|
 |
To track where all this off-season “campaign” money went, researchers classified the $9.5 million studied here into a dozen spending categories. The top five of these categories (Staff & Consultants, Rent Payments, Travel & Lodging, Administrative/Office, and Gifts/Charitable Contributions) consumed 70 percent of all officeholder expenditures in early 2007.
Total Expenditures by Categories
| Category |
Totals
For All
Officeholders |
Totals For 6
Statewide
Officials |
Totals For
Senators |
Totals For
House
Members |
| Staff & Consultants |
$2,668,221 |
$1,145,590 |
$472,382 |
$1,050,250 |
| Rent Payments |
$1,078,882 |
$157,563 |
$346,667 |
$574,652 |
| Travel & Lodging |
$1,013,145 |
$228,910 |
$336,030 |
$448,205 |
| Administrative/Office Expenses |
$997,866 |
$180,956 |
$280,783 |
$537,047 |
| Gifts/Charitable Contributions |
$936,777 |
$34,259 |
$346,704 |
$555,815 |
| Campaign-Related Expenditures |
$767,134 |
$148,432 |
$145,806 |
$471,975 |
| Food, Drinks & Events |
$704,453 |
$53,351 |
$253,265 |
$397,837 |
| Miscellaneous |
$587,146 |
$159,648 |
$165,123 |
$262,375 |
| Unspecified Loans |
$382,328 |
$158,310 |
$113,278 |
$110,741 |
| Political Contributions |
$252,263 |
$22,460 |
$126,830 |
$102,973 |
| Unknown |
$79,042 |
$2,250 |
$19,123 |
$57,668 |
| Unitemized Credit Cards |
$56,663 |
$0 |
$0 |
$56,663 |
TOTALS: |
$9,523,921 |
$2,291,729 |
$2,605,991 |
$4,626,201 |
The share of political money spent on these different categories varied considerably between the three kinds of state offices studied—with the biggest differences separating statewide from legislative officeholders. Statewide officeholders are more centralized in Austin than legislators, who typically maintain a presence in Austin and in their districts. So many lawmakers spend a greater share of their political funds on Rent Payments to establish themselves in more than one place. Proportionally, the more centralized operations of statewide officials conserve on rent costs but spend a greater share of their money on Staff & Consultants to extend their political reach across the state.
Many gray areas blur the lines between the spending categories used here. Some of this grayness is a function of poor disclosure by officials. In other cases it is the nature of the beast. The same officeholder may make two payments to the same consulting firm, listing one of the expenditures for a “mailing” and the other for “consulting.” The first would be classified in this schema as a “Campaign-Related Expenditure” and the other under “Staff & Consultants.” Behind the veil of disclosure, both payments might have been used for the exact same purpose. Officeholders can—and will—split these gray hairs. On the whole, however, these classifications reveal real differences in how various officials choose to spend their political funds.
Overall payments to Staff & Consultants consumed 28 percent of political spending in early 2007. Statewide officeholders spent half of their political funds on personnel, a share that dropped to 18 percent for the average senator.
Biggest Spenders on Staff & Consultants
| Officeholder |
Party |
Office |
Total
Category
Expenditures |
This Category’s
Share of Total
Expenditures |
| Dewhurst, David |
R |
Lt. Governor |
$739,136 |
67% |
| Perry, Rick |
R |
Governor |
$259,089 |
44% |
| Craddick, Tom |
R |
House-82 |
$182,865 |
40% |
| Abbott, Greg |
R |
Attorney Gen’l |
$94,568 |
26% |
| Watson, Kirk |
D |
Senate-14 |
$67,931 |
59% |
| O'Day, Mike |
R |
House-29 |
$59,471 |
42% |
| King, Phillip |
R |
House-61 |
$57,859 |
50% |
| Nelson, Jane |
R |
Senate-12 |
$51,714 |
38% |
| Miller, Sid |
R |
House-59 |
$49,540 |
69% |
| Combs, Susan |
R |
Comptroller |
$45,406 |
30% |
| Keffer, James |
