Click here for a copy of the supporting documents obtained from the Texas State Library and Archives

TYLER—When given the opportunity to comment by the Texas Department of Transportation on a major transportation strategic plan that was heavily slanted toward toll roads, then-Senator Todd Staples passed up the opportunity to say anything about them or how strongly they were emphasized in the plan.

The new revelation, found in documents from the Texas State Library and Archives, calls into question Staples’ newfound distaste for toll roads and his disingenuous work as a supposed champion for eminent domain reform.

“The words ‘toll,’ ‘toll road,’ or some variation thereof, are mentioned more than half a dozen times in a three page strategic plan proposal. I can’t believe that escaped his notice,” said Hank Gilbert, the Texas Democratic Party’s nominee for Texas Agriculture Commissioner. “In his response, he had absolutely nothing to say about toll roads or the eminent domain land grab that was the Trans-Texas Corridor,” Gilbert continued.

The Texas Mobility Fund Proposed Strategic Plan on which Staples’ comment was requested by TxDOT in the summer of 2004 included as a guiding principal that “toll roads are the fastest way to accelerate needed projects and stretch limited transportation dollars,” and “when feasible, every effort will be made to leverage the fund with toll projects.”

“Once again, we scratch the surface and expose the truth about Todd Staples’ record. He claims now to be a champion of eminent domain protection, yet as a State Senator, he couldn’t be bothered to comment at all on the fact that a major transportation plan was going to make as its number one priority toll roads—including Trans-Texas Corridor toll road projects which would have eaten up hundreds of thousands of acres of Texas farmland and condemned it using eminent domain,” Gilbert said.

“The most shocking omission is any protection for the taxpayers of this state who stand to lose tens of billions on these projects. This is what Staples missed, as I and many others realized early on. This is an inexcusable lapse in judgment that, unfortunately, is not an isolated event. Even today, rather than address issues, he spends his time slinging mud and lies at me. Voters won’t be fooled by Toll Road Todd this time around,” Gilbert continued.

“Texas has the potential to become a major biofuels producer,” Gilbert said. “There are crops—like cassava—which we can grow in areas of West Texas where nothing else is being grown right now that can produce alternative fuels and not increase the cost of the foods we bring to our family’s dinner table,” Gilbert said.  “Too, land near the Gulf Coast in South East Texas is perfect land on which we can grow sugar cane to use to manufacture fuels,” Gilbert continued.

Under Gilbert’s plan, entitled the Field to Pump Biofuels Initiative, the Texas Department of Agriculture would utilize funding from the Texas Agricultural Infrastructure & Economic Development Fund (proposed by Gilbert under his previously released reform plan for the agency), to provide start-up funding to agricultural producers to help grow new, non-foodstock biofuel crops and to refiners to help develop refining capacity for those products.

“The state would also help assist agricultural producers to help establish new cooperatives which would allow them to seek funding from outside sources to grow, market, transport—and even refine—their biofuel crops,” he continued.

Gilbert also noted that biofuels made from cassava and sugar cane will result in less pollution, cleaner air, and even additional money for farmers—should a market develop for the sale of carbon credits.

TYLER—Hank Gilbert, the Texas Democratic Party’s nominee for Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Monday called on incumbent commissioner Todd Staples to focus on issues of importance to the race rather than his attempts to score political points by focusing on issues over which the Department of Agriculture has no control.

Gilbert’s comments were in response to an Athens Daily Review article from this weekend in which Staples addressed the Proposition 8 decision in California.

“I’ve spent the last two weeks on the campaign trail talking about real reform for the Texas Department of Agriculture—from weights and measures to funding to increase agribusiness in Texas to protecting Texans from eminent domain abuses,” Gilbert said.

“My opponent, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be focused much on agriculture at all. He’s kind of like a kitten playing with a ball of yarn. If you hold an anchovy over his head, he forgets all about that ball of yarn; it is kind of how Todd Staples is with this issue,” Gilbert continued.

Gilbert pointed out that the Agriculture Commissioner has no authority or power over the Texas Family Code with respect to marriage and that Staples is misleading voters about his role in the law’s passing in order to, presumably, excite ultra-conservatives. “People elect their Agriculture Commissioner to do something about agriculture, not to serve as the state’s de facto bedroom police,” he said.

