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77% of Delwin Jones funds from "down state" sources

Listener: Pratt on Texas
Category: General
Date: 26 Feb 2008
Time: 13:35:31 -0700
Remote Name: 66.140.106.97

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Delwin Jones uses 54% more out-of-region money in campaign than challenger Joe Hnatek
26 February 2008, Copyright 2008 Pratt on Texas

State representative, district 83, Delwin Jones has run his entire campaign on the issue that his opponent, Dr. Joe Hnatek of Lubbock, is being funded by "down state" special interests and yet the newest campaign finance filings heavily contradict the claim.

In his commercials and post card mailing, Jones discusses no issues to come before the Legislature. Instead his entire focus is a claim, with no evidence that Hnatek is a recruit of "down state" interests and is not committed to representing West Texas.

The latest campaign filings show that Jones' has contributions from numerous political interest groups with Austin (24 PAC's alone) and that almost all of Hnatek's money originates from within the West Texas region. The figures show that Jones' has raised over three quarters of his funds in the period covered from "down state" special interest sources.

The filings show:

• 77% of Delwin Jones contributions come from Austin ($35,056 of $45,381), or other "down state" addresses (I've been very generous and included all the way to San Angelo as West Texas.)
  http://txprod.ethics.state.tx.us/public/366264.pdf
   
• 78% of money spent by Delwin Jones came from "down state" ($45,020)
• Hnatek had only 42% of his funding and spending ($19,113) from Austin, or "down state". Of that 42% of funds used that came from "down state", 100% of it was for in-kind campaign work - none was cash. Other spending was from Hnatek's own pocket.
  http://txprod.ethics.state.tx.us/public/366238.pdf
   
• 84% of Empower Texans PAC funding is from West Texas - NOT "down state" or from the I-35 crowd. This is the group, which includes donors from the district, helping Hnatek.
  http://txprod.ethics.state.tx.us/public/366028.pdf

With Hnatek only receiving money from one PAC in Austin, and it having raised almost all of its money from within the West Texas region, and Delwin Jones having raised most of his money from numerous special interests PAC's outside of the region, which candidate appears to be a pawn of outside interests?