Shapleigh’s Ethics Questioned: Campaign Office In A Building His Wife Owns

AP-TX–Politics in the Family,0185

Campaign and family business mix draws criticism

AUSTIN (AP) – It’s been almost a year since the Legislature made it illegal for lawmakers to use political funds to rent property from themselves or their spouses. But some legislators have managed to still keep campaign business in the family.

Democratic Sen. Eliot Shapleigh of El Paso has campaign space in an office building his wife owns. Records show he makes payments to her company for computer usage and paper.

Republican Sen. John Carona of Dallas has reimbursed from campaign funds nearly $600,000 to two of his companies in recent years. He doesn’t pay rent anymore but still advertises the address and a phone number at his Dallas management company, Associa, as his campaign contact information, records indicate.

Neither Shapleigh nor Carona reported a donation on their recent campaign reports.

Shapleigh says he saw nothing wrong with continuing to make payments to his wife’s company for Internet service, computers and paper.

Ethics watchdogs say laws restricting the mingling of campaign and family business ensure that politicians don’t divert money from donors and special interest groups into their family bank accounts.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)