The ghost of Tom Craddick lives on. The once tyrannical House Speaker is still making news. Texans for Public Justice (TPJ) filed a complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission today alleging that the Texas Jobs & Opportunity PAC served as an illegal conduit in 2008 for contributions from then-Speaker Tom Craddick to three Democratic House candidates.
The complaint specifically cites $150,000 in contributions from Tom Craddick to Democrats Kevin Bailey, Kino Flores and Aaron Pena. Rep. Bailey was defeated by Armando Walle in the 2008 primary, Kino Flores has recently resigned, making Pena the only active Representative to receive a $50,000 check from the Texas Jobs & Opportunity PAC.
According to TPJ, the timeline is clear.
Jobs PAC reported that it received $250,000 from Tom Craddick's campaign committee on January 10, 2008. According to news reports, around that time Craddick campaign employee Christi Craddick also provided Texas Jobs with written instructions to distribute the funds to Democratic Reps. Kevin Bailey, Dawnna Dukes, Kino Flores and Aaron Pena. All four incumbents previously supported Republican Speaker Craddick and faced challengers in the 2008 Democratic primary.2 According to its own reports, Jobs PAC wrote three checks of $50,000 apiece to the campaigns of Reps. Bailey, Flores and Pena on January 11, 2008. By its own accounting, at the time Texas Jobs wrote these checks its sole source of funding was the $250,000 that it received the day before from the Craddick campaign. Rep. Dukes, the fourth lawmaker, told the Austin American-Statesman that she rejected an offer to receive $50,000 from Texas Jobs because her opponent already was making her Craddick ties a campaign issue.
"Tom Craddick wanted to move tens of thousands of dollars to his favorite Democrats without letting voters know," said Texans for Public Justice Director Craig McDonald. "Hiding the true source of campaign funds is illegal. Craddick could have contributed the money directly and openly. Instead, he used Texas Jobs to launder his money and keep Texans in dark."
TPJ alleges the Texas Jobs & Opportunity PAC violated Chapter 253.001 of the Texas Election Code which directly prohibits individuals or political committees from secretly acting as conduits for other donors. Because Craddick employee Christi Craddick gave Texas Jobs & Opportunity PAC with a letter detailing instructions on who and how to distribute the original $250,000 donation, the recipients were obligated to disclose the original source of the donations-- then-speaker Tom Craddick.
According to TPJ, "The Craddick campaign used Texas Jobs to try to keep its large campaign contributions anonymous."
I'm not disappointed or surprised to hear the news today that Rep. "Kino" Flores from HD-36 in Hidalgo County, was indicted by a Travis County Grand Jury for failing to disclose sources of income, gifts received, real estate holdings and sales of certain real properties in the personal financial statement that he is required to file each year as a state officer.
The Grand Jury returned six separate indictments, with each indictment relating to a financial statement for a different year starting in 2004 and continuing through2 009. The six indictments contain a total of 16 counts of tampering with a governmental record and three counts of perjury.
The income that Flores failed to disclose exceeded $152,000 in 2004, $125,000 in 2005, $115,000 in 2006, $135,000 in 2007, $185,000 in 2008 and $135,000 in 2009. One count also alleges that he failed to disclose income a dependant child received from HillCo Partners, an Austin lobby firm. The real estate and sales of property that he is alleged to have failed to disclose include a lot in Hidalgo County, a cabin on the inter-coastal waterway in Cameron County, a small ranch in Hidalgo County, a residence in Mission, a condominium in Austin, land in Bastrop County and a residence in Austin. The indictments also allege that he failed to disclose certain gifts, including trips on a plane owned by the LaMantia family in 2007 and an ownership interest in a racehorse given to a dependent child by a lobbyist in 2004.
Tampering with a governmental record is a state jail felony punishable by 180 days to two years in state jail and a fine of up $10,000. Perjury is a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000.
While these charges have little to nothing to do with Tom Craddick, it could mean the fall of a second of three Democrats once targeted by the Too Close to Craddick PAC.
Travis County prosecutors are investigating state Rep. Kino Flores, D-Palmview, for taking discounted plane trips.
At issue is whether Flores adequately reimbursed the LaMantia family, who own a Budweiser distributorship in South Texas and are developing a $23 million horse racetrack in Hidalgo County.
Flores is chairman of the House committee that oversees gambling legislation.
His attorney, Roy Minton of Austin, confirmed his client is under investigation.
"The district attorney's office is investigating how Kino paid for his travel expenses, which I believe was a proper way for such expenses to be paid," Minton said.
Minton said his client hitched a ride on the LaMantia plane three times on trips between Austin and McAllen. He said Flores paid them $1,500, which is what he thought was fair market value.
Rep. Flores was one of the Democrats who, through last session, has supported Speaker Tom Craddick's leadership position. We all hope and expect that Kino is unified with the rest of the Democrats for a fairer speaker, but regardless of Mr. Flores' position, these are some serious charges that we will be following at the Burnt Orange Report.
