Burnt Orange Report

Endorsements for Sale?

By Byron LaMasters

State Representative Ray Allen (R - Grand Prairie) sent out an endorsement letter to congressional district 10 voters urging them to support Ben Streusand in the March 9th Republican primary election for Congress. No problem with that. But what's bizarre about the letter is that a month earlier, the Streusand campaign had paid Allen a $2500 consulting fee. It's one thing if Allen writes a letter to voters in the Streusand district. It's another if he does paid consulting work for a candidate. But as an elected official, it certainly looks a little odd when he does both. I guess we now know how much an endorsement from Ray Allen costs.

The Dallas Morning News reports:

On Jan. 29, federal campaign records show, Mr. Streusand's campaign paid a $2,500 consulting fee to Rep. Ray Allen, R-Grand Prairie, which Mr. Allen said Friday was for advice and written material he provided on the issues of guns and abortion.

Just before the March 9 primary, Mr. Allen wrote a direct-mail letter supporting Mr. Streusand.

The letter from Mr. Allen, under the salutation "Dear Friend of the Unborn," noted Mr. McCaul's endorsement by the Austin American-Statesman.

"This ultra-liberal newspaper has a consistent record of supporting liberal positions and politicians when it comes to pro-family, pro-life issues," Mr. Allen wrote, "... In other words, they support him precisely because they believe he will compromise on our issues, that his pro-life campaign convictions will be negotiable. ..."

In the letter, Mr. Allen recounted his authorship of a successful bill in the 2003 regular session of the Legislature to create criminal and civil penalties for those who cause the death of the unborn. He called Mr. Streusand "pro-life to the core of his being."

Mr. McCaul's campaign said he's a strong abortion opponent and that Mr. Allen shouldn't have used his office to identify himself on the direct-mail letterhead.

"I have never met Mr. Allen, but I find it curious and troubling that he failed to disclose his consulting arrangement while using the stature of his elected office," Mr. McCaul said.

Fortunately, there's a strong Democratic candidate running against Ray Allen, and his pay-to-play tactics. The district leans Republican, but it is about 45% Democratic. A good Democrat who can convince new voters to come out and who can get some crossover Independent voters can win in this district. I've met the Democratic candidate, Katy Hubener. She's a strong, hardworking candidate who has been stumping all across the district in southwest Dallas County. You check out her website, here. I'll have to talk to her about setting up an online contribution form. I'll write more about the race soon. This race is probably the best pick-up opportunity for Democrats in State House races in Dallas County (the county currently has 6 Democratic State Reps, and 10 Republican State Reps, despite the fact that the county is nearly divided 50-50% in Democratic versus Republican performance).