$5,000Houston
Bret Griffin$5,000Houston
Kevin Teichman$5,000Friendswood
Russell Ybarra$8,000Houston
Mayes Middleton$5,000Galveston
Tilman Fertita$25,000Houston
Mark Henry$24,500Galveston
$87,500
Loans
Mark Henry$24,059
Jimmy Fullen$47,500
$71,559

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Posted by johncoby

Update on the white supremacist PAC spending

February 27, 2024

They are still around.

I recently wrote about the two Texas billionaires, Timothy Dunn and Farris Wilks, who funded Defend Texas Liberty. DFT leadership was caught having a long meeting with Nick Fuentes, a known white supremacist. The backlash was brutal with calls for elected officials and candidates, including CCISD Trustee Scott Bowen, to return their contributions. The leader of DTL was fired and he changed his company’s name. DTL’s donations have dried up.

Dunn and Farris worked quickly to defund DTL and start up a new PAC called Texans United for a Conservative Majority PAC. It was formed in late 2023 and has raised, sort of, a couple of million. So far they have raised $3,928,000 with $3,740,000 coming from Wilks and Dunn and $188,000 coming from a few wannabes.

They have spent $3,300,162 trying to influence the republican primary. Here are the candidates they are supporting and the amounts they are contributing. This list includes Katrina Pierson the Trump kiss ass and Shelley Luther who lost in 2020 and 2022. She was the hairdresser, who violated the COVID restrictions, turned politician. David Covey is challenging Speaker of the House Dade Phelan. Brent Money has already lost a special election.

CandidateAmountChallenging
Andy Hopper$230,000 Lynn Stucky
David Covey$225,000 Dade Phelan
Kyle Biedermann$150,000 Dwain Handley
Mitch Little$145,000 Kronda Thimesch
David Lowe$125,000 Stephanie Klick
Katrina Pierson$115,000 Dennis London
Shelley Luther$110,000 Reggie Smith
Brent Money$85,000 Open Seat (Lost)
Marc LaHood$85,000 Shekhar sinha
Matt Morgan$50,000 Jacey Jetton
John T Perez$50,000 Mano Deayala
Wes Virdell$50,000 Open Seat
Wernick$25,000 Morgan Meyer
Helen Kerwin$15,000
Cheryl Bean$10,000 Open Seat
Joe McDaniel$10,000 
Tom Glass$10,000 
Hillary Hickland$5,000 
Janis Holt$5,000 
Stormy Bradley$5,000 
Liz Case$2,500 

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Raising Campaign Cash: Jimmy Fullen February Report

February 18, 2024

This is interesting.

In his February report Fullen reported raising $32,000 in unitemized donations. That in itself is, at first, disturbing but it looks like only a clerical error. He raised $47,115 in itemized donations, $10,000 coming from Mayor Nick Long and $10,000 coming from Tony Buzbee the guy who got trampled in the race for Houston Mayor and City Council.

Fullen reported another personal loan of $32,000 (are reported it as unitemized donations). His $100,000 personal loan that was reported in his Jan report is no longer listed or having been paid off. As I mentioned the Ethics Commission frowns on padding your campaign account with fake donations or loans. We will see what happens in the near future. If you are going to be enforcing the law you should be required to follow the law. And if you are going to be responsible for a city’s financial well being you should be responsible for your own financial well being. But I digress.

His biggest donors are listed below. Of the $47,000 raised, $37,000 came from 4 individuals. $32,000 is from out of the county. His report can be reviewed here.

DonorAmountLocation
Jason Rabalais$12,000Crosby
Nick Long$10,000League City
Tony Buzbee$10,000Houston
Scott Rice$5,000Houston
$37,000

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Posted by johncoby

League City Personal Finance Statements are due

February 16, 2024

This might be interesting.

I have looked at hundreds of campaign finance reports but I have never reviewed a Personal Finance Statement (PFS). Last year the Republican controlled Legislature passed a bill requiring all elected officials in cities with a population of over 100,000 to file a PFS. This caused a member of the League City Council, John Bowen, to resign. A special election for his replacement is ongoing. For everyone else, including candidates, their reports are due and will be controlled by the City Secretary.

If you are interested in what an official has to disclose you can review the guidance for disclosure at the Texas Municipal League’s website. In short:

If you are interested, the PFS form can be found on the Texas Ethics Commission website. Here is a sample. Happy hunting!

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Posted by johncoby

Disturbing endorsements in the Harris County DA’s race

February 15, 2024

The Houston Chronicle listed the endorsements of the two leading candidates in the Harris County District Attorneys race.

It’s the who’s who of who’s who and the who’s who of who’s that? Some of these endorsements can be disturbing to some, for instance DA Ogg is endorsed by the C Club. The C stands for Conservative or Confusing. They are proud of their support by Michael “Hit and Run” Berry the local white wing, loud mouth, talk show host who was caught in a gay bar, on camera. The Texas Observer has a great article on what happened:

According to the bouncer at T.C.’s Show Bar in Montrose, Michael Berry left the club, where he was attending as a patron, at 11:00 PM on January 31. The bouncer, Tuderia Bennett, said Berry drove in reverse for 70 feet, hit Bennett’s car, and drove away. 

