| While the Travis County District Attorney's Office is investigating the question of legality surrounding $50,000 donations to Craddick Democrats Kino Flores, Aaron Pena and Kevin Bailey, it seems that Rep. Kino Flores' behavior is being questioned on other fronts.
I was recently notified that the Texas Ethics Commission received two complaints against Flores on January 25th. The complaints allege Flores has illegally converted campaign contributions to personal use and improperly reported staff reimbursements.
The complaint filed by Blanca Rodrigue from the City of Mission charged Flores with converting political contributions for improper expenses on clothing, college tuition and books, and personal loans.
In my opinion, the most suspicious expenditures referenced are the several "note payments" to different local banks, since Flores was not carrying forward a loan balance during the period the payments were made. In looking over his Personal Financial Statements, Flores reports real property notes and other personal loans with the very banks he has been paying out of his campaign account.
If these allegations are found to be correct, Flores possibly paid for his properties with contributions from his constituents. Additionally, the complaint notes over $3,500 in clothing expenses from Men's Wearhouse and Dillard's.
The second complaint filed by Mission resident Irma Villalon reports over $12,300 in misreported staff reimbursements since January 2005.
It doesn't take a math whiz to quickly realize that Flores' reports are plagued with errors. By reviewing the summary of his reports, it is easy to find that his contributions and expenditures simply don't add up. Flores' Valley constituents should immediately call upon their representative to correct his reports to accurately reflect his expenses.
The Texas Ethics Commission has reporting procedures so that there is transparency in the actions of our elected officials. Flores appears to be ignoring some of these basic rules through these illegal expenditures and misreporting of reimbursements. |
