Governor hopeful pays off back taxes
Records show Valdez finished payments on final $7K by deadline
AUSTIN — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lupe Valdez has finished paying off her delinquent property taxes, just ahead of a July 1 deadline, when they would have become subject to collection.
Dallas and Ellis County tax records showed Monday that Valdez, the former Dallas County sheriff who is running against Republican incumbent Greg Abbott, on June 12 made her final $7,000 in payments in back taxes on properties she owns in Oak Cliff, her neighborhood in South Dallas.
Originally, she was listed as delinquent for more than $21,758 in 2017 taxes due Jan. 31 on seven properties — rental properties and vacant lots — that she owns in Dallas County and one in Ellis County.
After the Houston Chronicle revealed in May that she owed more than $12,000 in overdue taxes on the properties, she made nearly $4,700 in pending payments on six of them.
Valdez’s campaign officials had said she was paying in monthly installments, as she had done in past years, because she could not afford to pay the total amounts. She blamed Abbott for the fact that Texas property taxes are so high.
About the same time as she was late on her taxes, Valdez loaned her campaign $25,000.
Abbott took a slap at Valdez over the unpaid taxes last month during
his keynote speech at the Republican State Convention in San Antonio. Abbott has campaigned on his plan for reining in skyrocketing property taxes across Texas.
“Many of you are being crushed by skyrocketing property taxes,” the governor said. “Some seniors are being taxed out of their homes. In fact, one candidate running for governor hasn’t paid her property taxes.”
On Valdez clearing her tax bill, Abbott tweeted: “Democrat candidate for Governor thinks YOU should ... pay property taxes on time. But NOT her. She loaned her campaign the amount she owed in property taxes. @LupeValdez put personal politics above her duty to pay her taxes.”
Valdez responded rapid fire:
“My property taxes are paid, but have increased drastically since @GregAbbott_TX has taken office. I don’t rely on donations from CEOs & I decided to cover campaign expenses to fight for the everyday Texan. Like them, I had to make tough financial choices,” Valdez wrote in an initial tweet.
She then added: “Unlike, @GregAbbott_TX I’m not beholden to special interests — I’m for the people. The state should fulfill its responsibility to pay its fair share of public education, stop raising taxes & quit putting the load on small businesses and local homeowners.”
Valdez’s campaign has sought to portray Abbott as a big money insider who does not care about average Texans, a theme that the Abbott campaign has countered by labeling her as a left-leaning liberal who is out of touch with most Texans’ values.
Abbott has well over $40 million in his campaign war chest, while Valdez has raised well under $1 million, according to campaign finance filings.