The state’s political economy hummed with $43.5 million in contributions to and between candidates and political action committees between Sept. 24 and Oct. 23, according to the most recent reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission. The biggest contribution: $3 million to Rick Perry’s re-election campaign from the Republican Governors Association.
Texas Ethics Commission
Posted in
State Government
TribBlog: Partisan Patriots?
A Houston-area tea party group may have illegally supported GOP candidates for office, according to a complaint filed with the Texas Ethics Commission today.
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Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Ramsey on whether Bill White at the top of the ballot helps Houston-area candidates, Aaronson and Stiles present a treemap of Texas political ads, Stiles and Ramsey on the latest campaign finance filings, Aguilar on the Laredo mayor’s race, Hamilton on anonymous tweeters who make mischief, Ramshaw interviews a disability rights activist with a thing for iPads and bibles, Hu on the accidental release of Rick Perry’s “secret” schedule, M. Smith on the bitter back-and-forth over a voter registration effort in Harris County, Philpott’s micro-debate on education between two House candidates, Grissom on this week’s twist in the Cameron Todd Willingham investigation and, in our latest collaboration with a big-city Texas newspaper, Stiles, Grissom and John Tedesco of the San-Antonio Express News on what kind of Texans, exactly, are applying to carry concealed handguns: The best of our best from Oct. 4 to 9, 2010.
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State Government
Show Us the Money
With a month to go before Election Day, challengers in fifteen House races outraised incumbents during the most recent reporting period, according to the most recent filings with the Texas Ethics Commission. In eight of those races, the challengers led in combined spending and saving, a rough measure of each campaign’s financial strength.
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Criminal Justice
You Be the Judge
Do two recent U.S. Supreme Court opinions have the far-reaching effects on Texas judicial elections that some in our legal community fear? Or do the state’s current campaign finance laws adequately address the issues presented by both cases?
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State Government
The Politics of Ethics
Texas lawmakers were accused this summer of driving a car paid for by a state contractor and double-billing taxpayers for expenses incurred on the job. Does that mean they’ll be defeated in November? Not necessarily.
Posted in
Economy
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 42
In this week’s TribCast, Evan, Ross, Elise and Ben talk ethics and the Texas House, the newly noted $1.3 billion budget deficit and whether terror babies have much of a political impact.
Posted in
State Government
2010: It’s a Gas, Gas, Gas
Jason Isaac, the Republican running against state Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, says the incumbent is misusing his campaign accounts to cover personal transportation costs. Rose says it’s a big district and points out that Isaac’s campaign pays for gas, too.
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Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Stiles’ and Torres’ three-parter on the changing Texas political map, Ramsey on questions about Brian Birdwell’s voting history and residency, Aguilar on the Obama administration’s immigration crackdown, Reed on hospitals that won’t induce early labor, Stiles on what Troy Fraser left off his financial disclosure form, the latest installment of Hu’s Face-Off video debate series, Grissom on the problem-plagued Driver Responsibility Program, Galbraith on the controversy over fracking and M. Smith’s interview with former Texas Supreme Court Justice Harriet O’Neill: The best of our best from July 26 to 30, 2010.
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Economy
2010: White: Perry Cut Corners to Help Friend
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White is calling for an independent audit of Texas Enterprise Fund grants after documents showed the governor’s office offered $2.5 million in state subsidies to Sino Swearingen, a company founded by Doug Jaffe. Jaffe is one of two partners involved in a controversial land deal that netted Perry a $500,000 profit.
