Texas Justice & Public Safety PAC is a left-of-center PAC that was created in 2018 to fund the campaigns of several progressive Democratic candidates for various District Attorney offices in Texas’s biggest cities. The organization is the Texas branch of the vast “Safety and Justice” network, a project of left-leaning billionaire George Soros that used a network of similarly named state-level PACs to finance the campaigns of progressive Democratic candidates for district attorney in more than a dozen of America’s cities.

Funding

Since its creation, Texas Justice & Public Safety has received most of its funding, over $3.6 million, directly from George Soros.¹ Soros contributed roughly $669,000 in the 2020 election cycle, and roughly $2.9 million during the 2018 and 2019 cycles.²

Political Activities

Since 2018, Texas Justice & Public Safety, unlike the other organizations in the “Safety and Justice” network organizations, has supported several different candidates over multiple years.

During the 2020, election cycle, campaign finance reports show the organization spent roughly $1 million supporting the successful campaign of Democrat José Garza for Travis County District Attorney.³

During the 2019 cycle, the organization reports spending roughly $479,000 backing the successful campaigns of Democrat Brian Middleton for Fort Bend County District Attorney, Democrat Joe Gonzalez for Bexar County District Attorney, and Democrat John Creuzot for Dallas County District Attorney.⁴ Most spending was on advertising, polling, and communications that benefited the candidates’ campaigns.

During the 2018 cycle, the organization reported spending roughly $3.3 million, much of it in support of Joe Gonzalez, but also in support of Middleton, Gonzalez, and Creuzot, as well as the unsuccessful campaign of Democrat Albert Roberts for Tarrant County District Attorney.⁵

Controversies

In 2020, when Texas Justice & Public Safety began spending large amounts in the Democratic primary in support of José Garza over the less progressive Democratic incumbent Margaret Moore, the organization drew criticism for its vast spending and lack of any real connection to the state of Texas.⁶ Moore’s campaign, which was able to raise less than one-sixth the amount Soros and Texas Justice & Public Safety spent on the election, said “The amount of money being poured into the district attorney’s race is alarming and abhorrent. Local elections should be decided by people from this community, free from the crushing influence of outside spending by PACs that are not accountable to this county”.⁷

In 2019, Texas Justice & Public Safety backed District Attorney John Creuzot drew criticism from many conservatives and moderates when he announced that his office would no longer prosecute cases for first-time marijuana offenses or theft of essential items under a value of $750.⁸ Critics, such as Republican Governor Gregg Abbot, asked Creuzot to reconsider his decision, saying “Reform is one thing. Actions that abandon the rule of law and that could promote lawlessness are altogether different”.⁹

Leadership

Texas Justice & Public Safety is led by its director, Whitney Tymas, who serves as the head of the widely dispersed “Safety and Justice” network. Tymas also served on the board of the Civic Participation Action Fund (CPAF).

1. “Welcome to Jaspersoft.” TIBCO Jaspersoft: Login. Accessed June 8, 2021. https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/jasperserver-pro/flow.html flowId=viewReportFlow&decorate=no&reportUnit=%2Fpublic%2FpublicData%2Fdatasource%2FCFS%2FAll_Reports&CorrFlag=N&FilerInfoId=100109943&reportLocale=en_US.
2. “Welcome to Jaspersoft.” TIBCO Jaspersoft: Login. Accessed June 8, 2021. https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/jasperserver-pro/flow.html?_flowId=viewReportFlow&decorate=no&reportUnit=%2Fpublic%2FpublicData%2Fdatasource%2FCFS%2FAll_Reports&CorrFlag=N&FilerInfoId=100109943&reportLocale=en_US.
3. “Welcome to Jaspersoft.” TIBCO Jaspersoft: Login. Accessed June 8, 2021. https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/jasperserver-pro/flow.html?_flowId=viewReportFlow&decorate=no&reportUnit=%2Fpublic%2FpublicData%2Fdatasource%2FCFS%2FAll_Reports&CorrFlag=N&FilerInfoId=100109943&reportLocale=en_US.
4. “Welcome to Jaspersoft.” TIBCO Jaspersoft: Login. Accessed June 8, 2021. https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/jasperserver-pro/flow.html?_flowId=viewReportFlow&decorate=no&reportUnit=%2Fpublic%2FpublicData%2Fdatasource%2FCFS%2FAll_Reports&CorrFlag=N&FilerInfoId=100109943&reportLocale=en_US.
5. “Welcome to Jaspersoft.” TIBCO Jaspersoft: Login. Accessed June 8, 2021. https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/jasperserver-pro/flow.html?_flowId=viewReportFlow&decorate=no&reportUnit=%2Fpublic%2FpublicData%2Fdatasource%2FCFS%2FAll_Reports&CorrFlag=N&FilerInfoId=100109943&reportLocale=en_US.
6. Clifton, Jo. “Is Money Going to Decide Travis County Races?” Austin Monitor, July 10, 2020. https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2020/07/is-money-going-to-decide-travis-county-races/.
7. Clifton, Jo. “Is Money Going to Decide Travis County Races?” Austin Monitor, July 10, 2020. https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2020/07/is-money-going-to-decide-travis-county-races/.
8. Marfin, Catherine. “Texas Prosecutors Want to Keep Low-Level Criminals out of Overcrowded Jails. Top Republicans and Police Aren’t Happy.” The Texas Tribune. The Texas Tribune, May 21, 2019. https://www.texastribune.org/2019/05/21/dallas-district-attorney-john-cruezot-not-prosecuting-minor-crimes/.
9. Marfin, Catherine. “Texas Prosecutors Want to Keep Low-Level Criminals out of Overcrowded Jails. Top Republicans and Police Aren’t Happy.” The Texas Tribune. The Texas Tribune, May 21, 2019. https://www.texastribune.org/2019/05/21/dallas-district-attorney-john-cruezot-not-prosecuting-minor-crimes/.