Plano’s establishment is arming up as political action committee cash flows towards the hand-picked candidates of anti-taxpayer Mayor Henry LaRosiliere.
As previously reported by Texas Scorecard, Plano has been a battleground between taxpayers and the establishment. Last year, the Plano City Council voted to increase property taxes even though city property taxes had already skyrocketed 36 percent over the past five years. The city also has a history of siding with high-density real estate developers against citizens.
This friction has led to this year’s Plano city elections becoming a showdown between the developer-friendly establishment and the taxpayers. The establishment is represented by LaRosiliere’s slate of Ann Bacchus, Rick Grady, Ron Kelley, and Maria Tu; the taxpayers are represented by Shelby Williams, Daniel Long, Lily Bao, and Colleen Aguilar-Epstein.
The establishment is determined to win and has been filling up its war chest. Since December, big-monied developers have been lining the pockets of the establishment slate, and now PAC money has started to flow as well.
According to the most recent campaign finance reports, LaRosiliere’s favored candidates received the following amounts from the We Love Plano PAC—which reports show is funded by developers and the mayor’s campaign—in the month of March:
Ann Bacchus: $3,000
Rick Grady: $2,000
Ron Kelley: $3,500
Maria Tu: $2,000
Furthermore, Bacchus received $1,000 from the Women Organizing Women Democrats organization and $1,776 from the Harry LaRosiliere Campaign. Grady has also received $1,000 from the JPMorgan Chase PAC.
Plano voters will no doubt see the impact of that money between now and Election Day.
Early voting in Plano’s May 4 municipal election starts on April 22.
