Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole has decided to deal with at least one of the issues uncovered by KTRK-13’s Wayne Dolcefino:
Acknowledging “numerous errors” in previous campaign-finance records, Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole said today that he planned to review old reports to ensure they comply with the law.
Eversole, a commissioner since 1991, blamed “ignorance of applicable laws” for errors on state-mandated campaign reports that detailed his fundraising and spending.
In a written statement from prominent Republican campaign consultant Allen Blakemore, Eversole said he had retained former Harris County Judge Robert Eckels to handle his future campaign reports.
He also said he asked Eckels, who resigned as the county chief executive last year and now works for the Fulbright & Jaworski law firm, to review his past reports and fix any errors.
Eversole has been under media scrutiny since late last year after KTRK-TV (Channel 13) aired reports questioning Eversole’s use of campaign funds.
The Houston Chronicle also has reported that hundreds of the four commissioners’ campaign expenses, particularly Eversole’s, were labeled with vague descriptions such as “public relations” and “misc.” Such designations could encompass everything from meals to purchases at boutique gift shops, and offer few clues about what was purchased or who benefited from those purchases.
Errors on campaign reports can result in fines by the Texas Ethics Commission, but the Harris County District Attorney’s Office has launched an investigation into whether Eversole misused thousands of dollars in campaign contributions for his own benefit.
“A number of errors were pointed out in our past reports. They were a result of poor reporting practices and ignorance of the applicable laws. I have taken the criticism to heart and adopted a “best practices” approach to my campaign finances. I have made a dramatic shift in procedures and practices,” Eversole said in the statement.
It’s big of Commissioner Eversole to take time out from his Starbuck’s visits, golf course outings, and gym workouts to attend to, you know, his actual commissioner duties. It would have been even better if he had been attending to his duties all along. And it’s never a good sign when one tries to use the old “ignorance” excuse.
How much money does he get paid again?
