HAYS COUNTY
A complaint has been filed with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement against Hays County Sheriff candidate Anthony Hipolito over an alleged campaign finance violation.
The complaint, which alleges a Class A misdemeanor violation, stems from an $8,000 payment Hipolito’s campaign made to his wife last year that has since been refunded.
Hipolito’s campaign finance reports indicate that an $8,000 payment was made to his wife Peggy Hipolito on July 24, 2023.
When previously challenged on the payment, Hipolito responded in Facebook comments that he thought the payment was legal, according to screenshots provided by the advocacy-based publication Caldwell/Hays Examiner. The Examiner first reported the alleged campaign finance violation.
“Sarah,” Hipolito said responding to a person on Facebook. “did you donate to my campaign? Let me check…NO! So stop already. I don’t care what the optics look like. It’s ether legal or illegal. People need to understand I am not a politician and don’t play stupid games. My wife has put in hundreds and hundreds of hours for the campaign. I paid her and will pay her again. Very proud of her! My donors support us not just me!”
Hipolito’s campaign finance reports show that the payment was reimbursed on Sept. 27, 2024, though he has stated that amended returns are being filed to correct the date to Oct. 7.
On Oct. 8, Hipolito released a statement on the issue. The statement said that “early in the campaign” they were advised by a consultant that it was permissible under state law to pay a spouse for campaign-related work.
“After receiving a challenge to that information, we immediately sought guidance from a political attorney, who informed us that due to Texas being a community property state, spouses cannot be paid for work on a campaign. Upon receiving this information, we acted quickly to correct the mistake. We filed the appropriate paperwork with the local filing authority, and ensured everything is now fully compliant with Texas campaign laws.”
The Texas Election Code, Title 15 states that a “candidate or officeholder may not knowingly make or authorize a payment from political contributions for personal services rendered by the candidate or the candidate’s spouse.” It also states such violations are a Class A misdemeanor. The Daily Record reached out to numerous political and law professors at multiple schools across the state seeking context on the alleged violations.
Brian Owsley, University of North Texas Dallas College of Law associate law professor, said that it does appear there was “some kind of criminal violation,” but the matter comes down to prosecutorial discretion. Owsley used the example of marijuana possession. He said although it is technically illegal, the District Attorney in Dallas is not likely to prosecute for personal use.
“Rightly or wrongly, that’s the District Attorney’s decision to make on some level,” Owsley said. “Similarly here, just because there was a criminal violation as it relates to this election matter, doesn't mean the District Attorney in Hays County is going to prosecute, especially in light of the fact that it was paid back. So you have this commission [the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement] that you've referenced — they could investigate … It could lead to maybe some kind of determination, and maybe that could be the fodder to push a recalcitrant district attorney to investigate.”
Owsley thinks prosecutorial discretion in this case would hinge on the amount of resources the DA would want to put toward the case, if any.
“There's a resource consideration,” Owsley said. “If you're the District Attorney in Hays County, you have limited assistant district attorneys. You have limited funds. You have limited political capital. You have limited goodwill. How are you going to spend all that in the interest of justice generally? And is this the crime that you want to go after, as opposed to others?”
Owsley added that the issue here lies at the intersection of the criminal and political elements at hand.
“If [Hipolito] wins, may - be it continues to follow him, and there's sort of a question about it,” Owsley said. “If he loses, it likely just goes away.”
On Oct. 18, Mikel Borg, a Hays County resident, sent the Daily Record a complaint he filed with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. He said he also sent information on the complaint to the Hays County District Attorney and the Hays County Sheriff’s Office. Beyond outlining the $8,000 payment and refund, the complaint also alleges that Hipolito knew about the situation earlier than he has publicly stated, which Hipolito has disputed. The campaign finance reports show the reimbursement was done on Sept. 27. However, Hipolito stated he found out about the issue on Oct. 7. When reached for comment on Friday, Hipolito stated that the campaign “prematurely filed a Schedule K credit on the 30-day report in an effort to make the commitment of repayment public as soon as possible. In order to do so, the campaign had to use a date that would be accepted on the 30-day report. While the 30-day report was in substantial compliance, we will move this Schedule K transaction to the 8-day report to accurately reflect the date the campaign received the repayment in total. The contributions maintained does not change, as the actual repayment was made on 10/7/24.” He continued, “Campaign finance is tough for non-politicians, which is why my campaign got an election [attorney] to guide us through making sure this is handled with accuracy.”
