Bay Area Houston

League City is the gift that keeps on giving.

League City Mayor, Nick Long, has used his political action committee to stoop to new lows. It’s pretty ugly when the leader of League City is using his money to attack a sitting Council Member. Usually Mayors and other members will sit out the race in order to preserve unity and to be able to work together to move forward. Not Nick. Nick has put out misleading signs against his opponent, siting Council Member Tom Crews. He has now sent out a nasty text message. Again doing what he does best. Lying. Crews challenger has paid for and endorsed this ugliness. That is just plain ugly.

And then there is Justin “Morally Bankrupt” Hicks who can’t seem to follow the laws of the Texas Ethics Commission and who has filed for bankruptcy. This is just plain stupid. There is a robocall going around claiming Hicks is running for “Deputy Mayor”. There is no elected position of Deputy Mayor, or Assistant to the Mayor, or Vice Mayor, or Second Place Mayor, or Nick Long’s whiny bitch. It is against the laws of the Texas Ethics Commission to misrepresent the office you are running for. Studies have shown that robocalls are worthless just like Hicks, worth less. And it is just plain stupid.

With Hicks and Long the City of League City will continue to be in the news for all the wrong reasons.

What is it with Galveston County republicans running for office?

I do not know Scott Higginbotham but much like Justin Hicks he is real proud of calling himself a “Conservative” and much like Hicks he needs to learn how to follow the law. It’s not hard to do especially when filing official government documents like campaign finance reports. It really is easy. If you spend money, document the date, amount, who you paid, and what it was for. If someone donates something other than money, like the use of a facility for a fundraiser, also document it as an in-kind donation. If someone gives you anything of value, document it. And if your treasurer and wife loans you $12,000 document it and deposit the money into your campaign account.

The Ethics Commission is investigating Mayor Pro Tem Justin Hicks and Sheriff candidate Jimmy Fullen for not documenting loans to their campaigns. They are now investigating Higginbotham for not reporting an in-kind contribution from Mayor Nick Long’s PAC, the Bay Area Conservatives PAC. As noted before Higginbotham donated $5000 to Nick’s PAC but didn’t report it. In return Long gave $5000 to Parabellum Media LLC in support of Higginbotham. He didn’t report that either. This is a strange way of doing business and it is not legal.

The TEC provides a plethora of instructional videos on how to file a campaign finance report. Galveston County Republicans should take a few minutes and watch them.

You have to wonder if Justin Hicks is politically stupid or if he thinks he is above the law. Neither is a conservative value. From the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC)

Hick’s campaign treasurer and manager needs training on the laws governing campaigns in Texas. His $12,000 campaign loan from his treasurer (his wife) was omitted from his campaign report. He later amended his report after his treasurer (his wife) remembered she had donated $12,000 to his campaign. The Texas Ethics Commission is investigating this.

Now Hicks might be a target for yet more ethics violations. First Hicks used what looks like his official League City photo for his campaign mailers. The TEC wrote an opinion on using government resources for mailers. This includes printing, photos, or anything that public money was used for. You can compare the two pics from League City and his mailers.

And second. Justin is NOT running for Mayor Pro Tem. In fact there is not an elected position called “Mayor Pro Tem”. Materials provided by a campaign cannot use any other position other than the one running for. The TEC provides detailed guidelines for campaign managers and candidates. For instance if you are not the incumbent you must put FOR in specific height and width so voters know you are running FOR the position and you are not an incumbent running for re-election. It might be a nit but both of these complaints will be accepted by the TEC.

The TEC could assess a fine per mailer. It can be pretty pricey. Hicks might need another loan.

Dear Bay Area Houston,

League City council member, Justin Hicks and candidate for Sheriff Jimmy Fullen have a lot in common. Both are being investigated for campaign law violations concerning loans to their campaigns. Both have filed amended reports and both have added more controversy to their filings. 

Hicks failed to identify who loaned his campaign $12,000. His amended report now shows the loan was provided by his treasurer. His treasurer is his wife who forgot to list it on the handwritten report. The source of the loan is still a mystery. Since he has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, he and his wife have 3 suits for unpaid credit card debt, and a suit for HOA fees. 

Fullen correctly reported a personal loan of $100,000 to his campaign but never disclosed when it was paid off. It just disappeared from a subsequent report. In his amended report he stated the reason to amend as “personal loan from self was removed on form e”. In other words he never really loaned his campaign any money. It’s hard to believe his treasurer hand wrote in a $100,000 loan without getting the OK by Fullen. Falsifying a government document is a felony. Ask Hunter Biden. 
If Hicks and Fullen want to be in the Republican law and order club they might want to get their personal finances in order and start following the law. 

This is kinda strange on a number of points.

League City Mayor Nick Long has a newly created political action committee, Bay Area Conservatives Political Action Committee. His wife, Kari Long, is the treasurer. This GPAC is supporting Hank Dugie County for Commissioner and Scott Higginbotham for League City Council. Missing from this list of supported candidates is Justin Hicks, Nick Long’s buddy. Strange.

