FORT WORTH - The Texas Ethics Commission this week rejected a complaint filed against state Sen. Wendy Davis by her opponent in the hotly contested state Senate District 10 race.
State Rep. Mark Shelton, R-Fort Worth, earlier this month filed an ethics complaint against Davis, D-Fort Worth, for "not disclosing her business relationships with state lobbyists."The ethics commission sent Shelton and Davis certified letters this week stating the complaint didn't meet "legal and technical form requirements" but the complaint was quickly resubmitted after corrections are made."We are not surprised at all and recognized the complaint as a dishonest political stunt from the outset," said Anthony Spangler, a spokesman for the Davis campaign. "Mark Shelton must hide a failed record that includes votes to block life-saving cancer screening to hundreds of thousands of women in Texas."Shelton campaign spokesman Clayton Stewart said changes are being made to the complaint and it is being resubmitted for review."It's a technical correction we have to make and we've been told if we fix it, they will accept the filing," he said. "This is just Wendy trying to spin it and divert attention from her corrupt background."The letter from the Ethics Commission states that Shelton's complaint "does not comply with the legal and technical form requirements for a complaint."Part of the problem, according to the letter, is that each sworn complaint must include a properly completed affidavit."If the complaint is based on information and belief, the complaint must state the source and basis of the information and belief," the letter stated. "The affidavit you provided does not state the source and basis of the information and belief."Davis and Shelton are locked in a contentious battle for state Senate District 10, which includes part of Fort Worth, Arlington, Mansfield, Colleyville and other areas of south and Northeast Tarrant County.This is one of the most watched political fights in Texas, as Republican leaders in Congress and statewide stand with Shelton in an effort to reclaim the district for the GOP and Democrats statewide stand with Davis in her quest to serve another four years in the Texas Senate. In 2008, in another fierce battle for this district, Davis unseated longtime Republican state Sen. Kim Brimer of Arlington.In Shelton's complaint, he alleged that Davis didn't disclose that two of the three employees of her law firm who lobby for "subject matter" interests that overlap committees Davis serves on."It is unethical for State Senator Wendy Davis to be hiding her business relationships with lobbyists," Shelton said when filing the complaint. "Especially when these same lobbyist connections are directly linked to Davis using her public office for self-enrichment through lucrative public contracts she has steered to her own law/lobby firm."Workers at the Texas Ethics Commission have said the complaint process is confidential. In general, employees there said workers determine whether the complaint was filed correctly, give the person the complaint is directed against time to respond and determine whether to investigate the claim.A call from the Star-Telegram to the Ethics Commission was not returned late Friday.Anna M. Tinsley, 817-390-7610Twitter: @annatinsleyHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
