Paid for by Empower Texans: Ads from Political Group Target Brownwood Voters

“We are a Democracy, and there is only one way to get a Democracy on its feet in the matter of its individual, its social, its municipal, its State, its national conduct, and that is by keeping the public informed about what is going on.” – Joseph Pulitzer 

 

Written by Amanda Coers – Brownwood Mayor candidate Mike Tittle recently announced how pleased he was to have won the support of Empower Texans for his campaign. Paid advertisements in support of Tittle are already running on heavy rotation on local radio stations, paid for by Empower Texans.

 

 

Empower Texans states they are a nonprofit organization focused on promoting free market principles in Texas. And who doesn’t want that? Lower taxes, protecting the unborn, fighting for the hardworking little man against big bad government… all sounds great. But there’s an undercurrent to their work. 

Formed in 2006, Empower Texans is the largest taxpayer advocacy group in Texas. The organization is made up of three entities, including Empower Texans, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit (also known as Texans for Fiscal Responsibility), the Empower Texans Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit, and the Empower Texans PAC, a general-purpose political action committee. SOURCE: www.transparencytexas.org/empower-texans

At its founding in 2006, Empower Texans’ original focus centered on what was happening at the state level. Since that time though, Empower Texans has aggressively pursued delivering news and information to voters about what’s happening at the local, county, and city level as well. Empower Texans has since opened local “bureaus” in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, Houston, Central Texas, West Texas, and South Texas. What began with a focus primarily in Austin has spread its tentacles down to nonpartisan local government races. Empower Texans currently endorses city race candidates in Leander, Lucas, Colleyville, Prosper, Parker, San Marcos, Grapevine, Wylie, and now Brownwood. 

 

The extent of their support for those local candidates is unknown, whether it be financial contributions to campaigns, purchasing radio ads, or boosting content on Facebook. Empower Texans’ employee Zach Maxwell certainly has his fingerprints on Tittle’s campaign with the creation of Tittle’s Facebook support group, and the editing of a video of incumbent Mayor Stephen Haynes posted on Tittle’s Facebook campaign page. 

It is unclear if Maxwell was the catalyst for Tittle’s race, though Maxwell was the creator of the “Big Country We The People” Facebook group, in which Empower Texan candidates, including Tittle, are largely supported.

 

 

From Cisco, Zachary Maxwell assisted Brownwood area residents Garry Yielding, Julia Taylor and Ranger resident Donna Thackerson with creating the “Big Country We The People” Facebook group. The group was created after the success of the Citizens Against Ranger (CARTA) movement in Brown County and beyond.

The CARTA group propelled voters to the polls with good old fashioned honest motivation. It wasn’t about big government, though Maxwell claims it was, it was about local opposition and our right to say no to a proposal affecting our area, free from outside influence. However, “Big Country We The People” is not free from outside influence. It’s also not a place to freely speak your mind and encourage healthy conversations. Instead members are often banished for expressing opposing viewpoints. That’s a play right out of Empower Texans’ handbook. 

Empower Texans may say they work to empower Texas’ voters with information, however one has to wonder how much power is handed to the group’s main financial contributors: billionaire Midland oil man Tim Dunn, and billionaire fracking industry brothers Dan and Farris Wilks of Cisco.

Want to know just how much money we’re talking about here?  

According to Forbes, the Wilks brothers got a combined $3.5 billion in 2011 selling their fracking and oilfield services company to the Singapore government. The brothers own more than 672,000 acres of land in five different states across the West. They invest in oil and gas businesses, including Canadian oilfield services company Trican Well Service. And along with investing in oil and gas, they donate heavily to protect their interests. In 2015, the Wilks brothers gave $800,000 to 21 Texas legislators, all of whom voted to overturn Denton’s fracking ban. They also put $15 million into a Ted Cruz Super PAC.

Tim Dunn is the CEO of the oil and gas firm Crownquest Operating and is heavily involved in politics. The full extent of his political spending is unknown because several groups he supports (Empower Texans) are not required to report information on donors. It is known he’s put over $1 million into the Empower Texans PAC. 

 

It is unclear why Empower Texans wants influence over local city government seat-holders. They certainly have their share of Austin, as the majority of seats in the Republican caucus are considered Empower Texans seats. And God help those candidates who step out of Empower Texans’ line and fall from their favor.

Empower Texans wants control not over just the state legislature, but also Texas cities and school districts through legislators they have endorsed and heavily funded and they’re willing to employ questionable tactics to get that control.

An article in the Texas Tribune reports a Tarrant County voter sent a letter to their District Attorney’s office alleging that Empower Texans was posing as a government authority with a controversial mailer appearing to be a government notice instead of a political ad. The name “Empower Texans” does not appear on the ad. There is also no “paid for” political disclaimer on the mailer.

Things turned especially nasty in Marshall about school vouchers and the impact on public schools. In February Marshall ISD trustees and administrators along with a number of school district officials across the state received a letter from Empower Texans, accusing them of trying to “engineer” votes for the primary election by encouraging educators to get out and vote. Simply by reminding school teachers to vote and allowing them incentives like wearing jeans if they possessed an “I Voted” sticker, Empower Texans claimed the schools were engaged in illegal activity. The letters sent to the school districts had a threatening tone.

They’re even backing some questionable candidates: Empower Texans’ political affiliate supported an Arlington City Council candidate with two convictions for confrontations involving city police.

That doesn’t sound like the kind of change needed to keep Brownwood moving forward.

Local government is the purest form of government. Our elected leaders should listen to the voices of the citizens they represent. The people who live and work right here in Brownwood. It doesn’t just “feel like home,” it is home. There should be no outside influence from groups like Empower Texans.