The battle between Democratic and Republican Party operatives over the Green Party’s ballot access petition drive, now headed for the Texas Supreme Court, has the potential for consequences not yet brought to light. The ban on corporate contributions in Texas campaigns could be ruled unconstitutional by the Republican aligned Texas Supreme Court in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court Citizen’s United ruling, which makes it easier for corporations and labor unions to fund federal campaigns. The Texas corporate (and union) ban, established in 1905 during the heyday of the populist movement, is one of the few campaign finance laws in Texas. It is widely supported by voters of all political hues including independent-minded (read: independent of Rick Perry) tea partiers.
Attorney David Rogers is an independent Republican who has worked with former Republican gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Steve Smith. Rogers currently represents the Green Party in its appeal to the Texas Supreme Court seeking a ballot line in November’s general election. Rogers believes that the Democrats fighting Green Party ballot access really don’t have a case because petition drives are exempt from the corporate ban as a “normal operating expense.” Rogers said, “The Democrats are playing a dangerous game. They have, by virtue of naming the two corporate entities involved in the fray, Free and Equal, which managed the petition drive and Take Initiative America, which may have provided the funding to Free and Equal, set the stage for the possibility that the Texas Supreme Court could strike down the corporate ban as unconstitutional, something neither I nor my clients would support.”
Linda Curtis, one of the founders of Independent Texans, the state’s only voter association seeking representation for approximately 4 million Texas non-aligned independent voters said, “I have been told by Democratic experts who follow campaign finance law closely in this state that there is little chance that the Texas Supremes will overturn the corporate ban. I hope they’re right. But if they’re wrong, they risk further alienating independent voters, whom Bill White clearly needs to boot Perry. It’s also a warning to Bill White not to allow his party to blame the Greens. Independent Texans, for now, has a de facto ‘anyone-but-Perry strategy’ for November. If we endorse and who we endorse will be decided in the fall by a popular vote of members.”
A Writ of Mandamus filed minutes ago by David Rogers for the Green Party of Texas is available via email with a simple request for that information. The court is expected to rule by Friday, the ballot access deadline set by statute.
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For More Information Contact:
Linda Curtis
Independent Texans
http://IndyTexans.org
PO Box 6718
Austin, TX 78762
512-535-0989 office
512-657-2089 cell
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Further reading:
http://www.manta.com/c/mtxwthy/green-party-of-texas
http://txgreens.org/drupal/node/70
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-special-interest-groups/green-party-texas/
