The Denton County Republican Party has accepted more than $60,000 in corporate political contributions since February 2010.

Regardless of political affiliation, most of us can agree that we must reduce the influence of corporations on elections in this country.  These kinds of large contributions hinder free and fair elections.

Don’t assume that these major corporate contributors are focusing solely on national issues.  Even local parties are tainted by these kinds of donations.

(Creative Commons image courtesy Howie Luvzus.)

According to the report filed with the Texas Ethics Commission, the Denton County Republican County Party accepted $35,000 in corporate contributions in the first six months of 2010.  Donations included:

• $10,000 from AT&T.
• $5,000 from Victory Management Services, LLC, a financial consulting group based in Lake Dallas.
• $2,500 from Halff Associates, a Richardson-based engineering consulting firm.
• $2,500 from HTNB Corporation, another design consulting firm.
• $2,500 from Pacheco Koch, another design consulting firm.
• $1,000 from Ben E. Keith Co., a beverage wholesale distribution company.

We have embedded the full report at the bottom of this post.  Note that Halff, HTNB, and Pacheco Koch often compete for local government contracts.

This is not a one-time issue with that Denton County GOP.  During the first half of 2011, the party accepted $21,140 in political contributions from corporate organizations.  These included:

• $1,210 from Innovative Transportation Solutions, Inc, a transportation consulting firm that competes for government contracts in Denton County.  According to the Dallas Business Journal, the company is a spin-off organization from former Republican Texas Secretary of State David A. Dean.
• $1,000 from the Medical Center of Lewisville.
• $1,000 from Time Warner Cable.

Our reports are available for the public as well, and we encourage anyone to look through them.  We have not accepted any corporate contributions in the last year and the vast majority of our contributors live in Denton County.  We count on contributions from generous donors, but when the opposing side raises tens of thousands of dollars in contributions from companies that expect favors in return, our political system cannot function correctly.

People are noticing the inherent problems associated with so much corporate money flowing into campaign coffers.  This affects our local political system as well, and we will continue to fight to make this nation one that is of, by, and for the people, not corporate powers or the officials beholden to them.

Denton County Republican Party July 2010 & 2011 Corporate Contribution Reports

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