The only person who has essentially kept her word about taking money from contractors that do work for the county is Harris County Judge Hidalgo; the other four prefer the pay-to-play system of raising funds.
I could provide the campaign reports for all of them, but some of them are so large that only a very fast internet connection could download them, and it would still take time. Here is the link to where one can find them.
From the Houston Chronicle. There is no paywall for this article.
The majority of commissioners’ campaign dollars come from contractors they approve.
More than half of Harris County commissioners’ high-dollar campaign contributions were made by individuals and firms paid by the county – a rate that one expert called “a little embarrassing.”
A Houston Chronicle analysis of campaign finance reports from Jan. 1 to June 30 indicates that commissioners’ political war chests are funded largely through contributions made by individuals and businesses that contract or work with the county.
Commissioners are not directly involved in awarding contracts, but they do vote to approve contracts presented at meetings. Support from at least three of the five commissioners is also needed to hire or fire department heads, who have a more direct hand in selecting county contracts.
Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston and co-host of Houston Public Media’s Party Politics, said that when it comes to campaign finance, it’s more about the perception of impropriety than the actual existence of a conflict of interest.
“For most commissioners, it’s a little embarrassing to see these numbers as high as they are,” Rottinghaus said. “There’s a clear explanation, and it’s obvious what’s happening, but this looks like the commissioners are effectively just doing the bidding of these donors. It may not be true in these cases, but it has the appearance as such.”
Harris County, unlike many other jurisdictions, has few restrictions regarding campaign finance. There are no limits on the maximum amount a donor can give to a candidate, nor are there restrictions on contributions made by county contractors or designated campaign cycles that limit fundraising to a particular time period.
Andrew Cates, an Austin-based attorney who specializes in Texas ethics and campaign finance law, said the ability for commissioners to collect donations from contractors while in office makes it much easier for incumbent commissioners to withstand challenges from people who do not attract the same attention from the business community.
“Once you get in there, you can build a war chest, and then you just sit on it, and you use it to scare people away that want to run against you into the future,” Cates said.
Commissioners all denied any relationship between the businesses they award contracts to and those that fund their campaigns. Tom Ramsey, a Republican, and Adrian Garcia, a Democrat, both denounced the Chronicle’s reporting as part of a campaign to smear the reputation of local businesses and engineering firms.
Read the entire article, not a single company is named, there is no smear on companies, just the commissioners are named.
Ellis, the longest-serving member of Commissioners Court and an experienced politician with more than 40 years in office had the largest campaign chest of any commissioner, with more than $7 million at his disposal. Donations of $1,000 or more accounted for the majority of the total money he raised during the reporting period – $795,00 of more than $800,000. Of those large-dollar donations, 82% came from donors who had done business with the county.
Commissioner Adrian Garcia raised the most money of any commissioner during the reporting period.
The Precinct 2 Commissioner reported about $1.4 million in monetary contributions during the reporting period. Of the high-dollar contributions, 73% came from donors who had done business with the county.
Garcia said in a statement that campaign contributions have no bearing whatsoever on the contract award process. He said the support he’s received from local businesses is a product of the work he’s done to ensure every Harris County resident has access to fair and equitable solutions for issues related to the contracting process.
In a more-than-1,200 word post made to X on Sept. 23, Ramsey, who represents Precinct 3, accused the Chronicle of conspiring to frame engineering firms that gave to his campaign negatively in a bid to drive subscriptions.
The lone Republican on Commissioners Court reported the largest share of money raised from people and organizations who do business with the county of any other court member, at 97% of his high-dollar donations.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones, who saw 64% of her high-dollar donations come from donors who have done business with the county, said her campaign donors represented a “broad coalition” of businesses and individuals that have pledged their support for her 2026 re-election bid. The freshman commissioner said that political contributions have no bearing on the contracting process, and that she would return any donations from individuals and organizations that expect something in return.
“Campaign contributions play no role in Precinct 4 contracting; project decisions are led by professional engineers and planners. I follow all laws and campaign disclosure rules, and if any contributor expects anything in return, I will return their contribution,” Briones said in a statement. “I am proud of the broad coalition of support we are building, and look forward to continuing to deliver results for the people of Precinct 4.”
If you want to read the part in which the Chronicle kinda says they understand the pay-to-play contributions—the SOURCE for all the above.
Below are the first four contributions to Ramsey
Ramsey and Garcia act just like Trump, blaming the messenger.
Hidalgo, Ellis, Garcia, Ramsey, Briones
