Bay Area Houston

From the Houston Chronicle

After the Texas Ethics Commission fined Eric Dick $30,000 (second highest fine in the history of the TEC) I thought that this Dick issue had been successfully exposed. I was wrong.

Looking at the financial reports for the GPAC Conservative Republicans of Texas I stumbled on two very interesting donations. C-ROT is the extreme right controlling wing of the Texas Republican Party led by Steven Hotze and Jared Woodfill. Recently they held a ConspiracyFest fundraiser based upon the Big Lie in Houston. In the 2022 Republican Primary they published an endorsement card endorsing some of the most extreme candidates for office in the party including Don Huffines, who lost, and…..Eric Dick, who also lost.

According to the financial report filed by C-ROT Eric Dick donated $25,000 in Jan of 2022 and $25,000 again in February. At the time Dick was a candidate in the Republican Primary for Harris County Treasurer. Because he was a candidate he should have reported these expenditures on his own report especially if he was paying for the privilege of being endorsed or if the funds were being used to pay for the endorsement card.  Neither of these donations were reported on his Jan or Feb financial report filed with Harris County.

What is also interesting is his incomplete report filed on 2/22/22. His report summary claims to have expended over $208,000 from his personal funds but he only documents on Schedule G, Political Expenditures from Personal Funds, $107,750 leaving over $100,000 unaccounted for. Dick should have reported all expenditures “out of an abundance of caution.”

According to Dick’s attorney the $30,000 is nothing but a political farce:

In a statement Friday, Carmona said the Feb. 24 hearing amounted to a “political farce run by a bunch of cronies and fat cats,” and said Dick has “every intention to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States.”

Let’s see what the cronies and fat cats say about this in the coming months. BTW the Commission is composed of 5 Republicans and 3 Democrats and rarely fines a candidate or an organization any substantial amount.

In a previous post about the GPAC Conservative Republicans of Texas I mentioned the $150,000 donation from the Defend Texas Liberty PAC. Here are some details about that PAC.

Raising Campaign Cash: The Defend Texas Liberty PAC was created in 2019 with Shelby Griesinger of Willow Texas as Treasurer. Over the last two years they have raised $5,701,482 from 20 donations from 11 individuals. Timothy Dunn CEO of Crownquest in Midland Texas donated $2,590,000 more than half of the complete total. Farris Wilks, owner of Wilks Brothers LLC of Cisco Texas donated a total of $2,010,000. Phillip Huffines (related to Don Huffines running for Governor?) donated $500,000 and Hindi Grimes of Houston Texas donated $221,500 The remaining $379,982 came from 7 donors. About 94% of all donations came from just 4 individuals. The entire donation list is below.

Spending Campaign Cash: During the same period the PAC spent $5,534,614. $3,600,000 was donated to the Don Huffines Campaign who ran, and lost, for Governor. $206,500 was donated to the Shelley Luther Campaign who lost in her run for the Texas House. According the Houston Chronicle Shelley “Shelley Luther, the hair salon owner who was catapulted into political stardom after being jailed for defying a pandemic lockdown order”.Direct Texas LLC received $374,181 for printing services.

Donations:

Most of the time fines by the Texas Ethics Commission are relatively low especially when the elected official or candidate can pay the fine with their campaign money. From November 2003 through September 2021 the Texas Ethics Commission issued fines totaling $1,183,990. Of that, $1,004,071 has been collected.

The largest fine has been $75,000 for Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole in June of 2009. The complaint alleged Eversole used over $204,000 of his donors money for personal items including vintage cowboy clothing, books, and memorabilia. He had to reimburse his account $41,000. 

The second largest fine was for $30,000 against Harris County Dept of Education Trustee, Eric Dick for hiding his true expenditures for his run for Houston City Council back in 2019. His fine is not in the list below because it has not been officially posted yet. As previously posted:

Eric Dick, a Trustee on the Harris County Department of Education has been fined $30,000 by the Texas Ethics Commission for his deceptive mailer supporting his run for City Council back in 2019. Dick is an attorney and the TEC has also referred him to the Texas Bar.

The top fines over $10,000 include the following. The entire list of fines can be found here.

I’m not sure how the State Bar of Texas works or how aggressive they can be towards attorneys in Texas but nevertheless this can’t be something to brag about.

The Texas Ethics Commission has the ability to refer violations of ethics laws to various organizations such as the District Attorney’s Office or the State Bar of Texas. In a letter to the State Bar the TEC has referred Eric Dick, Harris County Dept of Education Trustee for various violations concerning his recent ethics complaint. This complaint ended in a $30,000 fine. According to the letter:

In particular, the Commission would like to notify the Bar of both the conduct at issue in the sworn complaint and in Mr. Dick’s dealings with the Commission in the course of the investigation of the complaint, for which the agency can provide further information.

