During a tele-town hall on Wednesday, Texas House candidate Dennis Geesaman acknowledged that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had said that it was legal for his opponent, State Representative Stan Kitzman, to serve as a consultant to the Katy Brookshire Drainage District.
Kitzman’s work has been the subject of last-minute political attacks from Geesaman and his allies as Geesaman seeks to unseat Kitzman, who has represented Texas House District 85 since 2023.
During the tele-townhall, a listener asked Geesaman about an investigation by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton into Kitzman’s work for the Katy Brookshire Drainage District.
The Texas Voice recently fact-checked allegations raised by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, which has endorsed Geesaman, that consulting work performed by a company owned by Kitzman for the Katy Brookshire Drainage District may violate the Texas Constitution. It was determined that formal opinions issued by Texas Attorney Generals Greg Abbott in 2005 and Ken Paxton in 2018 confirmed that members of the Texas Legislature may work as independent contractors for governmental entities.
In response to the listener’s question, Geesaman said Kitzman had asked the Attorney General whether it was “okay to act as a consultant,” and that the Attorney General responded that it was indeed “okay to act as a consultant.”
Despite acknowledging the legality of Kitzman’s consulting work, Geesaman has used it in attacks against Kitzman.
Earlier this week, Geesaman sent a text message to voters in the district claiming that Kitzman is “under official investigation by Attorney General Ken Paxton” related to his company’s consulting work for the Katy Brookshire Drainage District. The text cited an article from the website Texas Scorecard in support of the allegation. In a Facebook post last week that included a link to the Texas Scorecard article, Geesaman described Kitzman’s contract as “crooked.”
After Texas Scorecard reported on the Attorney General’s office saying they were investigating Kitzman’s work, the website Current Revolt – which has also reported on Kitzman’s consulting work and the Attorney General opinions confirming its legality – wrote, “CR’s reporting found that there was legal precedent allowing Rep. Kitzman to do his thing so there’s likely nothing to come of” the investigation.
Midland Businessman Tim Dunn, who serves as the Chairman of Texas Scorecard’s parent organization, is also the largest donor to Texans United for a Conservative Majority, a Political Action Committee supporting Geesaman.
In addition to donating at least $125,000 to Geesaman’s campaign in cash and in-kind contributions, Texans United for a Conservative Majority has also made significant independent expenditures supporting Geesaman and opposing Kitzman. Other organizations tied to Dunn, such as Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, have also engaged in the race in support of Geesaman and against Kitzman.
Geesaman’s other major donors include the Coalition for Working Families, a Political Action Committee that received $1 million in funding from the Houston law firm Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner. The firm, which helped finance efforts to “Stop MAGA Republicans” during the 2024 General Election, advertises its work representing illegal aliens in civil lawsuits on its website. One of the firm’s partners, Muhammad Aziz, has donated to Democrat Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and has sponsored DEI initiatives in the legal community.
Kitzman has been endorsed for re-election by President Donald Trump, Governor Greg Abbott, and Senator Ted Cruz, among others.
