Over the last several election cycles, the “First Tuesday” PAC has been one of the best funded vehicles to support Democratic campaign activities in Harris County. Backed largely by the local Plaintiffs’ bar, First Tuesday spent approximately $1.5 million during the 2018 general election cycle to support the Democratic ticket. First Tuesday’s fundraising efforts for the 2020 general election are well underway to undertake a similar, if not larger, effort to support Democrats this November.
The most recent campaign finance report for First Tuesday, filed with the Texas Ethics Commission last week, reflects that the PAC raised $595,000 during the first half of 2020. More than half of this money came from local law firms that have recently received forgivable loans from the federal government under the Paycheck Protection Program. Four of these firms made contributions to First Tuesday PAC after receiving taxpayer funds.
On April 8, 2020, the Ammons Law Firm received a forgivable “Paycheck Protection” loan in an amount between $350,000 and $1 million. On May 22, 2020, the Ammons Law Firm contributed $100,000 to First Tuesday.
On April 14, 2020, Raizner Slania, LLP received a forgivable “Paycheck Protection” loan in an amount between $150,000 and $350,000. On June 19, 2020, Raizner Slania, LLP contributed $25,000 to First Tuesday.
On April 7, 2020, Perdue & Kidd received a forgivable “Paycheck Protection” loan in an amount between $150,000 and $350,000. On June 23, 2020, Perdue & Kidd contributed $50,000 to First Tuesday.
On April 29, 2020, Laminack, Pirtle & Martines received a forgivable “Paycheck Protection” loan in an amount between $150,000 and $350,000. On June 26, 2020, Laminack, Pirtle & Martines contributed $50,000 to First Tuesday.
Entities that applied for “Paycheck Protection” loans were required, as part of the application, to certify that “current economic uncertainty makes this loan request necessary to support the ongoing operations of the Applicant.” The fact that these law firms had ample financial resources on hand to make generous political contributions just weeks after receiving “Paycheck Protection” loans warrants investigation by the Small Business Administration into whether these law firms made truthful certifications about the necessity of the loans to support their operations.
In addition to the law firms that made significant political contributions to First Tuesday after receiving their “Paycheck Protection” loans, two other law firms were in a healthy enough financial position to make major donations to First Tuesday shortly before applying for their own “Paycheck Protection” loans for millions of dollars.
On February 7, 2020, Arnold & Itkin contributed $100,000 to First Tuesday. This firm obtained a forgivable “Paycheck Protection loan” in an amount between $1 million and $2 million on April 10, 2020.
On February 10, 2020, Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Aziz contributed $50,000 to First Tuesday. This firm obtained a forgivable “Paycheck Protection loan” in an amount between $1 million and $2 million on April 9, 2020.
As these law firms were financially healthy enough to make large political contributions before receiving their “Paycheck Protection” funds, their certifications that they applied for the loans out of necessity due to economic uncertainty are highly questionable. This warrants investigation by the Small Business Administration as well.
I will continue to monitor campaign finance reports for further evidence that “Paycheck Protection” funds are being used to fund Democratic campaign activity and will provide updates on this blog as more information becomes available.
Mark McCaig is an attorney and Republican Precinct Chairman in Harris County.