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TEC fines Rep. Eissler more than $10,000 for campaign spending violations
By T.L. Hamilton
The Texas Ethics Commission fined state Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, $10,600 for using campaign funds to pay his wife to manage his campaign and on rent for an Austin condo he and his wife own, in violation of the state election code.
In addition to the fine, Eissler will have to reimburse his his campaign funds $18,106.53, which he paid his wife and spent on the condo.
Eissler paid his wife Linda $54,000 for undocumented services, which he told the TEC were to manage his campaign.
Of the amount he paid Linda Eissler, $17,500 fall within the statute of limitations of when the complaint was filed.
The election code prohibits officeholders or candidates from using campaign funds to pay their spouses for personal services.
In September 2006, Eissler was one of five Republican state legislators called out by the Texas Democratic Party for what the party said was an “improper and possibly illegal practice” of using campaign contributions to buy second homes.
Election code states that “a candidate or officeholder may not knowingly make or authorize a payment from a political contribution to purchase real property or to pay the interest on or principal of a note for the purchase of real property.”
According to the TEC, Eissler paid his wife $17,600 from his campaign account for rental payments on a condominium he and Linda Eissler owned.
The payments from Eissler to his wife were made between January 2004 and June 2006 at a rate of $500 per month and were listed in Eissler’s campaign finance reports filed with the TEC from 2004-06.
A lending bank, Hometown Mortgage Co. Inc., loaned $162,000 to Rob and Linda Eissler for the condo’s purchase.
The condo, located in the Hyde Park area on the north side of downtown Austin, was valued at $204,831 in 2007 by the Travis County Appraisal District and measures 1,202 square feet.
Eissler told the TEC that his reimbursements to Linda were for general living expenses, such as trash, water and homeowner’s association dues.
“I am aware the I used the word ‘rent’ on the report,” he stated to the TEC. “However, for me, the use for the word ‘rent’ is interchangeable with an expense.”
While it is permissible to use campaign funds to cover living expenses, the TEC found that Eissler did not properly document these expenses and is therefore in violation of the election code.
For more information, read Saturday’s edition of The Courier.
To read the entire TEC order and agreed resolution, go to http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/sworncomp/2007/2709200.pdf
In addition to the fine, Eissler will have to reimburse his his campaign funds $18,106.53, which he paid his wife and spent on the condo.
Eissler paid his wife Linda $54,000 for undocumented services, which he told the TEC were to manage his campaign.
Of the amount he paid Linda Eissler, $17,500 fall within the statute of limitations of when the complaint was filed.
The election code prohibits officeholders or candidates from using campaign funds to pay their spouses for personal services.
In September 2006, Eissler was one of five Republican state legislators called out by the Texas Democratic Party for what the party said was an “improper and possibly illegal practice” of using campaign contributions to buy second homes.
Election code states that “a candidate or officeholder may not knowingly make or authorize a payment from a political contribution to purchase real property or to pay the interest on or principal of a note for the purchase of real property.”
According to the TEC, Eissler paid his wife $17,600 from his campaign account for rental payments on a condominium he and Linda Eissler owned.
The payments from Eissler to his wife were made between January 2004 and June 2006 at a rate of $500 per month and were listed in Eissler’s campaign finance reports filed with the TEC from 2004-06.
A lending bank, Hometown Mortgage Co. Inc., loaned $162,000 to Rob and Linda Eissler for the condo’s purchase.
The condo, located in the Hyde Park area on the north side of downtown Austin, was valued at $204,831 in 2007 by the Travis County Appraisal District and measures 1,202 square feet.
Eissler told the TEC that his reimbursements to Linda were for general living expenses, such as trash, water and homeowner’s association dues.
“I am aware the I used the word ‘rent’ on the report,” he stated to the TEC. “However, for me, the use for the word ‘rent’ is interchangeable with an expense.”
While it is permissible to use campaign funds to cover living expenses, the TEC found that Eissler did not properly document these expenses and is therefore in violation of the election code.
For more information, read Saturday’s edition of The Courier.
To read the entire TEC order and agreed resolution, go to http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/sworncomp/2007/2709200.pdf
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Whiskyecho wrote on Nov 7, 2008 2:39 PM: