HOUSTON – It was last Tuesday that 2 Investigates was first to report of a letter sent to Houston Independent School District leadership by the State of Texas Attorney General’s Office expressing electioneering concerns to the district during last fall’s election for a massive $4-billion-dollar bond.
SEE STORY HERE: Texas AG accuses Houston ISD of ‘electioneering’ during $4.4 billion bond campaign, threatens legal action
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Ken Paxton’s office sent the letter to HISD Superintendent Mike Miles and the Board President Audrey Momanaee.
READ THE FULL LETTER HERE:
The AG’s office making their position clear to HISD.
“Based on our preliminary investigation, the OAG has reason to believe that the HISD Board of Trustees has engaged in electioneering in favor of the Proposed Bond through Facebook posts it has approved and are being circulated as sponsored advertisements on Facebook,” a portion of the AG’s office’s three-page letter read.
“My take is that this was illegal activity and HISD knew better and chose to continue breaking the law because they wanted a bond at any cost,” said HISD parent Heather Golden.
Golden, who initially filed AG complaints against HISD last fall, saw the letter for the first time on Monday after 2 Investigates obtained it through a Texas Public Information Act request with the AG’s office.
When asked how powerful it was to her that the AG was expressing their concerns in writing and then detailing their reasons as to why? Golden did not hesitate with her response.
“I mean it’s proof that they were breaking the law,” she said. “It’s very powerful.”
Golden is one of nine parents that 2 Investigates has identified who have filed criminal complaints against HISD with the Harris County District Attorney’s office.
We know there is an active investigation as a result of a statement Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare’s team provided to us last week.
“The Harris County District Attorney’s Office has received at least two affidavits from citizens alleging criminal conduct in connection with an election. By law, we are required to investigate these complaints. We do not discuss details about open investigations,” said a spokesperson for the DA.
As we noted in our initial set of reports, the Texas Election Code says advocating for or against a political measure where taxpayers dollars are being used is not allowed and that an offender can be charged with a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and/or up to a $4,000 fine.
SEE STORY HERE: More criminal complaints against HISD after KPRC 2 investigation; DA’s office not commenting on ‘open investigations’
Golden is holding out hope that she, along with other HISD parents, will see a thorough investigation with accountability from Teare and his team.
The reason? As powerful as the AG’s letter was to HISD, Golden says it didn’t truly hold HISD accountable.
“So, they did it to check a box, to say they did something even if it was ultimately if it was fruitless and didn’t change behavior,” said Golden.
The letter was sent Oct. 16 of last year. In our first report in early February, 2 Investigates identified highly produced HISD social media videos that ran during early voting with the message of “RENEW HISD” at the end of each video.
SEE STORY HERE: Houston ISD approved $2M to campaign for the massive failed bond. Was it legal?
We reached out to HISD’s communications team, led by Alexandra Elizondo, Chief of Public Affairs and Communications, but they have not replied.
In fact, Elizondo and her team still have not answered questions we have sent on now four occasions, dating back to Feb. 28.
It should also be noted that over the last two months, Superintendent Miles has not been willing to sit down and answer KPRC 2’s questions in a formal interview.
