Montgomery County is earning a reputation for electing officials who don't know how to (or care to) comply with simple ethics laws. As if breaking the law wasn't enough, now these characters are threatening to cut off support for charity organizations if citizens continue to report them for breaking the law.
As The Courier reported, County Commissioner Mike Meador was the recipient of yet another TEC complaint. Among other things, Meador accepted contributions from corporations, which is not allowed. Meador's excuses read like a jr. high student whose homework was eaten by the dog.
"If it says 'incorporated' on the check, I don't take them" - Newsflash 2009: The majority of most corporations don't print "Incorporated" on their checks. This is not a viable way to check an organization's status.
As The Courier reported, County Commissioner Mike Meador was the recipient of yet another TEC complaint. Among other things, Meador accepted contributions from corporations, which is not allowed. Meador's excuses read like a jr. high student whose homework was eaten by the dog.
"If it says 'incorporated' on the check, I don't take them" - Newsflash 2009: The majority of most corporations don't print "Incorporated" on their checks. This is not a viable way to check an organization's status.
"I cooked for the Chamber, and they paid me for the fish and cooking oil" - If that's the case, that should have been a personal reimbursement, not a contribution to the campaign. Or did he spend campaign money for fish and cooking oil for a Chamber event?
“We get tons of checks,” "It (the Twin Shores check) just slipped through. It wasn’t on purpose. To go and check every one would take days.” - I doubt he gets that many checks that have a questionable corporation status and even if he did, that's the cost of compliance. It's called following the law!
"I’ve had other elected officials tell me they’re going to quit giving to the fair and to schools. Who they’re (complainants) going to hurt here is the kids and schools.” I beg your pardon, but "complainants" are helping the Texas Ethics Commission enforce the law, correct? If he wasn't breaking the law, there wouldn't be any problem here. So either he is suggesting that he should be able to keep his illegal contributions for "the kids" or that the fines he is having to pay will come out of the campaign account he was using for "the kids".
“We get tons of checks,” "It (the Twin Shores check) just slipped through. It wasn’t on purpose. To go and check every one would take days.” - I doubt he gets that many checks that have a questionable corporation status and even if he did, that's the cost of compliance. It's called following the law!
"I’ve had other elected officials tell me they’re going to quit giving to the fair and to schools. Who they’re (complainants) going to hurt here is the kids and schools.” I beg your pardon, but "complainants" are helping the Texas Ethics Commission enforce the law, correct? If he wasn't breaking the law, there wouldn't be any problem here. So either he is suggesting that he should be able to keep his illegal contributions for "the kids" or that the fines he is having to pay will come out of the campaign account he was using for "the kids".
- The TEC has an obligation to enforce the law. If you don't like it, get out of public life.
- Why are elected officials making charitable donations from their campaign accounts? Citizens make these contributions for a political purpose to help a candidate win an election. Why is the money being spent on an unrelated purpose? If someone wanted to give money to a fair or a school, they make a donation to the fair or the school.
- If an official is being fined for their carelessness and disregard for the law, that official should be paying that fine from personal funds. It's not fair to the people who contributed to the campaign for their contribution to be wasted on a fine. If the official received a speeding ticket, would it be appropriate to pay that fine from campaign funds?
- If an official is so concerned about the welfare of the charitable organizations they are contributing to, they shouldn't have a problem making these contributions from personal funds. To say that they can't make contributions because they're having to pay fines from their campaign account to the TEC is like saying you can't making your tithing at church because your brother didn't get his bonus check this month.
Continuing to fill tears into the river, Constable Don Chumley has had to hire an attorney and an accountant to keep up with all of the dough he's rolling in.
“It’s money I’m having to spend on that, that I could be giving to the fair and to schools,” “It will probably be $300 to $400 every time I go to the attorney; and the accountant, I have no idea.” - He's right about not having an idea.
First of all, the TEC laws are not complex. They ask you to complete a form, which can be done electronically to report what money you have received and what money you have spent from your campaign account. They require some very basic information on each contributor/payee, like their name, address, occupation and employer. To say that you have to hire an attorney AND an accountant to perform that task says that the Constable is incapable of keeping basic records. If he's incapable of keeping basic records, he needs to hang up his hat. But his complaints stem from not filing the semi-annual report on time. I guess he has to hire an attorney and an accountant to compensate for laziness.
Either these elected officials are incompetent, lazy, or unscrupulous. In any event, they should stop whining and simply follow the law that everyone else in Texas has to follow. If they can't do that, they should spare us the agony and let someone take their place who has enough respect for the law to send in a form twice a year with accurate information.
“It’s money I’m having to spend on that, that I could be giving to the fair and to schools,” “It will probably be $300 to $400 every time I go to the attorney; and the accountant, I have no idea.” - He's right about not having an idea.
First of all, the TEC laws are not complex. They ask you to complete a form, which can be done electronically to report what money you have received and what money you have spent from your campaign account. They require some very basic information on each contributor/payee, like their name, address, occupation and employer. To say that you have to hire an attorney AND an accountant to perform that task says that the Constable is incapable of keeping basic records. If he's incapable of keeping basic records, he needs to hang up his hat. But his complaints stem from not filing the semi-annual report on time. I guess he has to hire an attorney and an accountant to compensate for laziness.
Either these elected officials are incompetent, lazy, or unscrupulous. In any event, they should stop whining and simply follow the law that everyone else in Texas has to follow. If they can't do that, they should spare us the agony and let someone take their place who has enough respect for the law to send in a form twice a year with accurate information.
Posts