"The next eight years will be a Republican guy, regardless if it is Craddick or anybody else. And in order for them to be elected they need eight to 12 Democrats. They need eight to 12," Flores predicted. "So, what's wrong with saying I'll be one of those but you've got to help fund our medical school. I'll leave you all with that thought. Adios."
When Matt reported this yesterday, he complained, "Last summer I said specifically, any elected official who sides with Craddick is voting against their district. This is as true after the primary as it was before the primary, and Flores appears to be standing by Craddick and Republican Party."
Siding with Craddick is voting against your district because he leads in a way that clearly is not of any help to your district. But more on that later.
This still allows Mr. Flores to make the argument that he could feasibly vote for a Republican speaker and still be a competent Democratic legislator. This is entirely possible, but only under certain circumstances.
To all potential Craddicats of the future:
I will now outline what I think are two main criteria a competent Democratic legislator may use in casting his vote for speaker of the House.
1. If there is a significant chance of a Democrat being elected, vote for a Democrat.
I fully understand that good relations with the speaker will help you help your district. The thought's acceptable. But this should never exempt a Democratic representative from the above rule.
A) You should have good relations with all your fellow Democrats. If you don't, there is a problem.
B) Although a Republican speaker candidate might support a specific piece of legislation that a Democrat does not, the broad spectrum of policy supported by the Democrat will be better for your district than the broad spectrum of policy supported by the Republican. You stated your belief in this by joining the Democratic Party.
Kino Flores believes that the next 8 years will continue a Republican reign in the House. I hope the belief exists due to pessimism rather than what he finds practical. Most of us in the Burnt Orange community believe that Democrats will hold a majority in the House soon: if not in 2009, then 2011. If our hopes become reality, there is no excuse for Mr. Flores or any Democrat to vote for a Republican speaker.
Good arguments can be made, though, that 2009 will still see a Republican majority in the House. And surely, even if Democrats regain the legislative body, the party won't be in control forever. So here we need the next rule.
2. If there is not significant chance of a Democrat being elected, back a candidate who will allow Democratic Party values into the legislative process.
Phillip said it best earlier today, "We're not fighting to beat Tom Craddick. We're fighting to improve the lives of Texans across our state," and the Speakers race is only a battle on the war we wage for the good of our state.
It just so happens that Tom Craddick leads against our goal "to improve the lives of Texans across our state." He rules dictatorially, which certainly goes against our Democratic values of good government. And he votes against the issues we value so deeply for the sake of the general public. He may be giving Mr. Flores the funding for that medical school, but the rest of his decisions hurt House District 36 more than they help.
If you are forced to vote against a Democrat, you might be hard pressed to find a Republican who agrees with some of our Democratic values. It shouldn't be too hard to find, however, a Republican who would at least allow the legislature to act on its own. If we can't elect a fellow Democrat, we should at least elect a speaker that will allow us to fight for our ideas against their ideas; not a speaker who would make us fight sly legislative tricks.
I don't just want one benefit, like a medical school, in my district. I want health care in my district. I want high quality education in my district. I want clean air in my district. I want quality infrastructure in my district. I want a good life, as a whole, for my district.
After a narrow victory in the March Democratic primary, Kino Flores appears to be more of a Craddick D than ever. Flores squeaked by with 52% of the vote against Pharr educator and good Democrat Sandra Rodriguez. According to the Rio Grande Guardian, Flores seems empowered by his tight election.
"I don't want to go through what I went through again," Flores said, referring to his hard-fought primary battle. "So, we need to decide if I am going to be a Yellow Dog Democrat, which I can do, or am I going to be allowed to step out of the box. And I can do both comfortably."
[...]
"We are at a crossroads and we are going to have to decide are we going to go over there and make a political statement or are we going to go over there and make an economic statement," Flores said. "We cannot go there and pick a fight because you're a D and I'm an R. We can't. We've got to go there and it's got to be about money."
Flores was one of the handful of Democrats to both elect Tom Craddick as Speaker during the 80th legislative session and stand by him as Republicans and Democrats united to attempt to vacate the chair-an action that would have allowed for a fair-minded, bipartisan leader to preside over the House.
Kino Flores represents one of the most Democratic districts in the state of Texas. House District 36 had 60% of the vote go to Barbara Radnofsky, 48% to Chris Bell, and candidates like Hank Gilbert and Bill Moody both received nearly 70% of the total vote.
Flores on the other hand acknowledges his strong ties to the Republican Party and proves money is more important than party loyalty.
"You all know what I just went through in this last campaign. I mean, Jesus Christ, I think the only thing that did not come out of the closet was my eyes. Everything else was out there, from taking money from Republicans, being friends with Republicans, having lunch with Republicans, hanging around with Gringos. But then you look, $124 billion comes to my district. I can't run away from that. There's no way," Flores said.
[...]
He concluded by predicting that a Republican House member would continue to occupy the role of Speaker for the next eight years, even if it is not the current Speaker, Tom Craddick, R-Midland.
[...]
