Month: May 2017

Here in Texas, Tom Mechler resigned his post of Rep Party of Texas Chair.  As the role had started to take its toll on his personal life, he decided to step aside.  A very wise move.

I had received some information regarding Mr. Figueroa this week and wanted to share it with you.  I didn’t compile the information, however I am disseminating it as I received it.   I hope you find it useful in your decision making on who you may support for the next RPT Chair.

Richard Scott “Rick” Figueroa Political Background and Activity CONTRIBUTION HISTORY Campaign finance records on file with the Texas Ethics Commission, Federal Election Commission, and City of Houston indicate Figueroa has been a modest donor to a small handful of candidates and political action committees since 2006. His contribution history is as follows: Donations on file with FEC: 4/10/13 $250 to John Cornyn http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?13020330116 3/15/08 

$500 to John McCain http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?13941009430 8/23/08 

$500 to John McCain http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?13941073520 12/23/13 

$300 to Fort Bend Republican Party http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?14940308511 

Donations on file with TEC: 5/9/16 $375 to Republican Women of Greater North Texas PAC 6/5/06 $200 to Kristi Thibaut 10/9/13 $250 to Hispanic Republicans of Texas 11/21/14 $250 to Lois Kolkhorst 4/12/17 $500 to Republican Women of Greater North Texas PAC 10/2/13 

$350 to Spirit of Freedom Republican Women 11/18/13 

$20 to Fort Bend Republican Women’s Club PAC Donations on file with City of Houston: 7/22/09 

$250 to Gene Locke There is no record of Figueroa contributing to the Republican Party of Texas in an amount that would trigger mandatory public disclosure of the contribution ($200 or more per election cycle for contributions to a Federal account). CONTRIBUTION TO KRISTI THIBAUT In 2006, Democrats targeted Texas House District 133 as a pickup opportunity. This was an open seat which been vacated by Republican State Representative Joe Nixon. The general election campaign featured Republican nominee Jim Murphy and Democratic nominee Kristi Thibaut.   

Thibaut’s campaign finance reports on file with the Texas Ethics Commission indicate she received a $200 contribution from Figueroa on 6/5/20061. In addition to Figueroa’s contribution, Thibaut’s campaign also received financial support from a variety of union interests as well as Planned Parenthood2. The Democrats’ attempts to turn District 133 blue in 2006 were unsuccessful, with Murphy defeating Thibaut and holding the seat for Republicans. Although she was defeated by Murphy, Thibaut still managed to find work at the State Capitol during the 2007 legislative session- as a paid lobbyist for the disgraced and scandal plagued organization ACORN. Thibaut’s paid work for ACORN was highlighted by the Republican Party of Texas during one of Thibaut’s subsequent campaigns for the Texas House3. (Note: Per state law, campaign finance records posted on the Texas Ethics Commission’s website do not include a contributor’s full street address, just the contributor’s city and ZIP code. The entry on the campaign finance report showing Figueroa’s contribution to the Thibaut campaign shows a Sugar Land, Texas ZIP code where Figueroa and his wife resided at the time the contribution was made.) CONTRIBUTION TO GENE LOCKE In the open race for Mayor of Houston in 2009, many grassroots Republicans supported the candidacy of Roy Morales. While technically a non-partisan election, Morales was the only viable candidate with a Republican history, and was serving at the time as a Republican member of the Harris County Department of Education board. Morales faced three major Democratic opponents- city councilman Peter Brown, city controller Annise Parker, and former city attorney Gene Locke. Many prominent Democratic elected officials in the Houston area, including State Senators John Whitmire, Mario Gallegos, and Rodney Ellis, were prominent supporters of Locke’s mayoral campaign. Locke’s campaign finance records on file with the City of Houston indicate he received a $250 contribution from Figueroa on 7/22/09. HOUSTON BUSINESS EDUCATION COALITION PAC Figueroa is a member of the board of the Houston Business Education Coalition PAC4, which endorses and makes financial contributions to candidates in Houston ISD and Houston Community College Board elections. While the Houston Business Education Coalition PAC claims to support “reform-minded” candidates, there are numerous examples where this PAC endorsed and/or contributed to liberal candidates who had markedly conservative opponents. 1http://204.65.203.5/public/416575.pdf    2http://204.65.203.5/public/321250.pdf    3https://www.texasgop.org/texas-‐republicans-‐expose-‐democrat-‐state-‐rep-‐kristi-‐thibauts-‐ties-to-‐discredited-‐acorn/    4http://houstonbec.org/about/     

