Last night BJP reported on the upcoming Montgomery County MUD 148 election where two people could decide the fate of $500 million in road, sewer, water and recreation bonds and the tax rate to be levied on future homeowners who purchase a home in the planned community—and we published a photo of the trailer residence used by the two voters on their voter registration cards.
But did you know there’s a company that specializes in providing turn-key voter trailer installation services and election services for MUD’s, WCID’s (water control improvement district and RID’s?
(click to enlarge photo)
The Statesman wrote about Stingray Services back in February 2012:
In general, MUDs, often the building blocks for development, are approved by the Legislature but don’t come into being until an election is held involving everybody who lives in the proposed district. Everybody who lives there could be nobody.
So it behooves the developer to move somebody onto the land, somebody who understands he or she is free to vote however he or she wants to (wink, wink, nod, nod).
That’s where Stingray Services and Tina can come into play. It’s also where Craigslist becomes an integral part of the election process. On Jan. 27, a Craigslist posting popped up with this headline: $300 / 3br-1200ft2- Live on site, low rent.”
“Developer needs full time residents in a MUD district election. Cheap rent for 6 months beginning approx. March 1, 2012. $400 deposit. No pets. In order to qualify you must be eligible to vote in Texas (NO felonies, 18 yrs or older, valid Texas ID or Drivers License).
House is a 2008 manufactured home in great condition with all appliances, and w/d connections. Eligible tenants will vote in and serve as election officials for the MUD district election which takes place in the home. Tenants will be paid for their time spent serving as election officials.”
Stingray Services will even help secure the construction permit for the temporary voter trailer—as they did for MUD 148 from the City of Conroe BC-15-005893 issued permit.
Because the election results HAVE to come out the way the developer and bond counsel want it to.
But what I want to know is how many of the voters from the near 100 elections Stingray Services has helped with were prosecuted by the State of Texas for illegal voting?
When Jim and Adrian get out of jail will the State of Texas allow them to operate a turn-key voter trailer installation services and election services business?
What’s your point? The Woodlands RUD voters were apparently fraudsters, as evidenced by the convictions they earned. The voters in the MUD election presumably have a lease, and pay rent for a real residence that’s not a hotel.
As you stated, this is how MUD elections work until the new houses are built. The developer has to put up a significant amount of cash or bond to ensure the utilities and improvements are built. The MUD my parents live in was established with 3 houses in 1980, the houses were later torn down for commercial development.
I am curious as to how you think this should be done differently.
What makes you think they were fraudsters? Have you seen any of the evidence in the case? Why can these guys buy a vote in exchange for cheap rent? Where is that in the law?
Does this mean that George H. W. Bush was also a fraudster, as he listed as his address a room at the Houstonian Hotel for many years?
As to how it should be done differently, why is it that developers can move a favorable voter (or two) into a district so that they can hold a sham election, and avoid prosecution, but a voter in the neighboring district who does the same thing is prosecuted? How is this not taxation without representation?
It’s not taxation without representation. No one currently lives on the area that will be the MUD. It is empty land. State law requires an election to create indebtedness, which is how an MUD funds the utilities and streets that will be built. To have an election requires voters, at least at the beginning. That means someone has to move onto the land and register to vote there. The developer is the only landowner, and has to pay all of the taxes that the debt incurs until houses are sold. The developer is happy to pay the taxes, because, otherwise, they would have to fully fund the construction of the streets and utilities, and then charge home buyers the full cost of those items. That would make the homes completely unaffordable.. The cool thing here is that you avoid paying those taxes by not buying property in the MUD. Only people who want to live there will pay the taxes. The City of Conroe doesn’t have to fund the improvements, which saves the taxpayers in the rest of the city the cost of construction.
Bush owned a piece of property near the Houstonian, and had signed an affidavit that he intended to build a home there when he left office. Failure to build the house and live there would incur a large tax penalty from the IRS. I don’t have a problem with that scenario. I do have a problem with someone registering to vote with a hotel as an address, spending two nights there, and never returning. If they had a nearby piece of property where they were, or planned to, build a home, and they lived in the hotel for some period of time, then I wouldn’t think their registration was fraudulent.
The problem with what you think is that it is merely what “you” think.
We consulted with the Secretary of State about Bush, the DEA agents using thir office to vote, the Escapees RV Park in Polk County, and all the other case law they offered in defense of the DEA agents in 2009.
The SOS has issued Election law Opinion GSC-1 and they SOS offered Mills v Bartlett as the seminal case for our guidance in Mills -the majority opinion holds that mere presence in a locality coupled with an intention to return at some indefinite time in the future to take up a place of abode for the first time, and that based on contingencies, is sufficient to establish a residence.
It appears a 2nd Temporary Voter Trailer permit for MUD 132 in Conroe has been obtained by Stingray Services.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/285446429/MUD-132-Temporary-Voter-Trailer-Permit
It is hoped someone will investigate the possibility of unlawful assistance under Texas Election Code 64.036 and 86.0051 or felony Illegal Voting charges against unlawful actors under EC 64.012 as in the case of Carlos Medrano.