“Perhaps if Todd Staples put some of the energy he’s put into fighting gay marriage into actually reforming the Texas Department of Agriculture, consumers might not find gas pumps and grocery store scales with expired inspections as frequently as they do,” Gilbert continued. “Maybe if Todd Staples wasn’t so focused on gay marriage, some of the food safety debacles that have happened on his watch wouldn’t have happened,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert also called out Staples for misleading Texans about his role in the passage of HJR 6, the legislation that resulted in the constitutional amendment outlawing gay marriage.

“Todd Staples didn’t write HJR 6 in the 2005 session of the Texas Legislature. Warren Chisum and four other House members are listed as ‘author’ of the bill and more than a dozen House members are listed as co-authors,” Gilbert said. “Staples sponsored it, but he didn’t author it,” Gilbert said. “There is a difference, and Todd Staples spent enough time in the Legislature he should know it.

Gilbert also said it was time for Staples to stop beating up on gay and lesbian Texans.

“Isn’t it time for Todd Staples to stop beating up on gay and lesbian Texans whose taxes have paid his salary as a career politician for years? Staples has done more than enough to make miserable the lives of people who’ve never done anything to him, and it’s not protecting marriage, it’s just being mean to the citizens of this state, and their families—who do nothing but work hard everyday. Maybe Staples could learn something from them,” Gilbert said.

RESOURCES: Athens Daily Review Article, Legislative History of HJR 6 (2005)

Food Safety And Consumer Protection, Eminent Domain Reform, Help For Producers Take Center Stage

[You can download a copy of Hank's Reform Plan for the Texas Department of Agriculture  in PDF format here (LINK) or view it online here (LINK).  You can also read Hank's remarks as prepared for delivery on his TDA Reform Tour here (LINK).]

ABILENE—Hank Gilbert, the Texas Democratic Party’s nominee for Agriculture Commissioner, Wednesday morning unveiled a sweeping and historic reform package to reshape and rebuild the Texas Department of Agriculture Wednesday morning in Abilene.

The Abilene stop was the first of a 23-city tour during which Gilbert will address portions of the policy across the state. The campaign had stops planned in Lubbock and Big Spring for Wednesday and Midland, Odessa, San Angelo and Waco for Thursday.

“The Texas Department of Agriculture can and should be doing more for Texans,” Gilbert said. “TDA has the potential to become the state’s strongest consumer protection agency,” he said as he introduced the policy, which was centered around food safety and consumer protection, eminent domain reform, agency restructuring and providing economic incentives to boost Texas’ agricultural economy.

“We must put an end to the patchwork quilt of regulation and inspection that has put our state’s food supply in jeopardy and streamline the regulation and inspection process to keep Texans safe,” Gilbert said.

Under Gilbert’s plan, the Texas Department of Agriculture will institute the TEXAS Food Safety & Security Initiative (standing for “Tested, Examined, Approved, & Secure”) which will require comprehensive food safety inspections for agricultural commodities and grocery stores, food wholesalers and warehouses, food processors, food manufacturers, wholesale bakeries, beverage producers, refrigerated warehouses, slaughterhouses, meat and poultry plants and fish processors centralized under the Texas Department of Agriculture.

“Texas ag producers, Texas businesses, and Texas consumers shouldn’t have to turn to three or more state agencies for permits, regulation, or to determine if the food they are purchasing is safe,” Gilbert said. “The present hodgepodge of regulation only aides in allowing state agencies to point fingers at each other and say, ‘that isn’t our job,’” Gilbert said. “Under this plan, consumers, producers, and businesses won’t have to be shuffled from agency to agency,” Gilbert continued.

In terms of consumer protection, Gilbert called for a roll-back in the four-year inspection period for weights and measures devices such as grocery store scales and fuel pumps. “I propose a two-year inspection period and a three-strikes policy for habitual fuel cheaters,” Gilbert said. Under Gilbert’s reform plan, if a fuel retailer is found to be out of compliance as a result of consumer complaints more than three times in a year, they will face criminal charges.

Additionally, Gilbert said Texas agricultural producers and businesses are overburdened as a result of being forced to turn to a myriad of state agencies for assistance depending on the exact nature of the agricultural problem they need to address.

“Producers, farmers, ranchers, or businesses shouldn’t have to be shuffled between TDA and the Texas Animal Health Commission and the Texas Wildlife Service to have agricultural problems addressed,” he said. Gilbert proposed moving the Texas Forest Service, the Texas Animal Health Commission, and the Texas Wildlife Services—and all feral hog abatement programs—directly under the umbrella of TDA.

Gilbert also proposed several measures to help grow the state’s agricultural economy, including passage of the Limited Agricultural Cooperatives Act, which would allow the creation of agricultural cooperatives to help farmers and ranchers, especially in rural Texas, obtain better prices and expanded market share for their products.

