Road Bond Negotiations Exposed

September 20, 2015

The Courier recently exposed a chain of emails between the Texas Patriots PAC (TPP), Montgomery County officials and a political consultant. These emails culminated in an agreement with the TTP for the 2015 November bond referendum.

A few others brought into the discussion included: Ken Vaughn of the Montgomery County Tea Party; former District 15 state Rep. Steve Toth; and The Woodlands Township board member Gordy Bunch.  There appears to be good and strong evidence that these emails involving the PAC, political consultant Marc Davenport and county officials may have violated the Texas Open Meetings Act. Future investigations and a grand jury will determine if a crime was committed and who was complicit in such a violation.

The whole process described by the Courier illustrates what occurs when the TPP starts pulling in their IOUs from past political endorsements. It appears a TPP Board Member was also “directing” Precinct 3 County Commissioner Noack as to what should be included in his road plan. For Precinct 3, it is clear the TPP is the puppet master. If the TPP gains control of the Township Board through endorsing certain candidates, will these new TPP backed Directors do their bidding or really serve the “Residents First?”

As the Chairman of the Township Board, I led the effort to encourage the County to put a Road Bond back on the November Ballot. But we also stipulated that in doing so a new road plan needed to be developed and the County needed to provide for much greater dialog and input from the residents. Instead the TPP, along with the questionable actions of a political consultant, opted to put this deal together in the back room outside the eye of public scrutiny. Where were the interests of the residents in this whole scam? Who elected the TTP to represent all the Montgomery County residents?

Whether it is deemed a crime was committed or not, the whole process described in the emails “stinks” and lacks the openness and transparency we should expect from our government.

Our citizens deserve more than back room deals for political gain at the tax payers expense. Special interest groups and individuals claiming to advocate on our behalf have broken our trust and need to be held accountable for their actions.

I’ve made it my goal to lead with transparency and open door policy. Please visit my website BruceTough.com to learn more about my strong conservative record. If you’re willing to get in the game with me, donate $40 to Team Tough while you’re online. It’s time to clean up Precinct 3!

Bruce Tough
Chairman – Woodlands Township Board of Directors