TX CD 32: Todd Hunter Won’t Release His Income Tax Records
September 23, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
Lobbyist Todd Hunter, the Democrat-turned-Republican running against State Rep. Juan Garcia (D-Corpus Christi) in House District 32 is scared to death of voters finding out how much he made as a lobbyist.
Just how scared is he? He’s refusing to disclose his tax returns because he says that won’t clear anything up:
“You know, he could clear all this up if he would release his tax records,” Garcia said Thursday.
The Hunter camp says no, disclosing his personal income tax records may not clear any of this up, because some of the lobbying checks may have gone to his law firm. Hunter campaign manager Steve Ray said Hunter filled out a 71-page financial statement detailing his investments, just as every candidate is supposed to do.
If some of the lobbying checks when to his law firm, Hunter could really clear things up by simply releasing his tax returns and then doing some simple math on each contract to tell voters how much money went to his law firm. It’s honestly not that hard, and would be nowhere near as confusing as Hunter’s campaign things.
TX HD 32: Windstorm Insurance Becomes A Key Issue In Garcia, Hunter Contest
September 21, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
Windstorm insurance has become a central issue in the race between Rep. Juan Garcia (D-Corpus Christi) and Republican Todd Hunter in House District 32. While the issue has been key in the race for a while, it has been receiving more prominent play following Hurricane Ike.
Garcia and Hunter had a debate on the subject last week, and Garcia has released a commercial about windstorm insurance:
Of course, Garcia and Hunter have vastly different plans on how to actually make windstorm insurance (and insurance in general) better for consumers. Here’s an aspect of Garcia’s plan:
TX HD 32: Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson Called Libertarian Candidate
September 16, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
Capitol Annex has learned that Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson contacted Lenard Nelson, a Libertarian candidate for State Representative in the hotly contested House District 32 race and broached the subject of abandoning the race.
According to Nelson (L-Rockport), who spoke to Capitol Annex Tuesday afternoon, Patterson called him and the two had a conversation in which he says Patterson, whom he knew casually through the Republican Liberty Caucus, didn’t directly ask him to abandon the race, but did broach the subject.
“We talked about hunting and fishing, and then the conversation turned to politics and I thold him how I was really into the race, really committed–it’s my second time to run–and to giving the Republicans and the Democrats a hard time,” Nelson said.
“And after that he said, ‘I guess there is no sense in me asking you to drop out then,’ Nelson said.
HD 32: Todd Hunter Shouldn’t Be Proud, And Hugo Berlanga Is No Democrat
September 8, 2008 by Vince Leibowitz · Leave a Comment
Todd Hunter, a Democrat-turned-Republican running against State Rep. Juan Garcia (D-Corpus Christi) in House District 32, sent out a press release Monday touting the formation of a “Democrats for Hunter” group supporting his candidacy.
The leader of this group Hunter alleges to be an “influential group of Coastal Bend Democrats?” and of which he is so proud? None other than former State Representative-turned-corporate lobbyist Hugo Berlanga.
There are a couple of problems with that, however. Number one, Hunter shouldn’t be proud of any group headed up by Berlanga. Number two, it’s really hard to continue to call Berlanga a “Democrat” and has been for a while.
For starters, Berlanga was a shill for then-Governor George W. Bush when the governor was running for President in 2000. Among other things, Berlanga allowed his name to be used in Bush’s campaign materials including a press release in which Berlanga falsely claimed that Bush had done more for healthcare in Texas than “any governor in recent memory.”
