This article is a response to the opinion article, ‘Democrats fall short on campaign ethics,’ which ran in The Daily Cougar on Oct. 20, 2009.
Timothy Mathis’ recent rant about Democrats and campaign ethics is a perfect example of taking a little information and extrapolating it into evidence to fit a theory.
Mathis railed about Houston mayoral candidates having to return ‘illegal’ campaign contributions. I cannot quote the other candidates on their agendas, but I have personal knowledge of Annise Parker’s campaign, and Mathis is out of line.
Yes, Parker did have to return donations that were mistakenly accepted from individuals during the ‘blackout’ period. The blackout rule prohibits donations from being made to an individual or an organization within 30 days of them being awarded a city contract.
This provision applies to every member of an organization’s board of directors.
And what are these ‘big business’ organizations that benefited from what Mathis called ‘quid-pro-quo deals’? The Baylor College of Medicine and the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. Yes, organizations that help all Houstonians.
With more than 1,000 donors in the last reporting period, the deals slipped through the cracks. You try to keep up with all the contracts and all the boards, and sometimes you miss one or two.
If Mathis would check the candidates’ campaign reports at the city’s Web site, he would see that many candidates and office-holders have filed corrections over the years, including, yes, Republicans.
Bradley O’Conner is a political science senior and may be reached at [email protected]
