Tomball City Councilman Derek Townsend is under investigation by the Texas Ethics Commission after several of his campaign finance reports came under question by a local political watchdog.

Thomas Curry of The Woodlands filed a complaint with the TEC Aug. 9, alleging that Townsend violated a number of filing statutes, such as accepting a contribution from a corporation and claiming incorrect contribution and loan totals on finance reports over the past two years.

Townsend was notified by the TEC of Curry’s complaint on Aug. 19.

He admitted that there were some “minor addition and subtraction problems” in his reports, but doesn’t expect to be charged with any civil violation payments.

Curry cites six original and five corrected reports Townsend filed with both the City of Tomball and the TEC between April of 2008 and August of 2009.

In those reports, Curry claimed to the TEC that Townsend reported incorrect “Contribution Balances” and “Outstanding Loan Totals” in each of the 11 reports. He also claims Townsend failed to “fully disclose the purpose of political expenditures” on several of his reports.

For example, in a corrected affidavit covering the month of April 2008 that Townsend filed in August 2009, Townsend reports an “Outstanding Loan Total” of $4,922.99. Curry claims that total should be $3,912.06.

However, Townsend, who said “85 percent” of his political finances over his campaigns were funded by himself, says the forms are not inaccurate.

“When you make a correction, the only forms you have to re-file are those items you are correcting, so it appears your figures are incorrect when they may not be,” he explained.

Townsend said the allegation for which he was most concerned regards a purported contribution from Agency Signs on April 14, 2009 for $525.

Texas law states elected officials and political candidates may not receive contributions from corporations.

Townsend explains that the potential error occurred after a campaign purchase that included 25 signs from Agency Signs in Tomball during the 2009 city council election. He said the signs were printed incorrectly and destroyed them after he received them.

Townsend’s Campaign Treasurer, his wife, Lisa Townsend, reported the replacement signs as an in-kind contribution and reported the amount as such, $525, on Townsend’s form.

He added that in his response to the TEC investigation, Townsend completed an affidavit signed by Agency stating there was no intended political contribution. He also said TEC attorneys explained to him that the amount should have been reported as “zero, or not reported at all.”

Curry also alleges that on eight occasions, Townsend failed to fully report the purpose of certain political expenditures, mostly to retail stores in Tomball.

Within each section for a political expenditure, an official is to enter what the cost was used for. Curry believes Townsends’ explanations, such as for “printer ink” on a $515.51 expenditure to Office Depot on April 14, 2008, was not sufficient.

Townsend explained that a new law passed recently requires expenditure explanations to be more specific.

“So we bought pens and pencils, note pads and clip boards and put them down as ‘supplies,’” he said.

Curry said that explanation is not sufficient.

“You can’t just say supplies,” he said. “You have to be more specific. Why is this information so vague?”

Curry states in his complaint that “such vague purposes of payment descriptions suggest the unlawful conversion of campaign funds to personal use,” a claim that Townsend denies.

“For the man to declare that I’m taking campaign contributions and turning them into personal use is absurd,” he said.

Curry said irregularities on campaign finance reports could signal bigger problems.

“If you can’t take care of your own checkbook at home, how in the world are you going to handle a million-dollar budget?” he said.

Tim Sorrels, Deputy Chief Counsel of the TEC, explained that the Commission cannot comment on open investigations.

Sorrels did say that in such cases a determination of violation is typically “fairly easy to determine.”

If Townsend is found in violation, he could face fines up to $5,000 for each violation.

“If I’m found in violation of any laws or there are any civil payments, I don’t have any problem paying those,” Townsend said. “I don’t see that there will be any.”

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