Bay Area Houston

Last month I was sanctioned by the Judge in League City Mayor Pro Tem Justin Hicks’ bankruptcy hearing. Read on.

Background.
In September of 2023 Mayor Pro Tem Justin Hicks filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the Southern District Court, Case #23-80179. If you are interested in the details, the case documents are public record via a free PACER account. Filing bankruptcy is a burden on a family and we should hope for a good result for the sake of his family.

But, this is Justin Hicks.
Someone who ran as a fiscal conservative, sits on League City Council, is responsible for the city’s $300M budget, voted as Mayor Pro Tem by most of his colleagues, and has managed to piss off a large segment of the community with his extreme, partisan, rhetoric. He has worked hard to push his extreme agenda by purging books, librarians, and true conservatives from running in non partisan city elections. He has meddled in school board elections endorsing unqualified extremist candidates and supporting litigation against CCISD after his candidate lost. He has posted divisive memes and posts on his social media page. He is not a conservative. He’s a jack ass.

But, back to his bankruptcy.
As I mentioned the bankruptcy records are all public. The hearings are open to the public also. I attended one of the hearings with my friend, Heidi. We walked into the hearing and sat quietly in the back row. Hicks was sitting up front. Hicks turned around, looked as us, and left. Moments later the Judge called the case, noticed Hicks had left, and said “Oh. He left”. After realizing he was not returning, we left too.

The photo
Unfortunately, not knowing the rules of the court prohibiting photos, my friend took a pic from outside of the courtroom of the back of Justin’s head and posted it to a social media page. Justin discovered the pic the next day. I have to admit I was unaware of the rules of the court. There are no signs on the door or any warnings posted, but ignorance isn’t an excuse.

Hicks drags us into his case
Hicks, representing himself with the skills set of Jackie Chiles, filed a motion for sanctions against us. The motion claimed he had a right to a peaceful hearing without people, like myself, in attendance and that a picture was taken against court rules. He claimed we were dressed incognito and were there to disrupt the hearing. (It was cold and rainy so appropriate attire was necessary) The motion was denied due to technical errors, but the judge gave him instructions on how to refile his motion, and he did. The judge was also very clear that the United States Constitution allows citizens to attend public hearings, so only the violation of the court rules was included in the new motion for sanctions.

The sanctions
We attended a second hearing to address the sanctions and spoke under oath to the Judge. We were given the opportunity to address Hicks. The entire transcript is available if interested. Hicks submitted a proposed sanction order for the Judge. It included a $2000 daily fine, incarceration, and factory resets of our phones. In the end the Judge sanctioned us a total of $350 split evenly and required us to write a letter of apology. I have complied with the letter noting that I never took any pictures. Hicks stated under oath that he had no evidence showing otherwise and I offered my phone to the court for review, again under oath. Nevertheless I got hit with a $175 fine payable to Hicks for his time and effort to file the motion.

The time and effort
We never saw a breakdown of his time and effort and his expenses. In his motion he wanted to be reimbursed for his time and mileage driving to and from the court even for the times he filed the erroneous motion. That part was denied. He could have sent everything via the mail like I did. Hicks also wanted time off of work for himself and his wife, mileage, and pain and suffering. Most was denied. He also asked for sanctions of thousands of dollars. Again denied. So in the end we had to pay Hicks $175 each to help him pay his bills.

But there is Good news for Hicks.
At his last hearing Hicks said his career is back on track and he finally got a job and was able to buy a new car for his wife! That’s good for his family. His bankruptcy case is now closed.

Hicks re-election
The above quote could be a good attack ad against Hicks like the one attacking a candidate for city council and supporting Hicks’ endorsed candidate, Courtney Chadwell. Months prior to this hit piece going out Hicks had filed his own bankruptcy. I’ve asked Chadwell what he thinks about Hicks “own record of being irresponsible with money and the fact that [he] will be a liability to the city” when managing the $300M+ annual budget. He has not responded.

The Risk.
Hicks shouldn’t file for reelection. Instead he should spend more time concentrating on his fiscal stability and block walking for the Trump reelection campaign. Conservatives probably think the same but Republicans will give him a pass and reelect him. Veterans know you can’t get a security clearance with a looming bankruptcy over your head. Anyone who is responsible for contract negotiations especially for government entities could be a risk while being in financial trouble. We will see in November if voters are concerned with security or hypocrisy. My bet is on hypocrisy.

BTW. Checks in the mail. Literally.

Guess whose fingerprints are all over this.

League City Council has become a treasure trove of news stories and recently they are not good ones. Banning books, firing librarians, bankruptcies, firing city attorneys are just a few. Here is another. Someone in League City government has redlined the Code of Ethics suggesting changes to how the city will “hold its elected officials and the appointed officials and employees to the highest standards of ethical conduct.” 