Gilbert also proposed historic eminent domain abuse protections centralized under TDA through the establishment of the Office of Farm and Ranch Land Preservation.

Under Gilbert’s plan, two new programs, the Agricultural Preservation Areas Program and the Agricultural Easements Program—both modeled off Ohio programs—would provide strong new eminent domain abuse protections for Texas landowners.

“It past time for Texas to stop paying lip service to the idea of protecting Texans from eminent domain abuses,” said Gilbert, who co-founded TURF, an organization dedicated to preventing eminent domain abuses and stopping unwanted toll roads. “Event he recent constitutional amendment passed by voters has significant loopholes,” Gilbert said. “Yet politicians have sold this to Texans as the silver bullet for protection from eminent domain abuse. It is far from it,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert also proposed creating a $300 million investment fund, the Texas Agricultural Investment & Development Fund (Texas AID), to attract agricultural business to Texas, help existing agricultural businesses expand, and help fund agricultural innovation. He also proposed significant increases in the Young Farmer Grant Program.

You can download a copy of Hank’s Reform Plan for the Texas Department of Agriculture  in PDF format here (LINK) or view it online here (LINK).  You can also read Hank’s remarks as prepared for delivery on his TDA Reform Tour here (LINK).

To view the PDF copy of the plan,  you will need Acrobat Reader.  Download it from Adobe’s website.

Gilbert Calls on Staples To Release Legislative Records

TYLER–Hank Gilbert, the Texas Democratic Party’s nominee for Agriculture Commissioner, Tuesday questioned what Todd Staples was hiding in the files from his days as a member of the Texas House and Texas Senate–which are sealed in perpetuity at Staples’ request.

Many records from Staples’ days as a State Representative and State Senator housed in the custody of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission–particularly correspondence from lobbyists, constituents, business people, contributors, and even the Texas Legislative Council sent to Staples’ House and Senate offices–are sealed in perpetuity–meaning no Texan will ever be able to gain access to the records for the entire future of recorded human history, Gilbert noted.

Texas law permits legislators to seal these documents partially, for a specified period of time, or forever. Gilbert questioned what was in the files that was so damning that Staples decided no one would ever be able to see it.

“Existing law allows confidential information of his constituents–like their names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, Social Security Numbers, etc. to be redacted from those documents when they are open to viewing by the public, so there seems to have been no need for him to seal them forever unless he was truly trying to hide something,” Gilbert said.

Staples’ legislative records join his tax returns and records concerning a vehicle purchased with campaign funds as the latest in a series of Staples’ records the incumbent Agriculture Commissioner is attempting to hide from public view.

“What could be in the records that is so damning to Staples,” Gilbert asked. “Aside from a letter from Harold Simmons reminding him exactly how much money he contributed to purchase Sleazy Staples’ vote to build a radioactive waste dump in Texas, the guess of the good citizens of Texas is as good as mine,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert also called on Staples to immediately drive the Suburban he claims he did not purchase with campaign funds over to the Texas State Archives, and sign the necessary documentation to release the files to the public in their entirety. “And, while he’s at it, he should swing by Kinkos, copy his tax returns, and drop them off at the Austin American-Statesman,” Gilbert said.

“To put this into perspective, think of two of the most secretive presidents in U.S. history–Richard M. Nixon and George W. Bush; if you go to their presidential libraries or the National Archives and request to see correspondence, with the exception of something relating to national security, you’re going to by and large get to see what you ask for,” Gilbert said. “To think that Staples has more to hide than either of those two guys is downright frightening,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert also said it was sleazy of Staples to ask for taxpayers to foot the bill for the indexing, preservation, archiving, and perpetual storage of Staples’ secret records. “As Texans, we proudly pay our fair share to make sure that the records of our government are archived for the benefit of our children and our children’s children. Texans don’t look kindly on having to pay to keep someone’s records a secret forever,” he concluded.

FACT SHEET
Staples Keeps It A Secret, Others Don’t

FACT: Pursuant to the provisions of the Texas Government Code (Chapters 306 and 323), state legislators may close correspondence with their constituents—which includes, essentially, any and all correspondence to their legislative offices—and correspondence between legislators and the Texas Legislative Council from view for a select period of time or permanently.

