Loopy Lupe Valdez craps the bed again

Sorry, can't put a politer title on the post than that, after learning that she owes $12K in back due property taxes.

But wait, that's not all!

On her financial disclosure forms, she failed to list one property and has incorrect names for two companies.

But wait, that's not all!

She says she's paying off the taxes on a monthly basis —

Because she can't afford to pay them all at once. On her $139K sheriff's salary until she resigned in December. 

And that's not counting what she makes off any of these companies. Or any investments, federal pension, etc.

And, speaking of portfolios, we have another Democratic candidate who, on financial issues, isn't that populist:

Online property tax records show Valdez personally owns or has an interest in 15 properties — including her two-story Oak Cliff homestead and several other houses along with several vacant lots — and has not fully paid taxes on six in Dallas County and one in Ellis County.

And, the "vacant lots" could lead to a quasi-slumlord question.

Meanwhile, for properties listed in her personal name, not whatever companies she has, Dallas County Appraisal District says they're not worth that much. The Snooze claims two of the properties, 2608 Bakersfield and 2635 Chalmers, are the same property with two different address listing, according to a Valdez spox. But DCAD has them listed with vastly different values. At a minimum, the Snooze needs to do an explainer ASAP on whatever folo it has. There's also the one property where her partner, Lindsay Browning, is listed first, but they're listed as 50-50 owners for what is their primary residence. (Also interesting is that that property is listed as 711 Edgefield, but the couple's address is listed as 707 Edgefield, which means DCAD may indeed be a bit goofy at times.) A bit more about their relationship is here.

(Update, May 28: As far as I can tell, the Snooze has no explainer or update on the two addresses, allegedly same property, but different valuations issue. And, with its semi-hard paywall, it is harder for me to search than before.)

Ellis County Appraisal District lists one property in her name at approximately $82,000. And on descriptor, lists her mailing address as the Dallas office of the Texas Veterans' Land Board, presumably due to a VLB mortgage or similar. The C/S after her name is presumably for conditional sale.

But, that's not all.

This is just another example of 14 years of craptacular political management.

Lew Sterrett out of compliance longer under her than under Jim Bowles et al.

Her showboating CNN on a Lew Sterrett tour when it was not yet in compliance and not giving political patron John Wiley Price or the rest of the Dallas County Commissioners Court a heads-up.

Those events and more I witnessed during my years at suburban Dallas newspapers, as I noted when she announced her candidacy. That includes getting sued for false imprisonment.

And that Snooze link has the same Valdez spox, Juan Bautistsa Dominguez, claiming he had the same late payment issues in 2015.

That's not a defense; that's a further admission of incompetence.

And, it didn't stop when she announced her run for governor. (See two polls at top right for how you think she'll do in the general election.)

She's had plenty of misstatements and stumbles during the Dem primary.

She's now blaming all of this, via Dominguez, on Greg Abbott having too high of property taxes, when property taxes aren't even set by Austin.

Her seeming cluelessness about how government works if she really believes that. (And, about half of her taxes would be city and county, NOT school district, therefore she can't even blame Abbott indirectly, for not funding schools, for half of this, if she's honest.)

Dominguez also claims property taxes are "unpredictable."

Yet another plea of incompetence, or of Valdez being out of touch with local government. And, if it's a veiled protest that property taxes in the Metromess are "unpredictable" because valuations rise so quickly, THAT is playing right into Abbott's hands on calls for valuation rate hike caps.

This also goes back to Texas Democratic Party head Gilberto Hinojosa.

Shouldn't he, by now, have forced some "handlers" onto the Valdez campaign staff? She IS his handpicked candidate. And, she couldn't do Oppo Research 101.

Per the timing on this information coming out two days after the runoff, if it is in part a tempest in a teapot, her handling of it doesn't make it look that way.

And, as for getting suburban independent voters in Texas' big cities? Forget it.

Many such voters, seeing that she was an officer in the Army and management-level as a federal detective, will probably wonder if she got Peter Principle advances due to tokenism.

I don't think that's true, but ... IMO, we're at a level where I have to say that it's not unreasonable for people to wonder such things.

And, that's another reason I'm a leftist not a liberal and that I try not to have too much white liberal guilt, per Doug Henwood.

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And, disagreeing with Kuff, I think her campaign might be a small boat anchor on Beto. I note he framed that issue narrowly, so I'll say now it will be a bigger anchor on Lege races.