Kevin Hoffman- In 2013, the Houston Business Education Coalition PAC endorsed and contributed $10,000 to Kevin Hoffman, a candidate for the Houston Community College Board. At the time of this election, Hoffman served as President of the Greater Heights Democratic Club and treasurer of Houston Stonewall Young Democrats (a LGBTQ advocacy organization)7. Hoffman came in third place in a three-way race against Democratic activist and union official Zeph Capo and incumbent HCC board member Yolanda Navarro Flores. Adriana Tamez- In 2013, the Houston Business Education Coalition PAC endorsed8 and contributed $41,5009 to Adriana Tamez, a Houston ISD administrator who was challenging incumbent Houston Community College Board member Herlinda Garcia. While both Tamez and Garcia had Democratic histories, there were significant ideological differences between the two candidates. This was reflected in the endorsements received by the candidates, with Tamez receiving backing from prominent Democratic activists and organizations10 and Garcia receiving support from conservatives including former Harris County Republican Party Chairman Gary Polland.11 Tamez defeated Garcia in a runoff election. Bruce Austin- In 2013, the Houston Business Education Coalition PAC endorsed12 and contributed $2,50013 to Democrat and longtime HCC board member Bruce Austin. His opponent, Dave Wilson, was well known in the Houston area for his many years of conservative activism, particularly on family values issues. Wilson narrowly defeated Austin in a major upset. Robert Glaser- In 2013, the Houston Business Education Coalition PAC endorsed14 and contributed $10,00015 to Democrat Robert Glaser in a race for an open seat on the Houston Community College board. Glaser was opposed by Phil Kunetka, a Navy veteran who had been active in Republican party activities for some time. Glaser defeated Kunetka in a runoff election. 5http://www.prnewswire.com/news-‐releases/houston-‐business-‐education-‐coalition-‐pac-‐hbec-endorses-‐kevin-‐j-‐hoffman-‐in-‐fall-‐hcc-‐election-‐227878691.html    6http://204.65.203.5/public/588204noadd.csv    7http://offthekuff.com/wp/?p=56478    8http://www.prnewswire.com/news-‐releases/houston-‐business-‐education-‐coalition-‐pac-‐hbec-endorses-‐adriana-‐tamez-‐in-‐fall-‐hcc-‐election-‐227874341.html    9http://204.65.203.5/public/588204noadd.csv   and  http://204.65.203.5/public/599446noadd.csv    10   http://www.harrisyds.org/houston-‐elections-‐2013.html  11http://www.texasconservativereview.com/TCR_Nov_2013_Houston_Voters_Guide/    12http://www.prnewswire.com/news-‐releases/houston-‐business-‐education-‐coalition-‐pac-hbec-‐endorses-‐bruce-‐austin-‐in-‐fall-‐hcc-‐election-‐228252281.html   13http://204.65.203.5/public/588204noadd.csv    

14   http://www.prnewswire.com/news-‐releases/houston-‐business-‐education-‐coalition-‐pac-hbec-‐endorses-‐robert-‐glaser-‐in-‐fall-‐hcc-‐election-‐228252211.html    

15http://204.65.203.5/public/588204noadd.csv   and  http://204.65.203.5/public/599446noadd.csv     

Zeph Capo- After Kevin Hoffman (see above) failed to make the runoff election against incumbent Houston Community College board member Yolanda Navarro Flores, the Houston Business Education Coalition PAC threw its support and $20,000 in campaign contributions16 behind Zeph Capo, Flores’ remaining opponent. At the time of this election, Capo served as a member of the State Democratic Executive Committee and worked for an affiliate of the AFLCIO.17 While Flores also had a Democratic history, she ran a campaign on a platform that was significantly further to the right of Capo (and Hoffman). The ideological differences between Capo and Flores are why well known Houston-area Republican elected officials such as Orlando Sanchez18 and Chris Daniel endorsed Flores’ campaign. Capo defeated Flores in the runoff election. VIEWS ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION After his unsuccessful campaign for Republican National Committeeman against incumbent Robin Armstrong, Figueroa served as a member of the Trump campaign’s Hispanic advisory council. In September 2016, after Trump gave a speech regarding the need for an aggressive stand against illegal immigration, Figueroa made comments critical of Trump to the media.19 Figueroa also posted a statement on his website critical of Trump’s speech and indicating his personal opposition to the deportation of illegal immigrants.20 OTHER ACTIVITIES Figueroa was appointed to the board of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation by Governor Abbott in May, 2016 and was previously appointed to the Texas Judicial Council by Governor Perry. Figueroa’s biography identifies him as an “Ambassador” for the Greater Houston Partnership21 and the Greater Houston Partnership’s member directory identifies Figueroa as a “Life Member.”22 In 2015, the Greater Houston Partnership was active in efforts in support of the “Houston Equal Rights Ordinance” that would have required Houston businesses to allow men to use women’s restrooms. In addition to publicly supporting the ordinance, the Greater Houston Partnership contributed $71,760 to the unsuccessful campaign to pass the ordinance. 