FACT: A number of prominent recent state senators elected not to close their records as Staples has:

Texas Land Commissioner and former State Sen. Jerry Patterson placed no restrictions on the viewing of his legislative correspondence. [SOURCE]

Former State Sen. Ken Ambrister did not close his records when he left the senate and went to work for Governor Perry [SOURCE]

FACT: Staples’ predecessor in the Senate, former Sen. Drew Nixon, did not close access to his senatorial records. [SOURCE]

FACT: Among the things Staples may not want constituents to see in his Senate archives are correspondence between him and corporate raider Harold Simmons, who lobbied fiercely to see legislation passed that would allow the construction of a low-level radioactive waste dump in Texas.

FACT: As a State Senator, Todd Staples voted to allow radioactive waste from other states to be dumped in Texas–after taking huge sums of money from the CEO of the company which would benefit from the waste dumps in Texas. In 2003, Staples voted for House Bill 1567, which allowed for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste from Maine and Vermont to be disposed of in Texas. Staples voted for the bill not once, but twice–including to adopt the conference committee report for a Conference Committee on which he sat. [Senate Journal, 78th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 78th Day, Monday, May 26, 2003, p.2442; Senate Journal, 78th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 64th Day, Wednesday, May 7, 2003, p. 1424]

FACT: While in the Legislature, Staples was one of the top recipients of money in the state from billionaire corporate raider Harold Simmons, who controlled Contran and Valhi, and Waste Control Specialists–the company which would have stood to benefit from Texas allowing for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste. Between 1997 and 2000, Staples took more than $12,000 from Simmons, according to the non-partisan watchdog group Texans for Public Justice. While running for Agriculture Commissioner in 2006–and after he voted Simmons’ way in the Senate, Staples scored another $7,000 from Simmons, according to the Texas Ethics Commission.

According to publicly available documents, Todd Staples (listed as “DT Staples”) is the registered owner of a 2005 Chevrolet Suburban/SUV titled on July 22, 2005. The vehicle is presently registered in Staples name, and he renewed its registration as recently as last year. The vehicle’s license plates are State Official Plates bearing the license plate number “SO8A.”

TYLER—Hank Gilbert, the Texas Democratic Party’s nominee for Texas agriculture Commissioner, on Tuesday questioned why Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples bought a suburban with campaign funds, registered it in his own name, and is still driving it around—with State Official license plates.

At issue is a 2005 purchase of a Chevrolet Suburban by Texans for Todd Staples, which is presently registered in Staples name with a State Official License Plate. According to publicly available records of the Texas Ethics Commission, Staples paid Cutshaw Chevrolet in Grapeland, Texas $15,406.25 for a “vehicle” on July 9, 2005. Later that year, Texans for Todd Staples paid the Anderson County Tax Assessor/Collector’s Office $131.27 on November 29, 2005—presumably registration for this vehicle or another of Staples’ personal vehicles.

According to publicly available documents, Todd Staples (listed as “DT Staples”) is the registered owner of a 2005 Chevrolet Suburban/SUV titled on July 22, 2005. The vehicle is presently registered in Staples name, and he renewed its registration as recently as last year. The vehicle’s license plates are State Official Plates bearing the license plate number “SO8A.” According to these documents, the original estimated value of the vehicle was $36,105.67. [LINK to document]

Although the vehicle is personally registered in Staples’ name and was purchased with campaign funds, Texas Ethics Commission records do not indicate that Staples’ reimbursed the campaign for the vehicle or its use.

“The Texas Election Code doesn’t’ allow conversion of assets you purchased with political contributions to personal assets or for personal use unless you reimburse the campaign for those assets,” Gilbert said. “And, if you are simply using the assets, as I read the Election Code, you’ve still got to reimburse the campaign for the value of the use of those assets while they are being used for personal business,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert said this revelation goes along way toward explaining why Staples continues to refuse to release his tax returns.

“If Todd Staples is taking deductions for depreciation on this vehicle, and/or deducting other costs associated with it like maintenance and registration fees, then he has a lot to answer for,” Gilbert said. “And, since it appears he never reimbursed his campaign for the cost of the vehicle, I’m sure there are some additional tax implications. If this is what Staples has done, it looks a lot like he’s committed tax fraud,” Gilbert said. “The only way Texans will know for sure if Todd Staples committed tax fraud is for him to come clean and release his tax returns. Should this turn out to be what we think it is, I wish Todd the best in fighting it out with the IRS. God knows, I have some experience with that but then again I wasn’t trying to defraud the Federal Government. Who knows how they’ll look at this,” Gilbert said.

“This is yet another one of Todd Staples’ sleazy dealings, which you can read about at our new website, SleazySleazyStaples.com,” Gilbert concluded.

