A candidate for a government water district board vacancy was once a vendor to the district.
In January, Water Control and Improvement District #92 announced it was accepting applications to fill a seat on its board vacated by former President Donald Roberts.
The deadline passed on January 31. Texas Scorecard acquired the applications submitted through a Public Information Act request.
Three individuals applied. One of the applicants, Alexander Rush, owns a company that’s been a district vendor. A follow-up PIA request acquired copies of four checks, totaling more than $74,000, to Monarch Spring Construction. The payment dates range from November 2024 to July 2025.
Five invoices were also included in the records. The earliest one, from October 2024, was a $990 change order for minor building repairs and upgrades, including installing a basic steel door, new tile, an additional 110V outlet for a mini-split, and rehanging a second-story shutter, with a one-year labor warranty on the work.
The most recent invoices were dated June 2025. One was to convert an upstairs office area into bathrooms at a cost of more than $28,000. The other was for plumbing work related to converting the upstairs office into bathrooms for more than $11,000. The average cost in all five invoices is $11,519.38.
Rush, who said he heard of the vacancy from a board member, told Texas Scorecard that he thought he did four jobs for the district over the past two and a half years, after he and his partner moved into Lexington Woods in November 2022. He started attending and building relationships at the WCID 92 board meetings and told them he’s an “affordable construction company.”
“My target demographics are typically nonprofits and the cities,” he said. “[They] asked me about what my capabilities were, because they wanted some renovations on the property. I think about six, seven months later, they asked me to convert a concession stand into an office on the first floor, and remove the old concession window.”
Rush said WCID 92 was pleased with his work and approached him to do a variety of other jobs. “[I] did a little bit of soundproofing in the boardroom, and then I also converted Robert’s old office, just an office on the second floor, into two restrooms as well,” he said.
A record of WCID 92 board’s April 2025 meeting noted that Michael Bacon, attorney for the district, advised getting “another bid for the bathrooms.” The board approved a more than $39,000 spend on bathroom renovation “subject to soliciting three bids,” and authorized board member Randy Hart to review and approve.
Section 49.273 of the Texas Water Code, which WCID 92 operates under, requires water districts to solicit three bids for contracts over $25,000 but not more than $150,000. For contracts not more than $25,000, boards are not required to seek competitive bids. Bacon was asked if the water district followed required bidding procedures for Rush’s work and if they were properly documented. “The District follows all state procurement laws,” he wrote.
Bacon was asked whether Rush’s company would still be allowed to be a district vendor and what conflict-of-interest safeguards WCID 92 would establish to prevent self-dealing.
“If he were to be appointed to the vacancy, formal conflict of interest disclosures would be required and his company would not be considered for any future District projects,” Bacon replied. “Further, Board Members may not vote on issues in which they have a personal financial interest.”
Rush said his company would not be a vendor if he were selected. “Even if I was cheaper than the other guy, it just looks like a conflict of interest,” he said. “I would still continue to do work for other districts. Like I previously said, I have a bunch of nonprofits, and then I also am a vendor for Houston City and Missouri City.”
Rush said his guiding principles as a board member would be “being honest and open and willing to do what is right for the community.” He stressed the importance of reliable water and its environmental impacts. He is also “not a huge proponent of data centers and AI centers” that are consuming resources meant for humans.
“Obviously, we do need infrastructure to be able to do certain things, but in a lot of aspects, I think that those are usually more of a detriment to the community in general just because they are taking the resources and they’re giving very little back,” he said.
Bacon said the WCID 92’s agenda for February 23 includes voting to fill the vacancy. “If no appointment is made at this meeting, the matter will be considered at a future public meeting,” he wrote. The other applicants are Richard Vick and George Will. Both identify as “retired.”
As previously reported, a local taxpayer has alleged fiscal irresponsibility at WCID 92.
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