The Texas
Ethics
Commission
has fined
Katy
Independent
School
District
trustee
Joe Adams
$500 after
an
investigation
into
allegations
of
campaign
financing
irregularities
during the
May 12,
2007
school
board
election.
The probe
was
initiated
after Mary
McGarr,
who is a
member of
a school
watchdog
group,
filed a
complaint
with the
commission
in
February
accusing
Adams of
failing to
make the
required
state
finance
disclosures.
McGarr’s
complaint
alleged
that Adams
failed to
properly
disclose
political
contributions
and
political
expenditures
on his
“exceeded
$500
limit”
report and
eight-day
pre-election
report for
the May
2007
election,20and
on his
July 2007
semiannual
report.
The Texas Ethics Commission met on Oct. 13 and determined that there was credible evidence of violations of the election code. The commission issued a final order on Nov. 12 after Adams agreed to pay the civil fine.
The
commission
found that
Adams
“failed to
include
the date
for an
in-kind
contribution
of $80 for
‘letters,
cards and
stamps’
and failed
to include
the date
for a
political
expenditure
of
$1,549.06
for
campaign
signs on
his
original
July 2007
semiannual
report.”
The
commission
also wrote
that
“evidence
indicates
that the
respondent
failed to
disclose
the proper
dates for
political
expenditures
on his
July 2007
semiannual
report”
and
“failed to
properly
disclose
the total
amount of
political
contributions
maintained
as of the
last day
of the
reporting
period” on
his
“exceeded
$500
limit”
report.
In a Nov.
13
letter-to-the-editor,
Adams said
he
reviewed
the
records
with his
wife and
campaign
treasurer
Donna
Adams
after
being
contacted
by the
commission.
“We took
immediate
action and
filed
corrected
reports,”
Adams said
in the
letter.
“The
errors
involved
inadvertent
omission
of dates
and
reporting
dates of
some
expenditures.
We
incurred
some
expenses
and did
not know
the exact
amount
(e.g.,
printing,
signs, and
a
newspaper
ad) during
the eight
days
before the
campaign.”
While Adams said he disagreed with the findings, he said he has paid the civil penalty. “. . . to pursue the matter further would be costly and time-consuming with trips to Austin and legal fees,” he added.
“We have
chosen to
pay this
civil
assessment
in full
resolution
of any
issues
relative
to my
campaign
finance
reports in
order to
get this
procedural
matter
behind us
so I can
focus my
attention
on
continuing
to be the
best board
member I
can be,”
said
Adams, who
has been
trustee
since
1989.
The Katy Citizen Watchdogs said in a Nov. 17 press release that the group contacted Adams in December about not filing paperwork properly, but that Adams had said his reports were filed in accordance with the law.
“The
Watchdogs
had wished
to give
trustee
Adams
every
opportunity
to correct
his errors
and avoid
a
complaint,”
co-founder
Chris
Cottrell
said in
the
release.
The complete ethics report is available on the TEC Web site at http://www.ethics.state .tx.us/sworncomp/2008/280272.pdf