In the latest report GPAC raised $6500 from 3 individuals. $5000 from Higginbotham, $1000 from Carl Joiner, and $500 from Senator Mayes Middleton. $4500 of this was given to the Hank Dugie campaign. Another $5000 was given to Parabellum Media LLC in support of Higginbotham. Why didn’t Higginbotham just give $5000 to Parabellum Media LLC from his own campaign account and not filter it through a 3rd party? He also didn’t report the $5000 donation on his campaign finance report. That is strange also.

In total the GPAC has raised about $23,000, $7500 coming from Jimmy Fullen, candidate for Sheriff, and $2500 from Hank Dugie which was later returned with an additional $2000 to his campaign. Again strange. Kari and Nick Long donated about $4000.

Strange. Poor Justin. Snubbed again.

Ouch. That must hurt.

Even the Galveston Republicans have had enough of Justin Hick’s “conservative” values. Ever since being elected Justin has been the Corporal Chaos of League City Council. He constantly claims to be a “conservative” which made enough real conservatives cringe during an endorsement meeting. They refused to endorse Hicks. That had to hurt.

Hick’s Bankruptcy
Hicks is some kind of perverted form of conservative . He is fiscally irresponsible filing bankruptcy in December. He and his wife have 3 suits concerning credit card debt. (22-DC01-0796 for $4053.05, 22-DC01-0776 $1878.15, and 23-DC01-0447 $1722.88) His bankruptcy filings shows he owed South Shore Harbour HOA fees of $1749.24. He has claimed, on a number of occasions, his bankruptcy was caused by medical issues yet there are no filings with the court supporting this. His filings make it clear he was unemployed for a long period of time. Yet with all of this going on he somehow found $15,000 to fund his campaign. It doesn’t make conservative cents.

Hick’s Voting Record
Hicks is a veteran. (Thank you for your service) You would think a conservative veteran would have been first in line to vote his conservative values on every election. Voting records in the county show otherwise. He only voted in 2020. As we used to say in the Army: WTF Over? Judges are allowed to hide their voting records but I have never heard these privileges applied to Council Members. Maybe he would like to comment so I can correct this?

Ethics Investigation
Hicks has been playing games hiding his campaign cash prompting an investigation by the Texas Ethics Commission. This isn’t a conservative value. Neither is leading the book banning charge. Or raising nonexistent racist issues with the Chief of Police. Or firing librarians.

Hopefully the real conservatives of League City will also reject Hicks, thrown him out of office, so he can spend more time with his financial advisor.

The 30 day out campaign finance reports are out.

Hicks should fire his treasurer. His treasurer is his wife and she is clearly in need of additional training. Let’s review his report. Hicks raised $14,625. Of this $12,500 came from 3 donors. $5000 from Mike Scully, $4000 from Andy Mann, and $3500 from Hicks himself. After claiming bankruptcy Hicks has been able to put $15,500 of his own money into his campaign. Go figure.

He also spent $9,224.67 including $541.25 to pay off his wife’s loan to his campaign which doesn’t make cents. $541.25 is the very same amount he paid to buy signs. What I believe is that the $12,000 loan was never an actual loan. It wasn’t a check deposited into an account, or an electronic draft. It was nothing more than a promise, an allocation. It looks like he just padded his account with a promise to loan himself. This was probably a virtual loan something the Ethics Commission should be looking at. Lucky for Hicks the Ethics Commission will probably not dig deep enough to realize this deception unless someone files a more detailed complaint.

You can review his campaign report on the League City website.

I hate to beat a dead horse. It makes me look petty. But then again, I can be petty.

Yesterday Justin Hicks disclosed who loaned his campaign the $12,000 he reported in July. Turns out it was from his wife, Deborah Hicks, who is also his campaign treasurer, who also forgot to list the loan on his campaign finance report. So that mystery is solved unless the Texas Ethics Commission wants to pursue this further to determine where the money actually came from. They have the power to subpoena bank records to determine if someone else provided the money for the loan but usually they will call it a day, assess a fine, and move on.

But the discussion on Facebook has led to more questions about Hicks’ bankruptcy case. According to public records Hicks was required to disclose all his assets including back accounts, cars, and other items like guns. (yes guns. Go figure) Documents submitted to the Court shows he did not have any guns or $12,000 in cash. If you recall Hicks had his house up for sale during his bankruptcy on Zillow. Zillow posted pictures, one includes a gun rack with 2 guns, which were not reported. Failing to report information on government documents could be a felony. Ask Hunter Biden. Maybe Hicks borrowed the guns for the picture and maybe he didn’t have to disclose his spouse’s assets since he filed for bankruptcy, not his wife. I wonder if witholding information is a violation of the rules of the court.

BTW. My 5 readers might remember Hicks pulled me into his bankruptcy case that resulted in the Judge assessing a fine of $175 for violating the rules of the court. I’m not bitter. LOL. You can read about it here.