"The next eight years will be a Republican guy, regardless if it is Craddick or anybody else. And in order for them to be elected they need eight to 12 Democrats. They need eight to 12," Flores predicted. "So, what's wrong with saying I'll be one of those but you've got to help fund our medical school. I'll leave you all with that thought. Adios."
Last summer I said specifically, any elected official who sides with Craddick is voting against their district. This is as true after the primary as it was before the primary, and Flores appears to be standing by Craddick and Republican Party. That means he has picked plush committee assignments over helping insure more children and expanding CHIP, curbing soaring tuition costs, and easing the burden of rising energy costs.
Here in Texas, there's been a major split around the controversial Speaker of the House, Rep. Tom Craddick. These four Democrats (highlighted in red), who supported Speaker Craddick, drew challengers, and whether or not they win or lose -- coupled with other key TX House races we're watching in other threads -- could signal the potential defeat of Speaker Craddick.
To see a full list of how the TX House candidates are doing tonight, follow this link:
In just 15 days, our Too Close to Craddick Political Committee has raised over $30,000 ($30,510 to be exact) to help good Democrats challenge three Craddick Democrats--Democratic state representatives who turned their backs on their Democratic leadership to support Republican autocrat Tom Craddick for Speaker instead.
At this point in the campaign, we're sending funds out to the challengers as fast as we're taking them in. And they're spending it for blockwalkers, phones and television. Following are the challengers and their needs:
Brian Thompson (challenging Craddick D Dawnna Dukes in Austin)
Boost last week of television (Field program covered)
Armando Walle (challenging Craddick D Kevin Bailey in a Houston district that is 2/3 Hispanic)
Bilingual canvassers
Bilingual phoners
Spanish/English doorhanger
Canvassers for African-American areas (10% of district) (TV not affordable in Houston market)
Sandra Rodriguez (challenging Craddick D Kino Flores in McAllen and Pharr)
Spanish-speaking canvassers
Boost last week of television
For the next week, every dollar that we deposit in the morning will be sent out to our three Democratic challengers that afternoon. Let's keep the heat on and the momentum going. Mail your check payable to "Too Close to Craddick" to
Too Close to Craddick
PO Box 5674
Austin, TX 78763-5674
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.
This is one of the best ads I have seen this cycle. Flores has a lot of baggage ranging from votes during his tenure in office (including the fact Flores is too close to Craddick) to ethical questions surrounding the embattled Craddick D.
He is running on his record, he said, but has "everything and anything" he needs to go after Rodriguez's husband, a former three-term state district judge who did not seek re-election. "I haven't accused him of anything," Flores said, "but I have a boxful, ready to go."
Looking at a campaign photograph of Rodriguez and her family, Flores said, "She's got kids. She's got these kids that are at home, that have no blame whatsoever. They don't need to be worrying about what their mother is going to go through, or their father. You know, if she wants to go there, that's her bag."
"There are some people I can bully, and I can beat the dog shit out of, and I can run off - I've gone through two lottery directors that I had squeezed their nuts and fired them".
"Cojones," is his style in Austin. "I'm not afraid to use them."
Rodriguez has been endorsed by Annie's List and community leaders through out HD-36. Make sure Kino Flores doesn't continue to push this great candidate around and restore a Democratic voice to this valley district. Donate to Sandra today!
When Tom Craddick continued his reign of terror as Speaker of the Texas House, it was clear that speaker politics would extend beyond the session and last until November 2008.
Today, Lon Burnam made an announcement few elected officials have the courage to make, he endorsed three Democratic Primary challengers and made a clear statement that a vote for Tom Craddick is not only bad for your district but it is also undemocratic.
"I am proud to publicly endorse Brian Thompson (HD 46 - Austin), Armando Walle (HD 140 - Houston), and Sandra Rodriguez (HD 36 - Hidalgo County)," said State Rep. Lon Burnam, "all of whom have shown remarkable courage by challenging Craddick Democrats. Each of these candidates is extremely viable. I hope to welcome each of them into the State Legislature next year and take three more votes away from the Republican Speaker."
In 2003, Rep. Burnam was the only Representative to vote against Republican Speaker Tom Craddick. At the time, Burnam suggested Craddick was ethically challenged. Many of the Craddick D's share Craddick's ethical lapses.
"Since 2003, the single biggest obstacle to responsible public policy in the state of Texas has been Tom 'absolute power' Craddick," said Burnam. "Unfortunately, some of my colleagues continue to support the Republican Speaker and enable his failed Republican ideology of starving public education, harming the environment, denying children health care, and making a mockery of our ethics laws."
Rep. Burnam put the March 4th primary into simple terms. "Democrats can vote for the status quo and help re-elect Craddick Democrats, or they can vote for change and send a clear message that Tom Craddick and his right-wing cronies are taking our state in the wrong direction."
"I represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, not the Craddick wing of the Democratic Party, and so do the three Democrats I am endorsing today," said Burnam.
[...]
In addition to endorsing these three Democratic challengers today, Rep. Burnam has also committed to help each of them raise the funds they will need to be successful on March 4. Next week, Rep. Burnam will unveil details about a political action committee called "Too Close to Craddick" that he is supporting.
