Houston Chronicle: Campaign Contributions and the Big Dogs
Editorial on the need for Texas to take action on campaign finance reform.
"In our vast state of 30 million, there are only around 30 people who truly control the purse strings in Texas politics." Read the Houston Chronicle editorial.
Monday, September 25, 2017
Eeyore's Birthday Supports TPJ!
TPJ is proud to announce that the good folks who bring our community the annual Eeyore's Birthday Party recently provided us with a generous grant to help support our transparency and accountability work. Our thanks to the Friends of the Forest Foundation. Hope to see you April 28, 2018 at Pease Park!
Thursday, September 7, 2017
In Harvey's wake, critics see big money behind lax reporting
From the Texas Tribune:
In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, an exploding chemical plant and spikes
in cancer-causing emissions are highlighting how little the public knows
about potential dangers from the oil and chemical industries. Critics
say one reason for the darkness: tons of campaign money.
McKINNEY,
Tex. — When Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas was booked at the county jail here Monday on felony fraud
charges, he joined some pretty high-powered company, including Tom DeLay, the
former House majority leader, and former Gov. Rick Perry, as powerful Texas
officials indicted while in office over the last decade.
The three had something else in common: a former Michigan
community organizer named Craig McDonald. The cases leading to the indictments,
Mr. DeLay’s in 2005 and Mr. Perry’s in 2014, started with the low-budget,
nonprofit government watchdog group Mr. McDonald runs out of a basement office
in Austin, with 30-year-old furniture and few frills. (Read more.)
Watchdog makes big waves with small resources By Peggy Fikac August 9, 2015
AUSTIN — Attorney General Ken Paxton and former Gov. Rick Perry may have a long legal slog ahead as they battle their indictments. But Craig McDonald, whose watchdog group filed the criminal complaints that spurred both cases, isn’t saying where he thinks their road should end. The job he sees for himself with regard to their cases was all but over when the indictments were delivered. Read the full profile.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Post-Perry Corruption OP-ED in Austin Statesman
Austin American-Statesman
By Craig McDonald and
Andrew Wheat
Cronyism
and entitlement flourish when one political party controls every statewide
office for 20 years. Indicted former Gov. Rick Perry created the ultimate
crony-corrupt state. He rewarded political supporters with appointments, no-bid
contracts and huge handouts from the public purse. The few people who stood up
to this corruption notably don’t include Texas’ new leaders.
Backgrounder on Rick Perry: A bully indicted for abuse of office
The Perry indictments have triggered a flood of misinformation about the case. TPJ's fact sheet rebuts major spin-machine fallacies and includes links to numerous sources that document the facts. Read TPJ's spin-busting fact sheet.
Gov. Rick Perry asks to enter grand jury courtroom through back door
The Austin American-Statesman reports that in an ironic twist Governor Rick Perry has asked District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg if he can sneak through her office to enter the grand jury room out of the view of the media. Perry and/or his staff are expected to testify on whether the Governor violated the law when he threatened to withhold her budget if she did not give up her office.
Editorial: Perry veto investigation on right track
The Austin-American Statesman Editorial Board expressed its support for the seriousness with which the special prosecutor is taking his investigation of Perry's conduct. The investigation was triggered by a formal complaint filed by TPJ alleging the Governor's threats to the veto the funding of the Travis County Public Integrity Unit violated state law.
NY Times columnist Gail Collins muses on oligarchy. She asks TPJ where are the Texas oligarchs?
Read 'Billion Dollar Babies' at the NY Times.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Houston Chronicle Editorial: Tom DeLay's Legacy
September 20, 2013: Although a Texas appeals court has reversed the 2010 verdict that found former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay guilty of money laundering, it's not so easy to reverse the carcinogenic effect the once-formidable House majority leader had on the body politic. During his two-decade reign in Washington, "the Hammer" nurtured a pervasive cynicism that continues to hobble the democratic process. He perfected a system of gerrymandering that has helped freeze governance into a sclerotic contortion, and as a cash-wielding power broker he was a master at making money the measure of all things political. Read the complete editorial.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Stop putting it off -- pass real ethics reform. Guest Editorial by Craig McDonald
Ethics sunset bills pending in the legislature do little to clean up Texas' ethical swamp.
TPJ Lawsuit Fails to Open Legislative Pension Info
From the Austin American-Statesman, by Mike Ward.
Texas taxpayers cannot find out how much retired lawmakers as a group are collecting in retirement benefits from the state, an Austin judge ruled this morning.
The reason: Lawmakers have passed laws to keep that information secret, even if the retirees are not identified individually.
The decision by State District Judge Lora Livingston came in a lawsuit filed by the government-watchdog group Texans for Public Justice. The group is seeking to find out the total cost of retirement benefits being paid to 103 former lawmakers who are now lobbyists.
NPR Reports on "Pay-to-Play" Investigation in Texas
A prominent campaign contributor to Texas Gov. Rick Perry is under investigation for mismanaging hurricane disaster relief. A Texas Senate committee is examining the state's contract with engineering firm HNTB, which critics say is the latest example of the pay-to-play culture that exists in Perry's administration.
Karen Brooks of the Dallas Morning News reports that bills to slow or stop the revolving door that turns lawmakers into lobbyists won't likely see the light of day in the legislature.
McKINNEY,
Tex. — When Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas was booked at the county jail here Monday on felony fraud
charges, he joined some pretty high-powered company, including Tom DeLay, the
former House majority leader, and former Gov. Rick Perry, as powerful Texas
officials indicted while in office over the last decade.
Austin American-Statesman