If these are his guns then it is disturbing the guns are easily accessible even with a small refrigerator that could be a step to access them. Proper storage of weapons is a conservative value. It makes me wonder what kind of conservative doesn’t properly store his weapons or is not fiscally responsible, or doesn’t vote.

You can view all of Hicks’ bankruptcy documents at KicksHicks.com.

I expected Justin Hicks’ ethics complaint, filed with the State, concerning an unreported $12,000 loan to be resolved quickly but not like this.

The Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) began an investigation into an anonymous loan Hicks reported on his July report. According to his report Hicks raised $0 but listed an outstanding loan amount of $12,000. None of his previous reports listed the date of the loan or who loaned the money. The TEC accepted the complaint and it looks like Hicks responded quickly to put this issue to rest………sort of.

Quick background story
Back in 2009 a complaint against State Representative John Davis was filed for hiding tens of thousand of dollars behind a credit card. Instead of listing what the campaign purchased, how much was paid, and who was paid, he listed only a payment to AMEX. Davis paid all of his campaign expenses with an AMEX and then used his donors money to pay the monthly bill. Davis quickly amended his reports and, as required by law, detailed his expenditures. That amended report led to another complaint resulting in him having to repay his campaign thousands for spending his donor’s money on personal items. SC-2610197 & SC-2610215

Back to Hicks.
So like Davis, Hicks filed an amended report this time listing when the loan was made and who made the loan, and like Davis, something isn’t right. According to the amended report the loan was made on 7/12/24, one day before the report was filed with League City. How could the campaign treasurer just “forget” to list a $12,000 loan, the only funds available to use for the campaign? It is concerning because the person who gave the loan is Justin Hicks wife, Deborah Hicks, and the treasurer of Justin Hicks’ campaign is his wife, Deborah Hicks.

It might be worse
Hicks has recently been discharged from a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. He was required to list all assets including property, vehicles, guns (he didn’t list any), bank accounts, and anything else of value. The Texas Ethics Commission frowns upon those who hide campaign donations. Usually it costs more in fines than the amount of the hidden donations if caught. Bankruptcy is handled in Federal Courts. The TEC would have no jurisdiction in a follow up complaint but they do have the authority to demand proof of where this $12,000 came from.

It just seems strange that right after coming out of bankruptcy Hicks can suddenly qualify for a new car loan and come up with $12,000 to finance his campaign for League City Council. Maybe he is a financial genius after all.

WTF? If you can’t follow the law you shouldn’t be trusted with upholding the law.

Justin Hicks, the League City Mayor Pro Tem, has received a letter from the Texas Ethics Commission regarding his disclosure of a $12,000 loan to his campaign. (you can read it here) Regrettably, there’s no evidence of such a loan appearing in any of his campaign finance documents since his candidacy for Council. However, he does acknowledge two loans totaling $900 and $600, which he accurately reported, indicating he’s aware of his actions. Additionally, his wife serves as the campaign treasurer.

The reason behind this action remains unclear. It seems illogical. In his most recent report, he managed to raise no funds and has a balance of $0 Cash On Hand. Yet, he has recorded a $12,000 outstanding loan. Should he have used campaign funds for this loan, he could have settled it by reporting the transaction promptly. The Ethics Commission is typically harsh on candidates or officials caught inflating their accounts with fictitious loans or donations, taking such matters very seriously.

This issue is not unique to Hicks. Candidate for Galveston County Sheriff, Jimmy Fullen, reported a personal loan of $100,000 in his February report, just before the primary elections. Subsequently, this loan vanished from his records without any repayment. Such actions are illegal under the Texas Ethics Commission’s regulations.

If one is unable to comply with the law, it raises questions about their ability to uphold it. It’s a matter of common cents.

Guess who was silent about the violence.

It’s just amazing how much hypocrisy the Republican Party can tolerate. Mayor Pro Tem Justin Hicks said absolutely nothing about the violence on Jan 6 which had no place in our country but he had to weigh in on his lord and savior Donald Trump. After Jan 6 he didn’t ask if the families of those who died defending the Capitol were ok. League City residents should be so proud.

Kind of boring, but that could be a good thing.

Campaign finance reports for League City have been filed. You can view them on League City’s website. Here is a summary:

Mayor Nick Long reported no fundraising but donated $10,000 to Galveston County candidate for Sheriff Jimmy Fullen. He also donated $5000 to Hank Dugie. He has about $13,000 cash on hand (COH).

Mayor Pro Tem Justin Hicks has reported no fundraising or spending. He has $0 COH.

Council Member Andy Mann reported no fundraising or spending. He has $0 COH.

Council Member Tommy Cones reported no fundraising or spending. He has $17.00 COH.

Council Member Chad Dressler reported no fundraising or spending. He has $0 COH.

Council Member Sean Saunders reported no fundraising or spending. He has $0 COH.