Wendy Davis, Battleground Texas sanctioned for delayed campaign disclosures in 2014

[TexasTowelie]

By Ross Ramsey, Texas Tribune


Almost four years after Democrat Wendy Davis’ failed bid for governor, the Texas Ethics Commission has fined her campaign and Battleground Texas for the delayed reporting of $3.4 million in political contributions.

Neither the campaign nor the political organization admitted doing anything wrong, and the commission conceded the situation “is not explicitly addressed by Texas law.” Nevertheless, the Davis campaign and Battleground Texas each agreed to pay a $3,000 fine.

In separate orders from the commission posted Tuesday (here and here), both Davis, on behalf of her gubernatorial campaign, and Battleground Texas, a group that launched in 2013 to help elect Democrats, said they had not “violated any provision of the Election Code and at all times properly reported all of its activities in a manner that is transparent and open to the public. However, for the sake of resolving this matter, without further proceedings, the respondent accepts the Commission’s proposal of resolution without any admission of wrongdoing of any kind.”

Working together in the 2014 campaign, the groups employed an unusual fundraising arrangement, collecting political contributions through the “Texas Victory Committee — a Joint Project of Wendy Davis for Governor Inc and Battle Ground Texas.” That outfit — TVC — split its spending and its proceeds evenly between Davis and Battleground.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/07/18/davis-battleground-texas-campaign-finance/