R |
House-60 |
$40,600 |
79% |
| Pitts, Jim |
R |
House-10 |
$36,105 |
47% |
| Rose, Patrick |
D |
House-45 |
$31,248 |
54% |
| West, Royce |
D |
Senate-23 |
$29,249 |
28% |
| Janek, Kyle |
R |
Senate-17 |
$28,995 |
23% |
| Williams, Tommy |
R |
Senate-4 |
$24,807 |
35% |
| Gallegos, Mario |
D |
Senate-6 |
$24,000 |
39% |
| Shapleigh, Eliot |
D |
Senate-29 |
$23,982 |
26% |
| Straus, Joe |
R |
House-121 |
$23,765 |
50% |
| Harris, Chris |
R |
Senate-9 |
$23,482 |
16% |
Largest Single Staff & Consultant Payments
| Officeholder |
Party |
Amount |
Recipient |
Filer’s Description |
| LG David Dewhurst |
R |
$128,800 |
A.G.I. |
Consulting expense |
| Rep. Michael O'Day |
R |
$32,600 |
J2 Strategies |
Consultation |
| Rep. Sidney Miller |
R |
$20,000 |
Todd Smith & Assoc. |
Consulting |
| LG David Dewhurst |
R |
$17,122 |
John Doner & Assoc. |
Computer services |
| Sen. Eliot Shapleigh |
D |
$15,000 |
Vikki Escobar |
Contract labor |
| Rep. Jim Keffer |
R |
$15,000 |
Eppstein Group |
Consulting fees |
| Gov. Rick Perry |
R |
$15,000 |
Norway Hill Assoc. |
General Consulting |
| Gov. Rick Perry |
R |
$14,000 |
Christopher Leonard |
Consultant |
| David Dewhurst |
R |
$13,530 |
Buddy Barfield |
Consulting services |
| Rep. Michael O'Day |
R |
$13,000 |
Laura Jackson |
Labor |
Note: Excludes multiple checks from a campaign to the same recipient.
Taken together, the officeholders spent 11 percent of their funds on Rent Payments, with this share rising to 13 percent for the senators. While much of these rent payments paid for campaign offices, many lawmakers also use political funds to pay Austin housing expenses.
Biggest Spenders on Rent Payments
Officeholder |
Party |
Office |
Total
Category
Expenditures |
This Category’s
Share of Total
Expenditures |
| Dewhurst, David |
R |
Lt. Governor |
$62,684 |
6% |
| Perry, Rick |
R |
Governor |
$44,980 |
8% |
| Brimer, Kim |
R |
Senate-10 |
$29,454 |
30% |
| Abbott, Greg |
R |
Attorney Gen’l |
$29,219 |
8% |
| West, Royce |
D |
Senate-23 |
$27,068 |
26% |
| Estes, Craig |
R |
Senate-30 |
$26,282 |
31% |
| Shapiro, Florence |
R |
Senate-8 |
$23,756 |
30% |
| Harris, Chris |
R |
Senate-9 |
$22,954 |
16% |
| Jackson, 'Mike' |
R |
Senate-11 |
$17,528 |
36% |
| Bonnen, Dennis |
R |
House-25 |
$16,046 |
43% |
| Lucio III, Eddie |
D |
House-38 |
$15,482 |
25% |
| O'Day, Mike |
R |
House-29 |
$15,319 |
11% |
| Van De Putte, Leticia |
D |
Senate-26 |
$14,884 |
25% |
| Janek, Kyle |
R |
Senate-17 |
$14,825 |
12% |
| Shapleigh, Eliot |
D |
Senate-29 |
$14,700 |
16% |
| Combs, Susan |
R |
Comptroller |
$14,593 |
10% |
| Hinojosa, Juan |
D |
Senate-20 |
$14,509 |
18% |
| Wentworth, Jeff |
R |
Senate-25 |
$14,397 |
12% |
| Giddings, Helen |
D |
House-109 |
$13,669 |
35% |
| Woolley, Beverly |
R |
House-136 |
$13,200 |
25% |
Largest Single Rent Payments
Officeholder |
Party |
Amount |
Recipient |
Filer’s Description |
| LG David Dewhurst |
R |
$14,450 |
TX Assoc. of Counties |
Office rent |
| Rep. Beverly Woolley |
R |
$13,200 |
Charles Teeple |
Rent for Austin lodging (6 Months) |
| Sen. Troy Fraser |
R |
$9,750 |
Statehouse on Congress |
Apartment Lease - 6 months |
| Sen. Kim Brimer |
R |
$7,840 |
Cash America Int. Inc |
Campaign office rent (1 year) |
| Sen. Eliot Shapleigh |
D |
$7,750 |
Brian Smith |
Apartment lease |
| Sen. Jane Nelson |
R |
$5,500 |
Stewart Lee |
Rental |
| Rep. Michael O'Day |
R |
$5,400 |
Signature Accomodations |
Apartment rent |
| AG Greg Abbott |
R |
$5,103 |
NNN Lavaca Plaza REO LP |
Rent |
| Sen. Eliot Shapleigh |
D |
$4,900 |
701 N. St. Vrain Jt Venture |
Rent/Campaign offices (6 months) |
| Sen. Kip Averitt |
R |
$4,872 |
Riverside Square |
Rent |
Note: Excludes multiple checks from a campaign to the same recipient.
