Bay Area Houston

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.

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.