FACT SHEET

Texas Campaign Finance Law And Campaign Assets

FACT: The Texas Election code restricts the personal use of political contributions. Political contributions can’t be converted to personal use. [Texas Election Code, Sec. 235.035]

FACT: The prohibitions of the Texas Election Code include prohibiting the personal use of an asset purchased with campaign funds. [Texas Election Code, Sec. 235.035(c)]

FACT: The Texas Election Code defines “personal use” as use that “primary furthers individual or family purposes not connected with the performance of duties or activities as a candidate for or holder of public office.” [Texas Election Code, Sec. 235.035(d)]

FACT: A person who converts a political contribution to the person’s personal use is civilly liable to the state for an amount equal to the amount of the converted contribution plus court costs. [Texas Election Code, Sec. 235.035(f)]

JOEL ANDREWS/The Lufkin Daily News

TYLER-Hank Gilbert, the Texas Democratic Party’s nominee for Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Thursday questioned why incumbent Commissioner Todd Staples was using the TDA’s Go Texan marketing program to promote companies who had contributed to his campaign.

Gilbert noted that, on June 23, Staples and TDA scheduled a major “Go Texan” media event at the Brookshire Brothers Fresh Market in Lufkin. According to the Texas Ethics Commission, Brookshire Brothers’ Political Action Committee and its former CEO have contributed thousands to Staples’ campaigns.

“It’s very interesting that Todd Staples led TDA to stage such a large event that garnered so much media and free advertising for a grocery store chain that has been a significant contributor to him in both his senate and statewide races,” Gilbert said.

According to the Texas Ethics Commission, Brookshire Brothers’ PAC and Eugene Brookshire, a retired executive of the company, contributed $3,500 to Staples and his campaigns between 2001 and 2007.

“How much in state money did Todd Staples spend on this publicity stunt for one of his campaign contributors,” Gilbert asked. “It doesn’t look right for an officeholder to take thousands of dollars from a grocery store PAC and its leadership only then to use every resource available to that officeholder’s state agency to stage a massive publicity stunt to promote that grocery store,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert Campaign Director Vince Leibowitz mused about what interest Todd Staples might have in the Lufkin-based grocery store chain. Since Staples has, thus far, refused to release his tax returns (citing the excuse that he won’t until Gilbert releases as tax lien he’s been paying, per a settlement with the IRS, for about ten years), Leibowitz noted that for all Texas voters know, Todd Staples could own interest in a number of companies doing business with the Texas Department of Agriculture. “All we know is what is in the Personal Financial Statement, and, as we’ve seen from other instances, the PSF doesn’t really show everything an officeholder may own or have an interest in,” Leibowitz said. “For all voters know, Todd Staples has his fingers in a lot of pies that TDA is supposed to regulate,” he continued.

“The IRS doesn’t have a problem with Hank, he’s being paying as agreed for around ten years. Staples is just using this as an excuse to hide his actual income from voters. Either he is embarrassed about how much or how little he makes, or he’s simply scared to release the returns because they show something unethical. Once again, he’s using old personal attacks on Hank to hide his own nefarious and sleazy behavior,” Leibowitz concluded.

“I’ve always been upfront an honest about my life. My issue with the IRS, an agency that often causes headaches for many small businessmen like myself, has been public record for more than a decade. Todd has no reason to hide behind something that doesn’t even concern him. The voters of Texas want to see how their elected officials are supporting themselves. I’ve released mine and it’s time for Todd to do the same,” Gilbert said.

BROOKSHIER BROTHERS CONTRIBUTIONS TO STAPLES:

TYLER–Hank Gilbert, the Texas Democratic Party’s Nominee for Agriculture Commissioner, said Wednesday that it was time for Todd Staples to come clean with Texas voters and release his tax returns.

“I have nothing to hide. I’ve released my tax returns, and been open with voters and the media about the difficulties I’ve had as a small businessman dealing with the bureaucracy that is the Internal Revenue Service. The big question is what Todd Staples has to hide,” Gilbert said.

In light of the scandal surrounding the $3 million dollar contract awarded to a questionable Kentucky non-profit by Staples and the Texas Department of Agriculture, Gilbert said voters need to know what Staples is trying to hide by failing to disclose his tax returns.

“We already know that Staples owns stock in at least two telecommunications companies that are partners with Connected Nation. The big question is, ‘what don’t we know,’” Gilbert said. “At a time when transparency in government and from our elected officials is demanded at every turn, the contrast between Todd Staples and an officeholder that is behaving in a transparent manner is like the difference between chicken salad and chicken–well, you know,” Gilbert concluded.

