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.
$92,000 per year from city tax payers goes directly to the Barnhill Center, that is in published city budget. Now, that’s about $6.00 per city dwelling citizen per year, which is not a great deal of money. On the other hand, a very large number of these citizens who pay support taxes one way or another, cannot afford to pay the admission price of the majority of events or use the ballroom. And occasional showings of old movies cannot put a different face on this “picture”. And, the Maifest is far from thriving. Participation is down and costs are so high, it takes multiples of maifest “royalty “ to put on the show. If we want attractions to boost our tax revenue, then we best start doing something different to appeal to a wider base. Instead of another sports complex why aren’t we taking advantage of our greatest asset, nature? A children’s memorial zoo, Thomas train rides or like, with a botanical garden, and picnic grounds amidst this beautiful countryside? A true escape for city folks. Texas A & M right down the road is a great resource of talents and support for such an endeavor. That is year round family fun FOR ALL at reasonable cost.
As someone who feels government should do more for our community, I am glad to see some of these large newspaper ads and catered receptions and colorful campaign signs from some of the candidates.
If a candidate is comfortable spending big campaign dollars then they will also hopefully be comfortable allocating more funds to worthy causes, such as renovating the Simon Theater, new Sheriff department equipment, or promoting tourism events like Maifest.
There is nothing wrong with people who afford to donate to do so…that is our right to free speech.
The Washington County real estate market is hot. This area is thankfully becoming more progressive, sophisticated and cultured. If that means more money from successful people for a clean slate of new leadership….then get over it!
We have seen the results of “progressive,sophisticated and cultured” and from my perspective you can keep it. Progressive is simply a code word for liberal ideas, high taxes, and way of life that is not part of the history, heritage or culture of this area. This is a great place to live for a reason and I would hate to se it destroyed by “progressive” ideas. (and no, I am not old time Brenham, have only been here a short 20 years).
The Simon Theater is a great project, but it seems to be progressing nicely without excess government involvement, the same can be said for Maifest. We do not need our tax dollars funding those things, they have existed and thrived without that. The sheriff is another matter, but we have elected officials who are faced with working through that, let them do their jobs.
I second your motion. The local government has overstepped the respect of local taxpayers. What next. More broken down streets with tax dollars being funneled to a new parking lot on South side of downtown. Tax dollars should not be used on special interest groups it areas. Tax dollars need to go where they use to go and that is citywide streets and public safety.
Why only the last 30 days? These folks have been running the last 6 months, and we folks who get all the expensive mailers in our boxes, read the extra large adds in the paper, get invitations to downtown catered events, KNOW far more has been “ donated” to some of these candidates. WHY not tell us how much has been donated since they filed? One single candidate has taken NO money from supporters. That alone, gets her my vote. Seems like voters are entitled to know MORE.
Seems like a silly reason to vote for someone. By all means, you have the right to do so but i would think someones political leanings and values and credentials should come in play long before whether or not they recieved money from donors or not. That is just part of a political campaign. And I also dont believe for a second there is ANY campaign here that hasn’t taken any money from a donor including the one running ads saying so.
Curious– good question. The answer is, this is the *last* report filed before the election. Other reports are filed throughout the campaign. They are all considered Open Records and you can get a copy of any candidate’s reports by simply asking at the courthouse. The reason this particular filing has made the news is because of the contention that, as you noted, one candidate in particular has dropped mailers weekly throughout the last 30 days but has somehow managed to do so without spending a single dime. Frankly, I think this makes her the perfect official. If she can continue to get things done without spending any money at all than what a Win-Win! We shouldn’t have to pay anymore taxes because there won’t be anymore expenses! You are correct – it is up to the voters to know more. So don’t just take a soundbite as a reason for someone to get your vote. Ask questions. Do your own digging. Read the regulations. Get the whole story. And then – most importantly– make an EDUCATED VOTE!