You would think that a city of “conservative” citizens would demand a rigid, law and order, approach to ethical conduct from their elected leaders. (LOL) If that is the case they will be shocked to see the proposed changes to their Code of Ethics. You can read the entire 6 pages here. Here are just a few of the changes:

• Guts the Rules of Ethical Conduct section
• Removes ethics standards specifically for League City
• Removes disclosures of gifts to elected officials
• Removes “Conducting themselves with integrity”
• Removes conflict of interest concerning city business
• Removes section titled “Rules of ethical conduct”.
• Removes limitation on gifts to city officials
• Removes the entire complaint process against city officials.
• Removes the ethics review panel

There is so much more, or less, to read. Take a minute and read it.

League City. No Place for Ethics.

All Personal Finance Reports for League City Council are available.

You can receive an electronic copy of the PFS by submitting an Open Records Request to the City Secretary or you can read them here. You can read them if you want but they are not very interesting except for Mayor Pro Tem Hicks. Hicks reported having been employed with TNM LLC out of Henrietta New York as a Projects Manager. He has a lot, I’m assuming that is his home, but the value is not listed. That’s it. I became interested in this TNM LLC and performed a search but could not find them. Hicks lists himself as a Project Manager. If you are looking for controversy this is all you will find.

The PFS should show more of the fiscal stability of each member including debts, lawsuits, liens, etc. The public should know if the individuals responsible for the fiscal well being of their city and stewards of their taxes are also fiscally responsible. It’s just common sense.

Other than that the PFSs are pretty boring. You can view Mayor Long and Mayor Pro Tem Hicks PFS here. The rest of the Council PFSs are here.

Believe me. They are boring.

But they are not online.

The Republicans in Austin required elected officials in cities with a population of over 100,000 to file a Personal Finance Statement. The PFS for League City officials are now available. The city secretary is responsible for their storage and can be obtained by filing an open records request. If interested you can view Mayor Long’s statement and Mayor Pro Tem Hick’s statement here. Believe me, it’s boring.

After looking at what they are required to disclose I have to wonder why anyone would object to disclosing the information. You are required to identify who you are employed by but not how much you make. You have to identify investment assets such as mutual funds and how much they are worth if sold, up to $47,000. You are NOT required to list your financial stability such as your debts, bankruptcies, or liens against your property. You can see the entire list below.

Hick’s and Long’s PFS can’t be any more different. Hicks reported having been employed with TNM LLC out of Henrietta New York as a Projects Manager. He has a lot, I’m assuming that is his home, but the value is not listed. That’s it.

Long’s PFS is a bit more detailed. He has a job with Allianz Insurance Services, a home, many different investments such as mutual funds and interests in a number of business entities.

The purpose for a PFS is to provide transparency to the voters and residents. Elected officials should recuse themselves if they have a conflict with a proposed expenditure in the city and their investments. You would like to know if an elected official is voting to provide a contract to a company they own or one they have a significant interest in. It isn’t rocket science. It isn’t all that intrusive.

Here is what is required to disclose in a PFS. This list is from Hick’s PFS:

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!

Captain Crybaby is having a fit on social media.

You would think the Mayor Pro Tem would be above the chaos of politics. Most are, but not Captain Chaos, Justin Hicks. He is having a bad day and something has his panties in a wad. It’s probably the upcoming election.

In order to move their agenda of closing or privatizing the League City Library Justin needs his buddy, Courtney Chadwell to win the upcoming special election. Chadwell is being financed by Mayor Nick Long from out of city donors and PACs and would be a yes vote for their christian, conservative, cleansing of League City. You can read about Long’s donations here. Unlike Long, Captain Contributions hasn’t raised any money in a few years. In fact besides a few thousand dollars from Austin, Hicks has raised holy hell and nothing else. More on that in a later post.

But back to Captain Crybaby’s social media posts. You can read them below. Chadwell’s opponent, Ange Mertens has spoken out about the Library situation in a very conservative manner. She makes a great point. The Library has had a review panel for decades yet the City has added yet another layer of big government oversight something real conservatives have historically opposed. Unlike Chadwell it’s clear Mertens will not only add a woman to the all male council but she will not bring the chaos Hicks thrives upon.

Here are his posts if you care to read them. It is so rich that Captain Chaos claims he leads the council in singing Kumbaya when he actually has caused the chaos of the council. This is so beneath the office of Mayor Pro Tem.

You will be surprised. I was.

I wrote about Nick Long’s contributions and his spending in support of Courtney Chadwell running for City Council. I noticed that he raised $28,450 during a period that he was not running for reelection. Of that total only $300 came from a donor in League City. So I decided to look a bit further.

