In last weeks’ report on political contributions in the mayoral race involving Beaumont Mayor Robin Mouton, The Examiner reported that four labor unions, Engineers Union Local 450, Plumbers Local 68, Pipefitters Local 211 and CWA Local, made contributions to her campaign that the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) would consider illegal.
After further investigation, and in speaking with union representatives, The Examiner is correcting the record that no union funds were illegally donated – but that the unions, as allowed by law, donated from their Political Action Committees (PACs).
While attempts to contact the mayor – multiple times at multiple numbers – were left unanswered, The Examiner, as it should have, failed to contact the labor union representatives for comment or clarification.
The candidate’s campaign incorrectly reported on her official campaign finance reports that the donations were made directly by the unions and not by their associated PACs.
“While it is prohibited to accept contributions from a labor union, it’s not prohibited to accept contributions from PACs that solicit contributions from union members,” TEC General Counsel JR Johnson told The Examiner on Oct. 13, “and when a candidate reports a contribution that appears to be from a union, it’s possible that the contribution is from the committee and not the union itself.”
