Burnt Orange Report

Rep. Chisum Violating Election Law?

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

Yesterday's post by Phillip brought to light yet another offense that seems to have been committed by Rep. Warren Chisum, making this pattern egregious enough that as of 3 pm this afternoon, I have filed an official complaint and "request to investigate" these actions with a special prosecutor in the Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County District Attorney's office.

You can download my official filing: page 1, page 2, page 3.

So what did he do?

The following files outline what I see as a breach of state limitations on use of public funds and offices for the purpose of the promotion of the passage of Proposition 2. Below is the text of my filed criminal complaint.

"On a letter to Texas Pastors dates Sept 16, 2005, printed on Rep. Warren Chisum's official House of Representatives letterhead and signed by Rep. Warren Chisum (HD-88), Rep. John T Smithee (HD-86), and Rep. David Swinford (HD-87), statements were made encouraging involvement in the Nov. 8th Constitutional Amendment Election. Included in the letter were documents labeled "VOTE FOR PROP 2" and promoting the www.texansformarriage.org website. Staffer for Rep. Chisum Annette Glass is listed as a contact in the letter, listing her official House e-mail and the office number for Rep. Chisum.

Additionally, Rep. Chisum's office on October 25, 2005 distributed a Press Release through the Capitol e-mail system entitled "False Campaign Meant to Destroy Prop 2" in which Annette Glass is again listed as the contact with Re. Chisum's primary office phone number."

The following are .tif image files of the September 16th Letter sent to pastors, forwarded to me by e-mail.

Sept. 16th Mailer (The Letter .tif format)
Included Letter Document (Page 1 | Page 2)

Key things to mention here. The included documents with the letter are clearly promoting the election or defeat of the amendment as they are titled with a bold VOTE FOR PROP 2 title. Included on the Chisum letterhead are key phrases such as, "To save marriage as we know it, and prevent activist judges from ruling in favor of same-sex marriages, the churches of this state must actively work to get out the vote. ... It is clear the churches can stand in the gap and make the difference in this election." The letter closes urging pastors to "contact my office at 800/692-1389 or e-mail annette.glass@house.state.tx.ud" which seems to be an addition clear violation of the use of his public office for the campaigning for this amendment.

The full text response of Rev. William D. Nix, Jr. of Canadian, TX to Rep. Chisum is included in the extended entry. He was by no means pleased, as a faith leader, receiving this letter from Rep. Chisum and Company. It is from him indirectly that I received this information.

I was shocked to receive your letter of September 16 addressed to “Senior Pastor” which I assume was sent to all churches in your district and to those of Messrs. Smithee and Swinford, who also signed the letter. Regardless of one’s views on Proposition 2 or the issues it raises, the letter and its enclosures are offensive to all mainstream Christians and Texans of other religious preference for whom freedom of religion is among our most cherished rights. For elected officials to attempt to influence elections by exerting pressure on churches is an abuse of the public trust and an infringement of the Constitutionally-guaranteed separation of church and state.

The enclosure promoting Proposition 2 is an even more blatant violation of the separation of church and state. The organizations cited as sources include Jerry Falwell’s “Liberty Council,” James Dobson’s “Focus on the Family” and other extreme-right Christian lobby groups. The suggested sermon points include a mixture of half-truths, misrepresentations and demagoguery, all calculated to arouse homophobic anxiety in the public. And their very inclusion in a letter from members of the legislature should be offensive to all theologically-educated clergy.

On the face of it, Proposition 2 is a thinly-veiled attempt to write discrimination toward gay and lesbian Texans into the Constitution. The existing “Protection of Marriage” law is discriminatory enough, denying basic legal protection and spousal benefits to anyone whose sexual orientation or committed relationship differs from the norm. And the promoters of Proposition 2 are aware that it is probably doomed to be found unconstitutional by the courts - thus their rush to write it into the Constitution.

Whet a pity that the last Legislature will be known primarily for failing to fund our children’s education and for attempting to deprive many Texans of their rights! Please don’t compound the error by eroding the wall of separation of church and state.

The Rev. William D. Nix, Jr.
Canadian (Texas)