 16http://204.65.203.5/public/599446noadd.csv    

17   http://offthekuff.com/wp/?p=56475     18https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TDuNcZZkw5pkqew5b8MNf4INTV2gUZESIcaJThM3CKVcy1Yr-PI2np92XoAG/edit  19https://www.texastribune.org/2016/09/01/after-‐speech-‐trump-‐loses-‐key-‐texas-‐hispanic-backer/   

  20http://web.archive.org/web/20160907215115/https://www.rickfortexas.com/2016/09/01/my-statement-‐on-‐donald-‐trump-‐immigration-‐and-‐the-‐republican-‐party/    21http://gov.texas.gov/news/appointment/22317    22http://trendmag2.trendoffset.com/publication/index.php?i=219660&m=&l=&p=150&pre=&ver =html5#{“page”:150,”issue_id”:219660}     

In a blog (http://rehakforschoolboard.com/parents-want-information-not-lies-intimidation) posted under the “News” heading found on Bob Rehak’s campaign website, he calls the Kingwood TEA Party a hate group and stated that they were intimidating a “young mother – who is also a candidate” because she does not support vouchers. He further makes an assertion that the Kingwood TEA Party is in favor of vouchers.

FACT – The Kingwood TEA Party is in favor of Educational Savings Accounts, not vouchers.

The “young mother” running for school board is in fact, Abigail Whitmire. He goes on to accuse TEA Party leaders of “furtively” taking photos of a tent located on public property outside of a polling location where she and her child were, while passing out literature that stated her employment with Planned Parenthood.

FACT – Abigail Whitmire did work for Planned Parenthood as a Public Affairs Field Specialist. This information was found on her LinkedIn profile.

Bob Rehak has threatened to sue for taking photos of Ms. Whitmire along with her supporters while they are speaking with or waiting for voters at the public polling place. If Ms. Whitmire, Mr. Rehak and their supporters feel their children are at risk at the polling location, why are they taking them there? No justifiable answer was given.

FACT – If you are in plain view of the public, you can ask for someone to stop filming/photographing you, however they do not have to stop. There is not a “Reasonable Expectation of Privacy” for candidates especially when outside a polling location. http://carterlawaz.com/2013/06/no-expectation-of-privacy-in-public/

FACT – The only “Reasonable Expectation of Privacy” a candidate has is to that of their medical records. http://www.ethicapublishing.com/inconvenientorinvasive/2CH5.pdf

 Bob Rehak and his supporters are taking a page out of the Democrat playbook by trying to bully and intimidate grassroots activists into backing off. While you may not see them at the polls, the grassroots are actively working elsewhere in the community, county and state. http://thefederalist.com/2016/10/10/16-times-democrats-tried-to-prosecute-their-opponents/

A member of the voting community posed a question in response to Mr. Rehak’s assertion that almost 1 in 4 7th graders cannot read at grade level (http://rehakforschoolboard.com/good-reading-skills-fuel-upward-mobility/ & http://rehakforschoolboard.com/learners-are-earners/ ) in which data from http://tea.texas.gov/perfreport/tapr/index.html was cited. The question asked Mr. Rehak for his opinion as to why scores in HISD, the Houston region and across the state fell from 5th grade to 6th & 7th grades and then increased in 8th grade again. A screenshot of Mr. Rehak response is below.

 

FACT: According to the TEA website, http://tea.texas.gov/student.assessment/staar/performance-standards, STAAR Performance Standards, STAAR 3–8 Performance Standards Chart. There is jump in required scores from 5th to 6th grade is 47 basis points, 6th to 7th is 45 basis points and 7th to 8th is 26 basis points.

Mr. Rehak states that 23% of students cannot read at grade level, however, the STAAR test is not a test of a student’s ability to read and comprehend, it is a test that tests higher level thinking.

Mr. Rehak had interviewed with the TEA Party. They decided that Mr. Rehak’s idea of reading intervention is not conducive to a successful plan. He only issued a short-term solution and nothing long-term. However, teaching phonics is a much better plan that employs longer benefits to reading-comprehension. Implementing it at a young elementary stage does work, and long lasting effects. FACT: Mr. Rehak has also been endorsed by the Kingwood Democrats. Using his past livelihood to misrepresent facts is what he does, and very well.