TYLER—Hank Gilbert, the Texas Democratic Party’s nominee for Texas Agriculture on Friday questioned why incumbent Commissioner Todd Staples outsourced more than three million dollars in federal funds to a Kentucky non-profit that has left controversy in its wake in several other states.

“It was inappropriate for the Texas Department of Agriculture to outsource more than $3 million in federal funding to a Kentucky non-profit organization with a questionable record and significant ties to telecommunications companies when federal law allowed the state to conduct this project on its own,” Gilbert said.

He accused Staples and the Texas Department of Agriculture of bypassing state agencies and public universities within Texas that could have completed the project.

“The fact of the matter is that federal law allowed the state or any of the public universities in Texas to conduct this project,” Gilbert said, citing the provisions The Broadband Data Improvement Act, 47 U.S.C. §1304, which states that multiple entity types—including government bodies—were eligible for the funds.

Gilbert also questioned why Staples would allow the Texas Department of Agriculture to do business with a company that has left controversy in its wake in North Carolina and Kentucky, signed restrictive non-disclosure agreements with telecom companies prohibiting disclosure of detailed coverage information, and has been accused of providing misleading information to the Federal Communications Commission.

“Putting aside the lunacy of making this map, the award of the contract itself is questionable. The state could have taken this three million dollars and conducted this project itself or had one of our state universities spearhead it rather than engage in a risky outsourcing project that does nothing more than produce a map and create wealth for the employees of a non-profit in Kentucky and Washington,” Gilbert said. He also pointed out that the board of Connected Nation is littered with telecom executives.

“That ought to tell you something right there. It is like allowing the fox to devise a security system for a henhouse,” he said.

Gilbert said that the award was typical of Staples’ haphazard and incompetent management at the Texas Department of Agriculture.

“Here you have a Commissioner who has accepted thousands of dollars from telecom companies and owns stock in two companies that have partnered with a company that, by all accounts, is in bed with big telecom. It looks very bad,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert was also critical of the fact that a high-level Farm Bureau operative holds a leadership role with Connected Nation; Farm Bureau was the single-largest contributor to Staples’ 2006 campaign.

“It’s especially troubling that a former President of Texas Farm Bureau, an organization that endorsed Staples in 2006 and from whom Staples has received significant campaign funds, serves an advisor to the firm to which the contract was awarded,” he concluded.

FACT SHEET

The Sordid Story Of Todd Staples & Connect Nation

FACT: Federal law allows states to administer the funds for broadband initiatives such as the mapping contract awarded to Connected Nation themselves, allowing the projects to be conducted by:

(A) an entity that is either -

(i) an agency or instrumentality of a State, or a municipality or other subdivision (or agency or instrumentality of a municipality or other subdivision) of a State;

(ii) a nonprofit organization that is described in section 501(c)(3) of title 26 and that is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such title; or

(iii) an independent agency or commission in which an

office of a State is a member on behalf of the State; and

(B) is the single eligible entity in the State that has been

designated by the State to receive a grant under this section. [47 USC Sec. 1304, at subsection (i). [LINK]

FACT: Connected Nation was paid a whopping $3,028,165 million for creating the map touted by TDA earlier this week. [TDA Memorandum “Department Managed ARRA Funding”, February 4, 2010, by Commissioner Todd Staples. LINK]

FACT: In filings before the Federal Communications Commission, Connected Nation is accused of efforts to limit broadband data collection. Additionally, FCC filings indicated that concerns have been raised about the conflict of interest relating to Connected Nation conducting both mapping and demand stimulation processes. [Comments and Reply of the Kentucky Municipal Utilities Association, Barbourville Utility Commission, et al. In the Matter of Development of Nationwide Broadband Date to Evaluate Reasonable and Timely Deployment of Advanced Services to All Americans, Improvement of Wireless Broadband Subscribership Data,  and Development of Data on Interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Subscribership. WC Docket No. 07-38. LINK]

FACT: Connected Nation is accused of providing inaccurate and misleading information to the FCC. [Comments and Reply of the Kentucky Municipal Utilities Association, Barbourville Utility Commission, et al. In the Matter of Development of Nationwide Broadband Date to Evaluate Reasonable and Timely Deployment of Advanced Services to All Americans, Improvement of Wireless Broadband Subscribership Data,  and Development of Data on Interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Subscribership. WC Docket No. 07-38. LINK]

