Tomball Mayor Gretchen Fagan is the latest local elected official to fall under the watchful eye of campaign finance analyzers after a Conroe resident filed a complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) earlier this month.

Jim Doyle of Conroe filed a complaint on Sept. 2 with the TEC, claiming that, among other allegations, Fagan accepted a contribution from a corporation and failed to report the required information on campaign finance reports dating back to 2007.

Fagan said she received notice from the TEC on Sept. 13 about the complaint. She has 25 days from that date to respond to the allegations.

The most serious allegation Doyle claims is that Fagan, on two occasions, accepted in-kind contributions from a corporation, Kwik Copy International Center for Entrepreneurial Development.

Doyle states in a report to the TEC that Fagan’s report of an in-kind contribution on May 2, 2007 from Kwik Kopy for $910.92 for brochures, post cards, printing and mailing violated Texas law. Elected officials and those running for political office are not allowed to take contributions from corporations.

However, Fagan said that the report was not improper and that she expects the TEC to dismiss the claim.

“What I was told by the TEC is that’s not even being addressed,” she said. “He (Doyle) is trying to say on my current report that I accepted contributions from a corporation. That’s not true.”

Doyle cites six reports Fagan filed with the City of Tomball during her campaigns for Mayor in 2007 and again for her re-election bid earlier this year.

Most of the alleged violations Doyle claims include what he perceives to be inadequate or improper “purposes of payment” on several expenditures made by Fagan, as well as incorrect “contribution balances” on some reports.

For example, Doyle states that on Fagan’s April 8, 2010 8th Day Report, the correct total should be $1,622.74, not $1,922.74, after adjusting for a $300 in-kind contribution.

However, Doyle said that he may not have taken into account the $300 contribution when coming up with his report.

He also cites on numerous instances where Fagan’s “purpose of payment” on political expenditures was not adequate. Specifically, Doyle lists several purchases from Klein’s for which Fagan explained she was buying M&M candies.

For this past council election, Fagan and Rick Brown aligned themselves with one another in their campaigns. Brown is the head pastor at ChristBridge Church in Tomball. The M&Ms were handed out to local voters and used to promote a vote for the “Mayor and the Minister.”

Doyle states in his report that Fagan “failed to fully disclose the name or address of person receiving a political expenditure” on a June 21, 2020 payment for $31.18 to TEAM.

However, Fagan’s report included the proper address and the common name for which Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries is referred to.

“They’re questioning that I made that donation,” Fagan said. “Well, the guy’s not from Tomball, he doesn’t know what TEAM is. Do I need to write a three paragraph explanation or do I need to say it’s a local charity?”

“It might be just the way it was written” Doyle explained, when asked about the “purposes of payment” explanations.

“These things have to be itemized when they put them on the report,” he added. “They have to include the address, everything. Some of those things were just not filled out completely.”

One discrepancy Doyle cites is an April 1, 2010 payment to the Tribune for which Doyle says Fagan did not disclose the purpose of the expenditure. Fagan’s April 8 report does list a $37 payment to the Tribune, but not a purpose for the payment.

Tribune financial records show Pat Bailey, Fagan’s mother and campaign manager, purchased two retail advertisements for the campaign to run in the Tribune on April 5 for $18.50 each.

The TEC cannot comment publicly on open investigations. Fagan faces fines of up to $5,000 per violation.

She believes, however, the Commission will find nothing improper.

“The financial information is all accurate and I will answer those allegations to the Commission,” she said. “The other issues are so minor as to be laughable.  M&M’s are M&M’s, not trying to hide anything there. I donated my left over campaign funds to TEAM, everyone in Tomball knows what that is. Tomball reports are not filed with the state only with the City Secretary (Doris Speer) and I am pretty sure she knows TEAM, Klein’s and M&M’s.”  

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