UPDATE – CHARETTE CAMPAIGN ANSWERS QUESTIONS
The campaign for a Washington County judicial candidate says they have done nothing wrong in their filings required by Texas law.
Questions have arisen concerning the contribution/expenditure reports for Washington County Court at Law Judge candidate Robbie Gail Charette. But a spokesperson for her campaign says Charette is not required to disclose campaign expenditures because she is personally funding her campaign, and she is not seeking to be reimbursed by the campaign for those expenditures. Charette has filed the required forms on time, but has listed no contributions and no expenditures.
Instructions on “Schedule G” of the filing forms does say “Officeholder expenditures from personal funds for which you do not intend to seek reimbursement are not required to be reported on this schedule, or included in the total of unitemized political expenditures.” KWHI contacted County Clerk Beth Rothermel for an interpretation of the form, but Rothermel directed us to the Texas Ethics Commission. KWHI is waiting for a response to our request for information.
Monday was the deadline for local candidates to file their final Campaign Finance Reports at the County Clerk’s Office, although lots of questions still surround one race in particular. Robbie Gail Charette has spent what observers in the County Clerk’s office estimate is a record amount in this county in her quest for the Washington County Court at Law Judge position. The exact amount is still unknown though because her Campaign Finance Report shows no contributions and no expenditures. It does show that her campaign is being run by a committee called “The Committee to Elect Robbie Gail Charette” but that committee has not filed any Campaign Finance Reports. Her opponent, incumbent Judge Eric Berg’s report shows that his campaign has received $12,597 in the past 30 days and has spent $12,446.
In the County Judge race, challenger John Durrenberger has outspent incumbent Judge John Brieden. Durrenberger’s Campaign Finance report shows that he has receive $6,925 in contributions and spent $6,470 in the past 30 days. Judge John Brieden’s report show he has received $3,492 in contributions and he has spent $4,543 on his campaign.
In the Precinct 2 County Commissioners race, both the incumbent and the challenger have spent close to the same amount. County Commissioner Luther Hueske’s report shows that he has spent $3,179 on his campaign and has received no contributions. Challenger Candice Bullock’s reports shows that she has spent $3,010 and has received $1,650 in campaign contributions.
In the Precinct 4 Constable’s race, Buddy Riddle’s report shows that he has spent $898 on his campaign in the last 30 days and has received $250 in contributions. Opponent Greg Rolling’s report shows that he has spent $1400 on his campaign and has received $1439 in contributions.
Local candidates are required to file their Campaign Finance Reports 30 days prior to the election and 8 days prior to the election. The reports are filed with the County Clerk and become public records. Contained in the reports are the names of the contributors to the campaign and how the campaign funds were spent. Washington County Clerk Beth Rothermel has the reports filed in a large notebook divided by each candidate’s name, and it is available for viewing by the public.