Travel & Lodging burned through 11 percent of all officeholder costs, with senators spending a slightly larger share of their funds for this purpose. Some of these trips were for official state business and some were campaign trips. Officials failed to specify the purpose of many trips.
Biggest Spenders on Travel & Lodging
| Officeholder |
Party |
Office |
Total
Category
Expenditures |
This Category’s
Share of Total
Expenditures |
| Perry, Rick |
R |
Governor |
$112,926 |
19% |
| Abbott, Greg |
R |
Attorney Gen’l |
$69,234 |
19% |
| Craddick, Tom |
R |
House-82 |
$68,505 |
15% |
| Carona, John |
R |
Senate-16 |
$63,249 |
32% |
| Fraser, Troy |
R |
Senate-24 |
$51,399 |
64% |
| Wentworth, Jeff |
R |
Senate-25 |
$32,934 |
28% |
| Estes, Craig |
R |
Senate-30 |
$26,605 |
32% |
| Patterson, Jerry |
R |
Land Com. |
$23,884 |
35% |
| Deuell, Bob |
R |
Senate-2 |
$20,346 |
21% |
| Whitmire, John |
D |
Senate-15 |
$17,782 |
16% |
| Gallego, Pete |
D |
House-74 |
$16,346 |
28% |
| Ellis, Rodney |
D |
Senate-13 |
$15,092 |
21% |
| Eiland, Craig |
D |
House-23 |
$14,014 |
30% |
| Haggerty, Patrick |
R |
House-78 |
$13,023 |
37% |
| West, Royce |
R |
Senate-23 |
$12,672 |
12% |
| Gattis, Dan |
R |
House-20 |
$11,894 |
27% |
| Jones, Delwin |
R |
House-83 |
$11,862 |
60% |
| Nelson, Jane |
R |
Senate-12 |
$11,852 |
9% |
| Shapleigh, Eliot |
D |
Senate-29 |
$10,752 |
12% |
| Callegari, Bill |
R |
House-132 |
$10,311 |
28% |
Largest Single Travel & Lodging Payments
Officeholder |
Party |
Amount |
Recipient |
Filer’s Description |
| Sen. John Carona |
R |
$61,930 |
Associa (Carona’s Co.) |
Corporate jet reimbursements |
| AG Greg Abbott |
R |
$29,247 |
Covert Ford |
Campaign Vehicle |
| Sen. Troy Fraser |
R |
$26,444 |
Abilene Aero |
Travel expense |
| Sen. Jeff Wentworth |
R |
$20,309 |
Lexus Fin’l Services |
Motor vehicle lease |
| Sen. Troy Fraser |
R |
$15,212 |
HSB Airport |
Travel expense |
| Gov. Rick Perry |
R |
$14,128 |
Georgetown Aviation |
Airplane Expense |
| Rep. Tom Craddick |
R |
$10,037 |
Basin Aviation |
Travel |
| Sen. Eliot Shapleigh |
D |
$8,233 |
Southwest Airlines |
Travel (Jan.-June ‘07) |
| Rep. Borris Miles |
D |
$8,100 |
First Class Tours |
Transportation to Austin |
| Gov. Rick Perry |
R |
$6,793 |
American Airlines |
Bilderberg conference: Istanbul |
Note: Excludes multiple checks from a campaign to the same recipient.
The average official spent 10 percent of his or her money on Administrative/Office Expenses (such as office supplies and phone bills), with little variation among the three types of offices studied. Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst made the largest single Administrative/Office expenditures. Over two months his campaign reported paying Convio a remarkable total of $47,374 for “web hosting fees.”
