Renard Johnson, whose former business partner was federally indicted in a $3 million Ponzi scheme, has repeatedly stated that he will lower our taxes even though he plans to increase spending.
He emphatically supports building a downtown arena and a deck plaza over Interstate 10 that together could cost the taxpayers more than $1 billion plus interest.
We wrote to Renard Johnson on September 22 to ask how he would pay for his spending initiatives while lowering our taxes, inviting him to explain what he would cut from the budget and/or how he would increase revenues.
He and his handler Lauren Zimmerman refused to respond to us or even acknowledge our questions. In fact, they have never once responded to our multiple inquiries.
Of course, we know why Renard will not answer us: because he stands for the financial agenda of the big developers and their bankers and attorneys. If elected, he will promote expensive capital improvement projects, more deficit spending, higher taxation, and corporate welfare no matter what he is promising today.
We have since learned that Renard raised $881,000, including from fundraisers in Austin and San Antonio, and that Woody Hunt, Paul Foster, Rick Francis, and Ed Escudero contributed $120,000 by funneling cash through a Republican PAC.
We have also learned that Renard fired a Hispanic employee who complained about discrimination, resulting in a $277,000 judgment against his company.
We feel confident that the voters will not be fooled by this false prophet and hope they will support City Rep. Brian Kennedy, who has an outstanding record of voting for the interests of the taxpayers.