There are six Vendido Caucus candidates on the ballot for the upcoming Runoff Election. They are primarily funded by a small clique of billionaires and millionaires residing on the Westside.
We analyzed the campaign contributions of the Vendido Caucus candidates for City Districts 3, 4, 5 and 7, drawing data from their campaign finance reports of July 15, October 7, and October 28 and their financial disclosures on recent City Council agendas.
DEANNA MALDONADO-ROCHA, CANDIDATE FOR DISTRICT 3
Deanna Maldonado-Rocha reported raising $33,825, of which 93.3% came from outside District 3. Only five of her financial supporters are located within her district and account for $2,250 (6.7%) of her funding. $30,900 (91.4%) of her contributions came from only 18 individuals and 3 PACs.
CYNTHIA BOYAR-TREJO, CANDIDATE FOR DISTRICT 4
Cynthia Boyar-Trejo reported raising $24,685, of which 90.4% came from 14 individuals who reside outside District 4. She failed to provide her contributors’ addresses on her finance reports, so the percentage of her funding from outside her district is certainly higher. We noticed that the odious Joyce Wilson provided an an-kind contribution of $1,623.75 for banners, postcards, and yard signs, and that Woody Hunt threw in another $482.43 to cover the cost of her fundraiser at Dead Beach Brewery.
IVAN NIÑO, CANDIDATE FOR DISTRICT 5
Ivan Niño, who was criminally investigated for “Deceptive Business Practice” while working for the County in 2013-2019, reported raising $38,145, of which 96.1% came from outside District 5. Only eight of his financial supporters are located within his district and account for $1,470 (3.9%) of his funding. $32,500 (85.2%) of his contributions came from only 16 individuals and 3 PACs.
CHRIS HERNANDEZ, CANDIDATE FOR DISTRICT 7
The December 3 City Council agenda reveals that Chris Hernandez is the newest member of the Vendido Caucus. He reported raising $39,760, of which a whopping 98.4% came from outside District 7. Only five of his financial supporters are located within his district and account for $625 (1.6%) of his funding. $28,250 (71.1%) of his contributions came from only 14 individuals and 3 PACs.
Notably, Hernandez received an in-kind donation of $2,500 from Jeremy Jordan, the disgraced husband of City Rep. Cassandra Hernandez, for consulting services. (Hernandez cites Jordan’s downtown business address on his October 7 campaign finance report but told us he resides within District 7).
In a recent phone conversation, Hernandez insisted he is a fiscal conservative, citing his voting record as a YISD Trustee. He promised to never support any project costing $100 million or more without putting it to the voters first. But in our experience, candidates whose elections are financed with Oligarchy cash will support large public bond projects 100% of the time, no matter what they claim during their campaigns. If Hernandez wins, we will hold him to his word.
CITY COUNCIL IS FOR SALE
In conclusion, the campaigns of Maldonado-Rocha, Boyar-Trejo, Niño, and Hernandez are bankrolled by elite Westside investors and their bankers and attorneys, who live far outside their districts. These candidates obviously represent the interests of our local Oligarchy rather than their constituents.
By the same token, Renard Johnson, who is the Vendido in Chief, has raised nearly $1 million from a combination of local elites, Republican PACs, and wealthy investors in Austin and San Antonio. His supporters conveniently ignore that his former business partner was federally indicted in a $3 million Ponzi scheme, that he fired a Hispanic employee who complained about discrimination (resulting in a $277,000 judgment against his company), and that he dishonestly claims he will lower our taxes though he plans to increase spending by more than $1 billion.
Alejandra Chávez, candidate for District 1, raised $130,217, the most ever raised for a district race. Unlike the district candidates cited above, her contributions come from mostly within her own district, which includes most of the city’s elite developers, bankers and attorneys. Her supporters conveniently ignore that she worked as a risk analyst for Enron, which engaged in the most egregious accounting fraud in American corporate history, and that she filed for her own bankruptcy in 2009, when her business liabilities exceeded her assets by a ratio of 14 to 1. We do not want her managing our $1.3 billion municipal budget!
VOTE FOR FISCALLY CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATES!
The candidates we have endorsed have all been outraised by their Vendido Caucus opponents. They face a blizzard of mailers, doorhangers, television spots, and text messages aiming to deceive the voters, but we are not that stupid!
For Mayor, we strongly endorse BRIAN KENNEDY, who has funded more than 86% of his campaign with his own money. In addition, we recommend DR. MONICA REYES for District 1, JOE MOLINAR for District 4, AMANDA CUNNINGHAM for District 5, and LILY LIMÓN for District 7.
Early voting is December 2-10 with Election Day on December 14.