Greg Abbott could be the poster child for campaign finance reform. Here in Texas there are no limits to campaign contributions and it shows. According to the Texas Ethics Commission since Jan 1, 2021:

• Abbott has raised about $43,000,000. 
• $8Million coming from out of state. 
• $30Million came from 607 donors contributing $10,000 or more. 
• $19Million, nearly half of his entire total, came from just 98 donors contributing $100,000 or more.
• $250,000 came from Buc-ee’s owner Arch Aplin
• $500,000 came from Tilman Fertitta
• $5Million came from 5 donors giving $1Million each. They include:

Pic from the Houston Chronicle

It’s worse than it sounds.

Eric Dick, a Trustee on the Harris County Department of Education has been fined $30,000 by the Texas Ethics Commission for his deceptive mailer supporting his run for City Council back in 2019. Dick is an attorney and the TEC has also referred him to the Texas Bar.

Background: In 2019 an endorsement mailer was sent by the Harris County Black Democratic News (not registered with the TEC) in support of Eric Dick against Sallie Alcorn. The mailer gave the impression that prominent Black elected officials had endorsed a slate of candidates including Dick. They had not. The mailers can be viewed below. You can read the article by the Houston Chronicle here. 

“I have never been contacted by the Harris County Black Democratic News, nor am I sure that they are a legitimate news or community organization,” said state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, who is pictured on the mailer. “I did not consent to being included in the Harris County Black Democratic News and am appalled that a group would go to this extent to mislead voters.”

Last week the Commission held a formal joint hearing for Philip Bryant owner of HCBDN and Eric Dick and rendered their decision. The 60 minute video is available online here starting at 1:20:00. Select the hearing for the Texas Ethics Commission on 2/24/22. Dick was subpoenaed but did not show. The owner of the printer used by Dick was subpoenaed but did not show. Phillip Bryant, friend and client of Dick, was fined $6500 for failure to respond to the complaint among other things. He did not show either.

The Commission Staff had recommended a fine of $20,000. The Commissioners added an additional $10,000. The video is pretty damning with Dick’s attorney being asked if he had any evidence in defense of his client, Dick. He admitted he had none but used his time to ramble on with baseless allegations. (at 2:10:47 of the video)

Some of the most damning parts of the hearing was evidence that showed:

• Dick paid for the mailer but did not disclose it on his ethics report
• Dick claimed he had nothing to do with the mailer but receipts and emails between him and the printer show this was not true. 
• Dick instructed the printer to NOT include the political disclaimer “Political Ad Paid for by….”
• Dick originally claimed reported expenses of $107,000 was for “political advertising” and correctly reported on his ethics reports but then later acknowledged he never paid anyone for any services. Why would he do this?
• Dick paid a total of $107,000 to organizations the TEC could not find for example he paid $12,500 to Blaze Campaign Consulting. The TEC Staff said this entity does not exist.
• Dick may have lied to the Texas Ethics Commission (under oath?) on multiple issues

The real conservative in the race for Senate District 11 is Bob Mitchell but State Representative Money Mayes Middleton has a HUGE advantage in fundraising…..sort of.

In his January report Money Mayes reported raising $1,685,523 which is a significant amount for a competitive race but this race is not competitive and this figure is deceiving. Of the $1,685,523 raised $1,650,000 came from Money Mayes himself leaving just over $35,000 coming from political suckers or those who are trying to suck up to Mayes for favors.

Money Mayes has never needed donations. The bulk of his money for his campaigns comes from his own pocket. He spent over $2 Million for his race for State Representative which should have cost about $500,000 if the race was competitive. (it wasn’t) He is what we call filthy rich. He is rich, and he is filthy. There should be a law against this type of fundraising but more and more republican candidates are doing it such as Huffines, a billionaire, running for Governor and our own Representative Dennis Paul, although on a much smaller scale.

We are becoming like Russia where the rich rule.

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.

I don’t like former Houston City Councilman Greg Travis. His comment towards women are just gross and unbecoming of an elected official but then again, he probably voted for trump. He is a douche.

According to the Texas Ethics Commission Travis only raised $83,050 with $50,000 coming from his own pocket, $10,000 from John Poindexter and $5,000 from Tony Buzbee. (LOL). $6000 came from various PACs including $2500 from the Houston Police Officers Union.

Of the $33,050 he actually raised, $11,050 came from donors who gave $250 to $25.

From Community Impact:

The reprimand stemmed from a Dec. 29 Facebook post shared by Travis that compared Obama in a slouched pose to first lady Melania Trump sitting up straight. Travis continued, in comments that have since been taken down, by questioning Obama’s intelligence and attributing her acceptance to Harvard University to affirmative action. He also attributed Clinton’s success to her husband’s presidency rather than her own qualifications and said Harris received her position by engaging in improper romantic relationships.

And….I was mentioned.

Another caller, John Cobarruvias, who labeled himself as a conservative from Clear Lake, [LOL. I am certainly more conservative than most republicans] criticized those who defended Travis, a conservative representing the west Houston area, despite his comments.

“Racists across this country have faced no consequence for their actions, and now one has popped up on City Council,” Cobarruvias said. “This is personal to me. Unfortunately we had an individual come into my yard and make racist comments toward my neighbor. … This individual was empowered by the lack of action taken by those who had blown racist dog whistles in the past.”