A statement from Michael Quinn Sullivan, the president of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, about a restraining order filed today against Holly Turner, Brad White and ‘Texans for Fiscal Accountability’:
Yesterday we noted in an e-mail and on our website about the actions of a false-flag organization operating with a name suspiciously similar to ours, and working against our endorsees.
The dignity of our representative republic, and the marketplace of ideas, rests on the rule of law and the goodwill of voters. Shadowy organizations operated one-off from hired-gun consultants do little but alienate voters already frustrated by the cronyism of establishment politics.
Today, a Bexar County judge has issued a temporary restraining order against the political action committee ‘Texans for Fiscal Accountability’ and its treasurer Brad White of San Antonio, and Holly Turner of the Austin-based Turner Advisory Group. The order prohibits them from using names that are confusingly similar to ours in communications with voters.
Turner is the wife of Chris Turner, a partner at the political consultancy Murphy Turner. The false-flag organization seems to only be working in districts where Murphy-Turner has a client.
Filings with the Texas Ethics Commission yesterday reveal that the group not only does not have the legally required number of donors to take action, but most of their money came from another PAC – the Rural and Urban Conservation PAC. That PAC lists on its expenditures a retainer for the services of Murphy-Turner.
Murphy-Turner has been exposed in recent weeks by the media for using – and lying about their connection to — one-off, shadowy PACs in Galveston to defame an opponent. According to the Galveston Daily News, Mrs. Turner was also involved in that activity.
The White/Turner ‘Accountability’ PAC was registered out of Mr. White’s residence in San Antonio, but mail sent into districts around the state have used the same return address as one used by the Turner Advisory Group.
We at Texans for Fiscal Responsibility / Empower Texans take little joy in this action, but we simply could not stand idly by while Mr. White, Ms. Turner and their allies misrepresented themselves, trading off our name and reputation. We had tried to solve this matter amicably by sending a letter to both Mr. White and Ms. Turner last week, but they refused to acknowledge it.
Effectively, we are asking they be told that if they want to engage in the public square, then they need to do it under their own name and without deceiving or misleading voters as to their identity.
The White/Turner ‘Accountability’ PAC was registered out of Mr. White’s residence in San Antonio, but mail sent into districts around the state have used the same return address as one used by the Turner Advisory Group.