But I digress…..If the C Club is actually a fiscal conservative club then they have endorsed some pretty good candidates such as Mayor Whitmire. If the C is for Confusing then they are spot on in their support of Council Member Willie Davis who was the least qualified to run for City Council. The Chronicle lists the C Club as endorsing Kim Ogg. I’m not sure how to address this.

Ogg’s other endorsements include the Who’s Who of law enforcement including members of the Houston Police Union who have recently endorsed some pretty good candidates. She has the endorsement of Mayor Annie Parker, and others including:

Ogg has collected several endorsements from members of the law enforcement community, including Harris County Afro-American Sheriff’s Deputies League, Houston Police Officers’ Union Executive Director Ray Hunt, HPOU President Doug Griffith, Pct. 3 Constable Sherman Eagleton, Pct. 2 Constable Jerry Garcia, former Harris County Sheriff’s Office Captain Frank Stilley, former HCSO Major Greg Summerlin and former Houston Police Department Chief C.O. “Brad” Bradford. 

Sean Teare, on the other hand, has the endorsement of the Who’s Who of Who’s That? The list includes various Democratic clubs and little known organizations. Texas Organizing Project, an organization that provides great ground work for candidates, has endorsed Teare but lately they have endorsed extreme left candidates and has been financed by known socialists. I don’t think Teare is an extreme anything. He is well qualified for the job. He has great experience. From the Chronicle:

He’s also been endorsed by Area 5 Democrats, NAKASEC Action Fund Texas, the Women’s Association of Lawyers, Houston Black American Democrats, the Working Families Party and Harris County Tejano Dems.

Working Families Party is a far left, socialist group. Like the C Club I wouldn’t put too much into their endorsement. I had to google NAKASEC. Teare is also endorsed by a number of elected officials including Judge Hidalgo, Commissioner Rodney Ellis, State Representative Gene Wu.

For the record I have been pretty clear about who I would support. DA Ogg has been in office for 7 years. She seems to have an ongoing feud with Judge Hidalgo. She has every right and duty to investigate the situation with the COVID contract but it’s the way she has handled the situation. It’s divisive. It’s troubling. The cooperation between the DAs office and Commissioners Court has to get better.

Bu then again maybe I just need to chill out with a cold Bud Light and Michael Berry.

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Posted by johncoby

Raising Campaign Cash: Jimmy Fullen

February 10, 2024

I became interested in the race for Sheriff after reading Costa Loca’s Facebook page about Fullen’s interesting career.

In his January 2023 campaign finance report Fullen raised $200,905, spent $81,337, has $204,713 Cash On Hand. He received $27,000 in in-kind donations. He also has a $100,000 personal loan making up 50% of his total fundraising.

At first look he has a strong report even without the padding of a personal loan but in this January report Galveston County Commissioners Joe Giusri and Darrell Apffel gave $25,000 each to Fullen making up half of his individuals donations. Unlike League City Nick Long, most of Fullen’s donations came from within the county. Nick Long donated $1533 for mailers, something he probably didn’t report on his own campaign finance report.

In his July 2023 report he raised $115,550, spent $142,764 and had $59,142 Cash on Hand. The math doesn’t add up and his $100,000 personal loan is no longer listed and his campaign does not show the loan being repaid. One thing you can’t do is artificially pad your campaign finance report by reporting a $100,000 loan that you never made then magically take it off. The Ethics Commission really frowns on this. Not only is it extremely dishonest it is against the Ethics rules.

Maybe there is a simple explanation. You can find Galveston County campaign reports here. Fullen’s Jan and July reports are here and here.

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It’s F***ing Friday: No one likes a kiss ass.

February 9, 2024

Except for republicans.

Apple-polisher, ass-kisser, back scratcher, backslapper, bootlicker, brown-nose, fawner, flatterer, flunky, kowtower, lackey, minion, teacher’s pet, yes-person, Ted Cruz.

It truly is embarrassing watching republicans kiss Donald Trump’s fat ass. I’m talking about elected officials as well as those who support the elected officials. The latest display of passionate boot licking was from Senator Tim Scott who endorsed Trump after the New Hampshire primary. If you listen closely you can hear someone in the audience yell “Suck his dick why don’t you!”.

Actually that didn’t happen but damn if I was there I would have yelled it. No one likes a kiss ass except for Republicans. Sweet Holy Moses!!!! They enjoy brown nosing just like Ted Cruz bowing to Donald Trump after Trump called his wife an ugly bitch. If Trump had said that to a Mexican American he would have had his ass kicked, not licked. Ted Cruz made it cool to be a kiss ass and wow Republicans are a really cool party!

Trump needs more ass kissers like Greg Abbott. He is the right height for the job. Everyone else, do your self a favor and buy a pair of knee pads.

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Posted by johncoby

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