FACT: Citing the need to keep telecom data secret, the telecom industry helped steer a mapping project in Minnesota away from a public university. [Minnesota Gives Mapping Deal To Connected Nation, Bypassing State University. Public Knowledge, August 31, 2009. LINK]

FACT: Connected Nation is accused of being a front for the telecom industry:

It is an organization sponsored by the telephone and cable companies and represents their interests in deciding what data to collect and how information should be displayed. They are quite up front about their company sponsorship and, in fact, believe it is an asset, if in a way counter to solid public policy.            [Privatizing The Public Trust: A Critical Look At Connected Nation. A Report Issued By Public Knowledge, Common Cause, The Media And Democracy Coalition and Reclaim The Media. March 23, 2009. LINK]

AND

“Connect Kentucky is simply a front for protecting the interests of incumbent telephone and cable companies.” – William J. “Billy” Ray, CEO of the Electric Plant Board of Glasgow, Ky. [LINK]

FACT: The telecom industry in North Carolina actually hired Connect Nation to compete with a state broadband mapping initiative. [High Stakes for High-Speed Internet, Indy Week, December 31, 2008. LINK]

FACT: Connected Nation’s board is littered with telecom executives:

*James W. Cicconi: AT&T senior executive vice president, external and legislative affairs

* Steve Largent: CTIA, The Wireless Association president and CEO; Former Oklahoma Congressman.

* Joseph W. Waz: Comcast senior vice president, external affairs and public policy counsel

* Thomas J. Tauke: Verizon executive vice president for public affairs, policy and communication

* Walter B. McCormick: United States Telecom Association president

* Kyle E. McSlarrow: National Cable and Telecommunications Association president

* Grant Seiffert: Telecommunications Industry Association president (The members are the equipment makers who sell their gear to the telecom industry.) [High Stakes for High-Speed Internet, Indy Week, December 31, 2008. LINK]

FACT: Bob Stallman, former president of the Texas Farm Bureau, and an appointee of former Governor George W. Bush to the Citizen’s Committee on Property Tax Relief, is a National Advisor to Connected Nation. [Connected Nation webpage. LINK]

FACT: Todd Staples received nearly $60,000 from the Texas Farm Bureau for his 2006 election campaign. [Center for Money in State Politics, LINK]

FACT: When pressed by lawmakers on the ability of their data to be independently verified, Connected Nation offers a weak explanation:

But Rep. Angela Bryant, a Democrat from Nash and Halifax counties, sounded skeptical. When she pressed Legg to say how Connected Nation’s data is “independently verifiable,” he gave this explanation: If a consumer finds that Connected Nation’s online map says a household does have broadband when in fact it does not, the consumer can go online and fill out a form to report the inaccuracy. “We will aggregate that information,” Legg said, and provide a list of “false positives” to lawmakers or the public upon request.

In other words, the only way lawmakers would find out if industry’s claims are false is if individual consumers speak up to challenge industry-backed research. [High Stakes for High-Speed Internet, Indy Week, December 31, 2008. LINK]

FACT: Connected Nation produces data that is proprietary, locked behind cryptic non-disclosure agreements and cannot be independently verified. [Connected Nation Takes Aim At Stimulus Broadband Mapping, Public Knowledge, February 17, 2009. LINK]

FACT: Connected Nation has been criticized for inflating broadband connectivity statistics. A top Connected Nation leader, Brian Mefford, has been accused of lying to a Senate committee. Mefford, told the Senate Commerce Committee that the work of the group and its partners led Kentucky to become “a national leader in technology acceleration,” and that the state was on track to become the first state with 100 percent broadband coverage. However, an independent research group showed at the same time that the state ranked 46^th out of 51 states and the District of Columbia with residential broadband penetration of 32.7 percent. [Connect Kentucky Provides Uncertain Model for Federal Legislation, Public Knowledge, January 9, 2008. LINK]

FACT: Todd Staples owns stock in at least two telecom companies, AT&T and Fairpoint Communications, that have provided data for Connected Nation projects. [Connected Nation website, Todd Staples Personal Financial Statement for 2008, LINK]

TYLER—Hank Gilbert, the Texas Democratic Party’s nominee for Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Wednesday assailed incumbent Commissioner Todd Staples for what he called “stupid, look-at-me political tricks” designed to make Texans believe the incumbent is actually doing something to help increase broadband connectivity in Texas.

Gilbert’s comments came hours after Staples made a significant production of unveiling a map of Texas illustrating areas that have and do not have broadband access.