Biggest Spenders on Administrative/Office Expenditures
| Officeholder |
Party |
Office |
Total
Category
Expenditures |
This Category’s
Share of Total
Expenditures |
| Dewhurst, David |
R |
Lt. Governor |
$75,278 |
7% |
| Perry, Rick |
R |
Governor |
$48,874 |
8% |
| Craddick, Tom |
R |
House-82 |
$27,567 |
6% |
| Abbott, Greg |
R |
Attorney Gen’l |
$27,123 |
7% |
| Janek, Kyle |
R |
Senate-17 |
$25,255 |
20% |
| Branch, Dan |
R |
House-108 |
$17,970 |
27% |
| Zaffirini, Judith |
D |
Senate-21 |
$17,202 |
21% |
| Raymond, Richard |
D |
House-42 |
$17,201 |
17% |
| King, Phillip |
R |
House-61 |
$16,896 |
15% |
| Williams, Tommy |
R |
Senate-4 |
$16,774 |
24% |
| Nelson, Jane |
R |
Senate-12 |
$16,752 |
12% |
| Combs, Susan |
R |
Comptroller |
$15,898 |
10% |
| Uresti, Carlos |
D |
Senate-19 |
$13,718 |
22% |
| Hinojosa, Juan |
D |
Senate-20 |
$12,436 |
16% |
| Nichols, Robert |
R |
Senate-3 |
$12,221 |
8% |
| Gattis, Dan |
R |
House-20 |
$11,953 |
27% |
| Estes, Craig |
R |
Senate-30 |
$11,288 |
13% |
| Wentworth, Jeff |
R |
Senate-25 |
$10,964 |
9% |
| Shapiro, Florence |
R |
Senate-8 |
$10,944 |
14% |
| Creighton, Brandon |
R |
House-16 |
$10,892 |
32% |
Largest Single Administrative/Office Payments
Officeholder |
Party |
Amount |
Recipient |
Filer’s Description |
| LG David Dewhurst |
R |
$23,687 |
Convio, Inc. |
Web hosting fees |
| Rep. Terri Hodge |
D |
*$8,658 |
Target |
Cell phone minutes |
| Rep. Dan Gattis |
R |
$7,838 |
Dell Computers, Inc. |
Office computer equipment |
| Rep. Drew Darby |
R |
$5,506 |
West Office Interiors |
Office Furniture |
| Gov. Rick Perry |
R |
$5,118 |
DFS Acceptance |
Computers |
| Rep. Jim Dunnam |
D |
$4,919 |
TX Correctional Industries |
Furniture |
| Rep. Richard Raymond |
D |
$4,763 |
B&H Photo Video Pro |
Camera & Video Camera |
| Rep. Marc Veasey |
D |
$4,738 |
Lasting Impressions |
Decoration of capitol office |
| Sen. Kyle Janek |
R |
$4,333 |
Apple Online |
Officeholder computer |
| Sen. Jeff Wentworth |
R |
$4,150 |
Texas Senate |
Senate calendars/envelopes |
*This amount probably was misreported, perhaps by misplacing the decimal in $86.58.
Note: Excludes multiple checks from a campaign to the same recipient.
Rep. Terri Hodge reported spending $8,658 at Target for “cell phone minutes.” Given that her campaign previously reported spending $86.59 for a similar purchase, this likely was a decimal-point typo—albeit a Freudian one. In October federal prosecutors—citing 30,822 wiretapped phone calls—indicted Rep. Hodge and 13 others on bribery charges related to Dallas public-housing contracts.2 A retired Southwestern Bell manager, Rep. Hodge may not have needed the website wisegeek.com to know that “stores like Target” sell relatively anonymous “pay as you go phones” that track accounts by cell number “so you don’t even have to give the company your name!”3 Rep. Hodge reported her first Target cell-phone purchase on June 3, 2005. Reports of the federal bribery probe surfaced three weeks later, when the FBI raided properties of a developer and of ex-members of the Dallas City Council.4
Officials spent 10 percent of all their political funds on Gifts/Charitable contributions. Lawmakers, who frequently exchange gifts with fellow members of legislative committees, accounted for most of this spending. Gifts/Charitable contributions accounted for just 2 percent of the money spent by statewide officials.
