Bussiness
El Paso mayoral race: Business community’s cash flows mostly to Renard Johnson’s campaign
Many El Paso business leaders have shown who they want to be El Paso’s next mayor through their dollars.
Renard Johnson’s campaign collected $1.08 million in contributions through Dec. 6, when the latest campaign finance reports were filed with the city. Much of the money has come from El Paso’s business community.
Brian Kennedy’s campaign received just under $64,000 in contributions. His mostly self-funded campaign is relying on $231,000 in loans, according to his Dec. 6 report.
The candidates were somewhat closer in campaign expenditures. Johnson spent almost $757,000 through Dec. 6. Kennedy spent almost $504,000.
The two are in a Dec. 14 runoff election. Johnson won the eight-candidate Nov. 5 election with 32.5% of the vote, followed by Kennedy with 24.2%. A runoff is required in a city election when a candidate does not get more than 50% of the vote in the initial election.
Kennedy, 69, a lawyer, is a City Council member representing the West Side.
Johnson, 58, a political newcomer, is founder and chief executive officer of Management and Engineering Technologies International Inc., or METI, an El Paso technology and engineering services contractor for federal agencies and private companies.
“I think it (Johnson’s campaign contributions) is indicative of the support of the business community wanting to move this city forward, and not be stagnant like we have in the last four years,” said Ted Houghton, owner and president of Houghton Financial, an El Paso financial services firm. He also is a former chairman of the powerful Texas Transportation Commission.
He gave $19,500 for Johnson’s election fight. It’s his largest contribution in a local election after years of donating to local campaigns, he said. Almost half of his money, $10,000, was donated to the Protect and Serve Texas PAC, a Texas political action committee supporting Johnson’s campaign, largely by sponsoring mailed campaign flyers.
Oscar Leeser is Kennedy’s largest donor
Kennedy’s largest donation, $10,000, came Nov. 27 from current El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser. Dennece Knight, Kennedy’s wife, and the El Paso Association of Firefighters Political Action Committee are his second-largest contributors, at $5,000 each. Kennedy’s finance reports show that his campaign is mostly funded with $231,000 in loans.
Kennedy told El Paso Matters in October that he turned down “special interest money” to remain independent.
Business ‘Who’s Who’ give to Johnson, PACs
Johnson’s campaign donors are a veritable part of El Paso’s business community.
Topping the list are Woody Hunt and Paul Foster, probably El Paso’s best-known business leaders and prolific philanthropists. They contributed a combined $119,166, almost all of which went to #ProjectRedTX, another Texas political action committee, or PAC, supporting Johnson’s campaign.
Hunt, who heads Hunt Companies, a large national real estate development group headquartered in Downtown El Paso, gave $50,000 to the PAC and just over $19,000 directly to Johnson’s campaign.
Foster, a billionaire, is founder and CEO of Franklin Mountain Investments, which oversees his real estate development and other ventures. He gave $50,000 to the #ProjectRedTX PAC.
Other top donors: Miguel Fernandez, $35,000, including $25,000 to the Protect and Serve Texas PAC, (He’s co-founder and CEO of Flo Networks, the El Paso-based operator of a large fiber-optic network in the United States and Mexico.); Julio Chiu, $34,500, (He’s founder and CEO of Seisa Medical, an El Paso-Juarez medical-device manufacturer.); Edward Escudero, $31,500, including $15,000 to the #ProjectRedTX PAC (He’s El Paso Electric board chairman and owner of High Desert Capital, an El Paso business financing firm.); and Preston Brown, $25,000, (He’s owner of El Paso homebuilder Zia Homes.).
Alvin Johnson, Renard Johnson’s father, gave $53,250. He’s an executive in his son’s company.
Renard Johnson gave $29,000 to his campaign, with most of that contributed at the beginning of his campaign early this year.
The Tiguas, a Native American tribe with its reservation in El Paso’s Lower Valley, contributed $174,000 worth of advertising, including $60,000 for billboards, Johnson’s campaign finance reports show.
The Protect and Serve Texas PAC contributed $150,231 worth of advertisements for Johnson’s campaign, Johnson’s campaign finance reports show.
More: El Paso runoff election: Mayor’s race focused on El Paso wages, jobs and community vision
Woody Hunt, other business people like Johnson’s vision
Hunt, Escudero, and Fernandez each provided separate, emailed statements to the El Paso Times in response to questions about why they gave large contributions to support Johnson’s campaign, mostly through donations to the two Texas political action committees. Each said they believe Johnson is the best candidate to lead El Paso.
“I believe he possesses the vision, dedication, and leadership necessary to move El Paso forward,” said Hunt in part of his statement. Foster did not respond to requests for comments.
Brown, the Zia Homes owner, gave his first-ever political campaign contribution to Johnson because “I didn’t like the way the other guy (Kennedy) acted” in a subdivision development problem brought to his attention, Brown said.
