Lina’s COH
This past Tuesday, July 15, the campaign contributions and expenditures reports were due. Yesterday, I went online to check out some that were posted. One of the things I look for is how much was raised, how much was spent, and cash-on-hand (COH), or what is the campaign account bank balance on the last day of the reporting period.
There has been some speculation the past few months that Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo will not run for reelection. Part of the speculation was based on the COH of her last campaign report filed six months ago on January 15. Her COH back then was just over $41,000. You need a lot more than $41,000 to run a major reelection campaign across Harris County. When I looked at her report yesterday, I was a bit surprised at her COH – $600,000. I thought it was a typo.
Upon further review, at the back of the report is a Schedule K Form for Interest, Credits, Gains, Refunds, and Contributions Returned. Earlier this year, Harris County reimbursed Judge Hidalgo for legal expenses related to the Harris County DA investigation of the COVID-19 contract mess. Apparently, during the investigation Judge Hidalgo paid for her legal expenses out of her campaign account. The county reimbursed her legal team and the legal team in turn refunded the dough to the campaign account. The Schedule K Form lists the refund amounts from her legal team.
Yesterday, I tweeted out a copy of the Schedule K Form page that lists the refunds.
Judge Hidalgo has indicated that she will let us know her plans in the next few weeks. With $600,000 in the bank, who knows.
See this from Houston Public Media:
Whether or not Hidalgo runs for reelection, the field for the Democrat primary already includes former Houston Mayor Annise Parker and current city council member Letitia Plummer.
Among those who have declared their intentions to run for county judge – the top elected official in the county that includes Houston – Republican Aliza Dutt is leading the funding race, according to the campaign filings. The mayor of Piney Point, a small village in west Houston, reported more than $246,000 in funds on hand. However, Dutt also reported around $118,000 in outstanding loans.
About $90,000, around 35%, of Dutt’s funds came from 12 donors, including six donations of $10,000. Two of those donations came from leaders of William Bros Construction and another two came from leaders of Sprint Sand and Clay, both Houston-area construction companies.
Though the office is currently held by Hidalgo, her predecessor, Ed Emmett, was a Republican who held the office from 2007 to 2019.
Plummer, an at-large member of the Houston City Council first elected in 2019, is the latest Democrat to throw her hat into the ring for county judge, announcing her candidacy on July 8, after the end of the filing period. The next filing deadline, for campaign finances between July and December, is in January. Her campaign made a July 8 filing appointing a treasurer, according to the county’s online database.
Plummer’s last campaign finance report with the city was filed in December 2023, according to the city’s online database, which shows her campaign had about $26,000 on hand at that time.
A representative of her campaign did not immediately respond to a Wednesday evening request for more updated information about Plummer’s campaign finances.
Parker, a fellow Democrat who served as Houston mayor from 2010 to 2016, reported $92,755 in cash on hand.
About $20,000 of Parker’s funds, more than one-fifth, came from Gilbert Garcia, a former mayoral candidate who is the managing partner of Houston-area investment firm Garcia Hamilton & Associates. Another $10,000 came from Richard Holt, a managing partner with Houston-area consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal. Frank Liu, president of real estate agency Lovett Commercial, donated $10,000 as well.
Collectively, more than 75% of Parker’s funds came from 10 donors.
If Judge Hidalgo decides to seek reelection with $600,000 in the bank, I would have to give her a solid advantage in the Harris County Democratic Party Primary.
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The roof was open for the Astros MLB All Star Game watch get together for season ticket holders on Tuesday evening. See the featured photo. I saw a tweet going around yesterday wanting folks to post their favorite H-Town view. I would have to say a shot from Daikin Park with the roof open would be a great one.
The Astros resume play tomorrow in Seattle.