“That map will do nothing for people without broadband access,” said Gilbert (D-Whitehouse). “I’m sure people on landline modems will be grateful to Todd—after the 45 minutes it takes them to actually view the map to determine, sure enough, that their area isn’t served by broadband,” Gilbert continued.

“This is yet another stupid, sleazy, ‘look-at-me’ political trick designed to cover up the fact that he’s one of the best at wasting tax money in the history of the state,” he noted.

Gilbert also questioned why Staples was only now, in an election year, making an issue of increasing broadband access in Texas.

“Aside from the fact that he considers the federal stimulus dollars for broadband an excuse to gain further name recognition, what has Todd Staples really done to increase broadband connectivity in Texas,” Gilbert asked. He also questioned why TDA officials have said publicly, in the weeks prior to the map’s unveiling, that they didn’t know what areas of Texas were not served by broadband or high-speed internet access.

“It is a sad day when the agency and commissioner in charge of making sure rural areas get broadband don’t know which areas are underserved. It’s even more sad that the TDA had to depend on a public-private partnership with a non-profit agency to figure it out. I don’t think it will come as a surprise to anyone that telecom companies have far more granular information on existing service areas,” Gilbert said.

“Based on the information available on the website Staples is touting, anyone with a pulse, vocal chords, and the ability to dial the keys on a telephone could have collected this information from providers. I don’t see why it has taken Todd Staples nearly four years to do this,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert also noted that the benefits of bringing broadband to underserved areas of Texas has been widely known and circulated for several years. “A study released two years ago showed that a one-percent increase in Texas broadband penetration would bring 21,000 new jobs to Texas and that a three-percent increase would mean 63,000 new jobs for Texas. Why didn’t he bother to do something in 2007 when these figures were revealed,” Gilbert continued.

The Democrats’ nominee also noted that, even without stimulus funds being available in 2007, incumbent Staples could have done more to increase broadband penetration. “Todd Staples could have done far more to encourage telecom companies to reach these underserved areas. He didn’t have to wait for federal stimulus funds to roll down from Washington to ease out of his perpetual state of inertia and snap into action,” he said.

Finally, Gilbert why it took TDA was generally dragging its feet on broadband projects. “Staples announced last August that the agency was in partnership with the same organization that was a party to today’s release. At that time, they had just finished surveying local governments on broadband access. That was supposed to lead to the designation of priority broadband corridors. To my knowledge, TDA hasn’t done anything about that,” he said.

“Todd Staples hasn’t done one concrete thing about biofuels and alternative energy since he’s been in office. These two commissions actually came in the form of a legislative mandate; he didn’t create them himself. Now that it is an election year, he’s just using it as an excuse to make it look like he was doing something worthwhile for the past three years,” Gilbert concluded.

FACT SHEET

Rural Broadband: Another Excuse For Todd Staples To Look Busy

FACT: Todd Staples’ staff publicly admitted that they wouldn’t know what areas of Texas really needed broadband service until a non-profit operating in a public-private partnership with the state provided them a map showing those areas. [“Boosting Broadband,” TriBlog, The Texas Tribune. June 2, 2010. LINK]

FACT: The finding that a one-percent increase in Texas broadband penetration would bring the state 21,100 new jobs, while a three-percent increase would result in 63,300 new jobs was widely publicized as far back as the summer of 2007. [“The Effects of Broadband Deployment On Output and Employment: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of U.S. Data.” Robert Crandall, William Lehr, and Robert Litan. Issues In Economic Policy, No. 6. July 2007. LINK]

FACT: The magical broadband data maps touted by Todd Staples were not crafted in any special or complicated way. It was simply a compilation of data provided by service providers:

This map, as of May 28, 2010, includes data provided by 123 Texas high-speed Internet providers. In Texas, 97% of households have access to terrestrial fixed broadband service of at least 768Kbps downstream and 200Kbps upstream (excluding mobile and satellite services) – leaving approximately 258,000 unserved households – or 3% – that do not have access to a fixed wireless or wired broadband service offering. With mobile broadband service included, 99% or 7.35 million Texas households have access to broadband service of at least 768Kbps downstream and 200Kbps upstream. [Connected Texas: Interactive Map. LINK.]

Although the maps provide interactive components, the data itself came from service providers, which could have easily been compiled by TDA staff.

FACT: Todd Staples’ office noted almost a year ago that his agency had completed a survey of local governments relating to broadband access which would allegedly lead the department to develop a list of “priority broadband corridors” to help guide recommendations for federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grants. To date, the agency has announced no such corridors. [Texas Department of Agriculture Press Release, August 12, 2009. LINK.]