In February the State Affairs Committee attacked Giovanni Capriglione over his government transparency bill. His bill would bring needed transparency to government contracts with elected officials and their families.
Leading the committee assault on Capriglione were Reps. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, Dan Huberty, R-Houston and Patricia Harless R-Spring. Representative Byron Cook chairs the powerful committee.
This incident was widely reported on, including coverage in the New York Times. Follow up coverage included comments from a pleased Vicki Truitt, the State Rep. Capriglione defeated in 2012.
In 2010, Truitt came under fire from conservatives when she authored legislation to increase taxes. The Tribune reported in 2010 that conservative watchdog group Empower Texans launched autodials into Truitt’s district, informing her constituents about her bill. Truitt blamed Empower Texans calls into her district for her electoral challenges.
Yesterday, Empower Texans launched autodials into the districts of the Reps. Hildebran, Huberty, and Harless, alerting constituents about their attack on transparency, questioning potential government contracts the legislators may have with family members.
Writing about the issue, Texas Tribune executive editor Ross Ramsey shared sentiments close to those of Empower Texans on the matter.
… tell voters whether their candidates and candidates’ close relatives do business with governments over which they have influence. See whether the voters mind.
After this article was posted Empower Texans provided AgendaWise a copy of one of their calls.
Update: Our original post has been updated to include a recording of the calls made into Representative Patricia Harless’ district.