Doyal used campaign fund to pay legal fees
Open meetings fight leaves war chest drained as Montgomery County judge primary looms
Montgomery County Judge Craig Doyal depleted his campaign war chest with a payment to the lawyer representing him in a criminal case, leaving him with less money on hand than his challenger in the final weeks before the March 6 Republican primary.
Doyal, seeking a second term as county judge, raised and spent significantly more than his opponent, state Rep. Mark Keough, in the second half of 2017, campaign finance reports show.
Doyal, however, paid $149,806 — the lion’s share of the $180,416 he spent in the most recent reporting period — to Houston attorney Rusty Hardin, who represents him in a case involving an alleged violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act. A motion filed by Hardin led a judge to dismiss the indictment last year.
This leaves Keough with more money on hand — $92,678, compared to Doyal’s $29,300 — for a final push before the primary.
Indictments dismissed
The reports for the six months ending Dec. 31 also show that Keough, a two-term legislator from The Woodlands, largely is self-financing his campaign. He has lent himself almost $233,000, including $90,000 in the most recent reporting period. Keough raised $48,716 in that period and spent $77,184. Doyal’s spending, not counting the payment to Hardin, totaled about $31,000.
Doyal’s payment to Hardin stems from his June 2016 indictment on a misdemeanor charge of violating Texas’ open meetings law during discussions with county commissioners about an upcoming bond election.
A judge dismissed the indictments against Doyal and two other defendants last April after finding that a section of the open meetings law was unconstitutional. The charges could be reinstated if an appeal by prosecutors is successful.
The Aug. 9 payment to Hardin’s law firm, along with $5,000 Doyal paid Hardin during the previous reporting period, were a proper use of campaign funds, based on a 1996 opinion by the Texas Ethics Commission. “An officeholder may use political contributions to pay legal expenses incurred in connection with federal and state investigations of the officeholder for public corruption,” the commission found.
Separated by a thin line
The payments, however, could raise questions among some donors, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political science professor.
“It’s not very sensitive to the donors that have ponied up money to try to keep you in office,” Rottinghaus said. “The line between the campaign and the personal can be hammered pretty thin, but if it’s too thin, donors might look at it as more of a personal enterprise than something related to policy.”
Doyal could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Rottinghaus said the extent of Keough’s loans to his campaign was unusual, and the overall totals for both candidates were high for a local office in a suburban county.
“That’s a hefty sum for a county judge race in a place the size of Montgomery County,” he said.
Keough, 64, who became a pastor after retiring from a career as an auto sales manager, said he and his wife decided the loans were a sound investment for a chance to serve the community.
“We’ve lived below our means for many years,” he said. “We prayed about it and said, ‘We need to do this.’”