Biggest Spenders on Gifts/Charitable Expenditures
Officeholder |
Party |
Office |
Total
Category
Expenditures |
This Category’s
Share of Total
Expenditures |
| Carona, John |
R |
Senate-16 |
$36,882 |
19% |
| Harris, Chris |
R |
Senate-9 |
$35,267 |
24% |
| Craddick, Tom |
R |
House-82 |
$32,887 |
7% |
| Geren, Charlie |
R |
House-99 |
$31,331 |
46% |
| Wentworth, Jeff |
R |
Senate-25 |
$30,000 |
26% |
| Deuell, Bob |
R |
Senate-2 |
$25,469 |
26% |
| Janek, Kyle |
R |
Senate-17 |
$18,812 |
15% |
| Hilderban, Harvey |
R |
House-53 |
$18,254 |
47% |
| Crabb, Joe |
R |
House-127 |
$14,964 |
73% |
| Perry, Rick |
R |
Governor |
$14,682 |
3% |
| Brimer, Kim |
R |
Senate-10 |
$14,311 |
15% |
| Zaffirini, Judith |
D |
Senate-21 |
$13,841 |
17% |
| Chisum, Warren |
R |
House-88 |
$12,988 |
32% |
| Van De Putte, Leticia |
D |
Senate-26 |
$12,753 |
21% |
| Averitt, Kip |
R |
Senate-22 |
$12,373 |
22% |
| Uresti, Carlos |
D |
Senate-19 |
$12,175 |
20% |
| Hinojosa, Juan |
D |
Senate-20 |
$11,348 |
14% |
| Nelson, Jane |
R |
Senate-12 |
$10,996 |
8% |
| Lucio Jr., Eddie |
D |
Senate-27 |
$10,637 |
17% |
| Goolsby, Tony |
R |
House-102 |
$10,300 |
22% |
Largest Single Gift/Charitable Payments
Officeholder |
Party |
Amount |
Recipient |
Filer’s Description |
| Sen. John Carona |
R |
$14,397 |
Southwest Numismatic Corp. |
Texana for charities/colleagues |
| Charles Geren |
R |
$12,636 |
Fort Worth Stock Show |
Contribution |
| Gov. Rick Perry |
R |
$10,778 |
Perini Ranch Steak House |
Constituent gifts |
| Sen. Kyle Janek |
R |
$10,000 |
MH Foundation |
Sponsorship |
| Sen. John Carona |
R |
$6,885 |
John Rowe |
Texana for civic fundraisers |
| Rep. Harvey Hilderbran |
R |
$6,619 |
Hill Country Jr. Livestock Show |
Donation |
| Rep. Charles Geren |
R |
$5,325 |
Tarrant Co. Jr. Livestock Show |
Donation |
| Sen. Jeff Wentworth |
R |
$5,000 |
Alamo Heights School Fdn. |
Charitable contribution |
| Sen. Jane Nelson |
R |
$5,000 |
Treitsch Memorial UMC |
Veteran's Memorial Plaza |
| Rep. Tom Craddick |
R |
$5,000 |
TX Archive of Moving Image |
Donation |
| Rep. Joe Crabb |
R |
$5,000 |
Grace Campus Ministries |
Donation |
Note: Excludes multiple checks from a campaign to the same recipient.
Officials spent 8 percent of all their political funds on Campaign-Related Expenditures. Members of the House—where the Democrats made the biggest inroads against Republican rule—spent 10 percent of their funds on Campaign-Related Expenditures such as mailings, advertising, phone banks and fundraising. Their colleagues in the Senate and statewide offices—which are under tighter GOP control—respectively spent just 6 percent of their political funds on Campaign-Related Expenditures. Given that many Staff & Consultant expenditures are campaign-related, it is not surprising that personnel absorbed 23 percent of House spending compared to 18 percent in the Senate.
Biggest Spenders on Campaign-Related Expenditures
Officeholder |
Party |
Office |
Total
Category
Expenditures |
This Category’s
Share of Total
Expenditures |
| Perry, Rick |
R |
Governor |
$90,149 |
15% |
| Flores, Kino |
D |
House-36 |
$47,352 |
43% |
| O'Day, Mike |
R |
House-29 |
$44,898 |
32% |
| King, Susan |
R |
House-71 |
$35,360 |
99% |
| Dewhurst, David |
R |
Lt. Governor |
$34,959 |
3% |
| Goolsby, Tony |
R |
House-102 |
$26,971 |
57% |
| Carona, John |
R |
Senate-16 |
$26,432 |
13% |
| Leibowitz, David |
D |
House-117 |
$22,546 |
86% |
| Craddick, Tom |
R |
House-82 |
$20,532 |
5% |
| Raymond, Richard |
D |
House-42 |
$15,045 |
15% |
| Janek, Kyle |
R |
Senate-17 |
$14,627 |
12% |
| Combs, Susan |
R |
Comptroller |
$14,238 |
9% |
| Davis, John |
R |
House-129 |
$13,755 |
27% |
| Harris, Chris |
R |
Senate-9 |
$13,153 |
9% |
| Cook, Byron |
R |
House-8 |
$11,983 |
59% |
| Merritt, Tommy |
R |
House-7 |
$11,076 |
43% |
| Ellis, Rodney |
D |
Senate-13 |
$10,595 |
15% |
| Zerwas, John |
R |
House-28 |
$10,341 |
36% |
| West, Royce |
D |
Senate-23 |
$9,507 |
9% |
| Hinojosa, Juan |
D |
Senate-20 |
$9,484 |
12% |
Largest Single Campaign-Related Expenditures
Officeholder |
Party |
Amount |
Recipient |
Filer’s Description |
| Gov. Rick Perry |
R |
$36,632 |
Delisi Communications |
Printing |
| Rep. Michael O'Day |
R |
$35,299 |
J2 Strategies LP |
Advertising |
| |
