Donations to local politicians' campaigns by out-of-town developers and development-related political action committees have become an issue in recent years, and one City Council member and former mayoral candidate said they were concerned about the impact on public trust. He claimed to have given.
“In our rapidly growing city, the public needs confidence that development decisions are being made with the best interests of the entire community in mind,” Councilman Paul Meltzer said April 4, 2022 Written in an editorial in the Denton Record Chronicle. . “When you see thousands of dollars flowing into political campaigns from stakeholders like Texas Realtors, the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas, and the Texas Builders Association, that credibility erodes.”
Thousands of dollars raised this year in development funds from outside the city were returned to the campaigns of all but one candidate who filed campaign finance reports. Mayor Gerald Hudspeth's challenger has not filed, but so far only No. 6 candidate Lillian Prado Carrillo has not accepted developer contributions.
Prado Carrillo, president of Denton's United Latin American Citizens League, is running a strong grassroots campaign to give Congressional representation to 25 percent of Denton's Hispanic population. According to her latest financial report, she has raised $12,554 in political contributions, spent $3,489, and maintained $12,200 in contributions.
Councilman Brian Beck and Meltzer donated $520 and $527, respectively, to Prado Carrillo's campaign.
“I don't have a relationship with any of the developers, so I don't feel comfortable accepting funding that would tie me to their organization,” Prado Carrillo said.
“I'm not opposed to working with developers in the City of Denton,” she said. “While we absolutely need to build these relationships, we need developers who care about our communities, who bring the diverse housing options and business opportunities our residents need, and where our economy can thrive. is also required.
The next campaign finance report will be submitted eight days before the general election. Early voting begins on April 22nd and runs through April 30th. Voting day is May 4th.
Mayoral candidates Stephen Dillenberg and Lucas Wedgeworth have not filed campaign finance reports, even though state election law requires candidates to do so. .
On April 11, Wedgeworth told the Record Chronicle that he had been in serious condition for several weeks. That's why she hasn't attended the past two voter forums hosted by the League of Women Voters of Denton and the Denton Chamber of Commerce.
Wedgeworth said he plans to attend the Firefighters Forum on Wednesday night and the Southeast Denton Forum on Saturday afternoon at the MLK Junior Recreation Center.
Mr. Dillenberg has not yet commented on why he did not submit campaign finance reports by Monday evening.
Hudspeth is used to accepting donations from out-of-town developers and PACs, but said that doesn't influence his decisions on stage.
This year was no exception. Mr. Hudspeth received 13,500 bids from development parties including T. Wilson & Associates, a consulting firm that works closely with Centurion American Development Group, a Dallas-based developer that has been developing Denton County for several years. received political contributions of $1.
In sixth place, Jill Jester, who serves on the Texas Woman's University Board of Trustees, received $1,000 from a real estate company in Dallas and $2,500 from the Greater Denton-Wise County Association of Realtors in Austin.
According to campaign finance reports from early April, Mr. Jester raised $12,400 in political contributions, spent $4,414, and maintained $7,985 in contributions.
Fifth-place challenger Erica Garland received only $2,500 from TREPAC, an Austin real estate agent PAC, but also donated $5,000 to Hudspeth, according to the report.
City Councilman Chris Watts donated $2,000 to Garland's campaign.
A campaign finance report from early April showed Garland had raised $18,221 in political contributions, spent $16,411 and had $1,809 left in contributions.
The No. 5 incumbent, Brandon Chase McGee, received the most donations from out-of-town developers and people interested in development.
This was a marked change from his 2022 campaign, which raised only $13,078 in his early April 2022 campaign finance report. His largest donation at the time was $1,000 from Collective Pack, a Washington, D.C.-based political action committee focused on correcting underrepresentation in the black community.
McGee has received $18,759 in political contributions from out-of-town developers and industry figures so far this year, according to his campaign finance reports.
Among those donors are $2,383 from former Aubrey Mayor Roy Mango of T. Wilson & Associates, $5,000 from Old Prosper Partners LLC and CEO and vice president of Midlothian-based Alluvium Development. Includes a total of $5,000.
Beck and Meltzer donated $297 and $495, respectively, to McGee's campaign.
McGee's Jan. 16 financial report showed political contributions totaling $18,930 and expenses of $960, leaving him with $17,970 in contributions as of the end of the reporting period.
Three months later, McGee showed $8,987 in political contributions and $6,903 in expenses, leaving a total of $23,325.
“I have received campaign contributions from people with whom I have a personal relationship and who share a similar vision to Denton,” McGee said in an email to the Record-Chronicle in early February. “I cannot accept the premise that receiving is wrong.” “In this country, we believe in holding elections, and those elections cost money to run for. Unfortunately, I am not wealthy enough to finance my campaign myself.
“Trust me, I wish I were. To tell you the truth, I'm a regular working guy like most Dentonites.”