Ever since 2021 Nick Long has raised a total of $45,625. He also has a $31,103 personal loan. His largest haul for a period was in his last report of $28,450. Of his entire total of $45,625 since 2021 only $1405 came from League City residents. Only about 3% of his entire campaign donations came from the very people he is suppose to be representing. Most of his donations came from Houston donors and PACs including a few from out of state.

If you want to peruse his reports you can find them here. Check my math.

At first there is nothing unusual about Nick Long’s latest campaign finance report.

But…there are a couple of issues with his contributions and donations. In the last reporting period ending Dec 31, 2023 Long raised $28,450 of which $300 came from one donor in League City. All the rest came from PACs outside of the city as well as one donation from Kansas. It makes one wonder “Who’s your daddy?”. Who are you representing?

He has spent $13,817 over a 6 month period. Long is not on the ballot. He isn’t running for reelection yet he spent nearly half of his donations on “consulting expense” and “advertising expense” including $2432.10 to Spectrum Marketing Companies under “Advertising Expense”. What Long failed to note was that this expenditure was to support his buddy Courtney Chadwell who is running for City Council. Chadwell reported this expenditure on his report. It was the only donation he received.

One thing is for sure. The Texas Ethics Commission can fine the living hell out of individuals for hiding their contributions to candidates or misrepresenting their expenditures. Case in point, Eric Dick. The TEC had the authority to fine Dick over $400,000 for his mailers he did not report. They eventually fined him $30,000.

You have to wonder what Long is spending his out of city donor’s money on. I would bet he is funding Chadwell’s campaign. At least he isn’t taking money from Defend Texas Liberty.

League City will have a special election to fill a vacant seat on City Council on Jan 13. Here is a summary of the candidates campaign finance reports from their Dec 2024 reports. You can view all council members and candidates reports here.

Ange Mertens. Raised $3300. $2800 from one donor out of Texas City and $500 from an unknown donor. Spent $7034. Has a $3000 personal loan and a $1515 loan.

Chris Dodson. Raised $100. Spent $240.

Courtney Chadwell. Raised $0. Spent $4595 on a personal credit card.

Katherine Swanson. Raised $1272. Spent $464. Includes a personal contribution of $1000.

Rachel McAdam. Raised $1691. Spent $327.

The fallout from the League City book ban continues.

League City Attorney Nghiem Dan is out and the Deputy Michelle Villarreal is in. The vote was 4-3 in a clearly divided city council. From the video it looks like Captain Snowflake, Justin Hicks, seconded the motion and voted in favor. How surprising.

Mayor Nick Long had a rambling rant prior to the vote acknowledging the book ban was the cause of the issue being brought forward. As two council members said this is going to cost the city. I wonder if there is a cause for a lawsuit and if so who would file it.

There is an open seat on council with 5 individuals signing up. Maybe this vote should have been tabled until this seat was filled. Probably the council members voting yes knew this motion would not pass with a new member on board. As one council member said this vote should have been put off until the council seat was filled.

OMG. It’s on video.

I don’t like Captain Snowflake, League City Council Member Justin Hicks for many reasons. I know veterans who had bullets shot at them who don’t walk around with a military chip on their soldier. They don’t consider themselves special even though they are. Hicks is an extremist MAGAt Republican. Like most MAGAts he probably can’t even spell Constitution much less truly understand it. He championed the unnecessary book ban in League City targeting the Gay community. He has been involved in racial controversies concerning the Police Chief and threats to city employees. He invited an anti-gay writer to read to children at the Public Library. He butted into the CCISD lawsuit brought about by a losing candidate. He ran for City Council as a “Conservative” but he isn’t conservative. He is a republican. In today’s day you can’t be both.

Well last night Captain Snowflake was on video whining about an ethics complaint filed against him. You can watch the entire meeting here. It’s only 15 minutes long. Start at 1:18 to watch Hicks whine to the committee followed by Council Member Tom Crews to address the same issue. The Committee then discussed the ethics complaint and votes to dismiss it. Committee Member Rachel McAdams at 15:09 ends the meeting with a comment. She addresses the issue eloquently.

Hicks stated he takes criticism “like a champ” yet attempts to interrupt McAdams comments from the audience. A champ doesn’t do that. I’m not quite sure what the complaint was about but there were comments made by Hicks about someone digging up his personal information. He might have been talking about the website JustinHicksTx.com which was reporting on Hicks’ time on Council. That website has since been taken down. I reviewed that site and thought it was just full of public information including his house being up for sale by Zillow. Not sure why the owners would take the site down but I would bet Hicks had something to do with it.

On Facebook Hicks says he will be announcing a life changing personal victory. Maybe his house has finally sold, he has accepted a job in New Jersey, and will be resigning from City Council. It would be a win-win for everyone.

I wish him luck. League City voters, do better next time.