“I don’t expect anything (for the donation) except for him to do a good job as the mayor,” Brown said of his $25,000 contribution to Johnson’s campaign. “I want good government.”
Kennedy campaign focuses on Johnson’s money
Richard Pineda, a long-time political analyst and director of the Sam Donaldson Center for Communication Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso, said Kennedy’s campaign has attempted to make the money flowing into the Johnson campaign and the PACs as something nefarious and bad for the community.
“I am not entirely sure that’s a persuasive message to a lot of people,” Pineda said.
“The money by itself, I think, is definitely an indicator about support.”
“We get concerned about the volume of money, but the reason people contribute to campaigns is not only consistent with how they see the candidates and their value structure, but (it’s) also consistent” with the donors’ community vision, Pineda said.
Johnson also may have needed more cash at the start of his campaign because he had little name recognition among the general public compared to Kennedy, who has been on City Council almost two years, Pineda noted.
Johnson has emerged as the candidate of growth, while Kennedy’s message has been more about cutting and minimizing taxes and “kind of minimize the growth,” Pineda said.
“This core question of why are these guys doing this (donating to Johnson’s campaign) and what do they want out of it” does not have a complicated answer, Pineda said.
“They want a mayor who they think will be supportive of their ideas for development. I don’t think anybody is hiding from that,” he said.
PACs send messages to voters
Hunt, Escudero, and Fernandez did not say why they gave large amounts of money to the two Texas PACs instead of directly to Johnson’s campaign. Hunt and Escudero said it is important to get information about the candidates to voters. The Protect and Serve PAC-sponsored flyers were mailed to El Pasoans with information about the two candidates, including derogatory information about Kennedy.
Kennedy also distributed flyers and TV commercials with derogatory information about Johnson. In the runoff campaign, Johnson has incorporated some of the PAC’s messages into his own campaign flyers.
“By sharing this information with the community, we empower voters to make informed decisions,” said Escudero, the El Paso Electric board chairman.
Houghton, who gave $10,000 of his $19,500 Johnson-tied campaign contributions to the Protect and Serve PAC, said the PAC was a way to put out important information outside Johnson’s campaign messages.
More: Runoff election in El Paso: Key dates, candidates for mayor, City Council seats
Money fuels campaigns, analyst notes
Pineda, the UTEP political analyst, said Kennedy making Johnson’s campaign money an election issue highlights that he doesn’t have as much money and is far behind in the money race.
Kennedy made a mistake by not trying to turn the money disadvantage into an advantage, Pineda said. He could have immediately portrayed himself as “David against the (money) Goliath,” Pineda said.
“At the end of the day, having money in any political campaign is always good. It’s important for the campaign because they need the resources,” Pineda said. “Nobody loses a race for having too much money.”
Renard Johnson’s top contributors
Top contributors to Renard Johnson’s campaign and supporting PACs:
- Ysleta del sur Pueblo: $174,000
- (Billboards, advertisements)
- Protect and Serve Texas PAC: $150,231
- Woody Hunt, Hunt Companies founder: $69,166
- (Includes $50,000 to #ProjectRedTX PAC supporting Johnson campaign.)
- Paul Foster, Franklin Mountain Investments founder: $50,000
- (Entire donation to #ProjectRedTX PAC.)
- Alvin Johnson, Renard Johnson’s father: $53,350
- Miguel Fernandez. Flo Networks co-founder, CEO: $35,000
- (Includes $25,000 to Protect and Serve Texas PAC.)
- Julio Chiu, Seisa Medical manufacturer founder, CEO: $34,500
- Edward Escudero, High Desert Capital owner, El Paso Electric board chairman: $31,500
- (Includes $15,000 to #ProjectRedTX PAC.)
- Preston Brown, Zia Homes owner: $25,000
- Larry Wollschlager, Wolf Energy founder: $20,000
- Ted Houghton, Houghton Financial owner, president: $19,500
- (Includes $10,000 to Protect and Serve Texas PAC.)
Total contributions: $783,630
Source: Campaign finance reports
Brian Kennedy’s top contributors
Top contributors to Brian Kennedy’s campaign:
- Oscar Leeser, El Paso mayor, Hyundai of El Paso owner: $10,000
- Dennece Knight, Brian Kennedy’s wife: $5,000
- El Paso Association of Firefighters PAC, $5,000
- Stanley Jobe, Concrete supplier Jobe Materials founding partner: $3,000
- Thomas and Bailee Georges: $3,000
- William Kastrin, president Kasco Structures: $2,500
- Suzanne Dipp, $2,500
- Sherman Barnett, Barnett Harley-Davidson owner, $2,448
- (Direct mail, Facebook boost)
Total contributions: $63,824
Source: Campaign finance reports
Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on Twitter, now known as X.
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