Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams violated Texas election codes, ethics commission rules
Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams was fined $1,500 for violating multiple campaign finance laws in 2019, according a Texas Ethics Commission filing issued Thursday.
The ruling surrounds several political contributions his campaign accepted in 2019, when Williams won his third term as mayor. Williams’ campaign accepted a $300 check from Sanjay Kumar, owner of Red Roof Inn at 820 N. Watson Road.
Although Williams told the commission he believed Kumar contributed in his individual capacity, the check had Peacock Lodging Corp., Kumar’s company, printed on it. Red Roof Inn was written on the check.
Williams was also penalized for a $500 contribution noted in an April 25, 2019, campaign finance filing because it exceeded the $100 limit and because he did not list the contributor’s address. Williams also accepted $1,700 in donations from a “hat-pass” at a campaign event. The contributions were listed as “Anonymous cash, given by multiple people” and reported July 15, 2019. Three contributors from the event donated over $100 and were not properly catalogued, the ruling states.
Texas election code prohibits candidates from knowingly accepting contributions from corporations and accepting over $100 in cash from an individual during a reporting period. Additionally, state law requires that campaigns provide the full name and address for those who contribute over $90 per reporting period.
Williams told the commission he refunded the contributions, including one from a local business that was not found to have violated state law.
The report was filed by Chris Dobson, an Arlington resident who has run several times for mayor and City Council. Dobson was one of four candidates in the Nov. 3 general election for District 7 City Council. He campaigned in 2019 for mayor against Williams and received 1,042 of the 18,132 votes, or 5.75%. Williams received 10,613 votes, or 58.53%.
Campaign spokesperson Brian Mayes said in an email that Williams’ campaign has “acknowledged that a few minor oversights were made” that resulted in the campaign accepting and reporting contributions “in the wrong format or by an incorrect entity.”
“We have since made the appropriate procedural revisions and provided training to volunteers on correct measures for accepting campaign contributions,” Mayes said.
This story was originally published December 4, 2020 at 1:12 PM.
CORRECTION: This story was updated to correct election results from the 2019 mayoral race.
