Texas 'Boats 'N Hoes PAC' raising controversy

The PAC is registered with the Texas Ethics Commission The PAC is registered with the Texas Ethics Commission Photo: Kolten Parker Photo: Kolten Parker Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Texas 'Boats 'N Hoes PAC' raising controversy 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO — The name of a fundraising group made waves in the tug-of-war between Republicans and Democrats over women voters on Wednesday.

Political consulting firm employee Shaun Nowacki registered the political action committee, “Boats 'N Hoes PAC,” with the Texas Ethics Commission on April 1, according to state records.

Nowacki is listed as comptroller for Blakemore and Associates Consulting Firm, whose namesake, Allen Blakemore, is the “senior strategist” for Republican Dan Patrick's lieutenant governor campaign. The firm also advised Greg Abbott, the GOP nominee for governor, during eight previous campaigns from 1991 to 2004, according to Blakemore's website.

Democrats on Wednesday were quick to pounce on the unorthodox PAC name, calling it “derogatory and offensive” toward women. Abbott, meanwhile, quickly distanced himself from the group.

“The terminology used in the name of this PAC is reprehensible and Greg Abbott denounces any person or entity that uses such offensive language,” said Abbott spokesman Matt Hirsch, emphasizing that the consulting firm has not worked for him in years.

Abbott would not take money from the committee, Hirsch said.

That didn't stop state Sen. Wendy Davis, the Democrat nominee for governor, from suggesting a correlation between the language and her opponent's policies.

“Greg Abbott's consultants are clearly taking their cues from Abbott himself, who campaigns with an admitted sexual predator of underage girls, who pays women less than men for doing the same work and who forms his education plan with the ideas of a man like Charles Murray, who argues women are inferior to men,” said Davis spokeswoman Rebecca Acuña. “The language used by Greg Abbott's consultants is offensive to every Texas mother and daughter — and the men who love them — and has no place in politics.”

Nowacki and Blakemore each did not return requests for comment. The name appears to be a nod to a gag in the 2008 movie “Step Brothers.”

The creation of the Boats 'N Hoes PAC comes during the middle of a heated battle for female voters at the top of the ticket. Democrats have said state Republicans are attacking women's rights through abortion and voter identification legislation.

“Texas Republicans say they want to reach out to women, to be more inclusive, but actions like this reinforce a pattern of disrespect,” said Lisa Paul, a spokeswoman for the Texas Democratic Party, in a statement. “There's no defending the use of a derogatory and offensive term like 'hoes'. How can women possibly take the GOP rebranding effort seriously? Their consistent contempt towards women is simply unforgivable.”

A poll released Tuesday showed 49 percent of women voters would vote for Abbott and 41 percent would vote for Davis in the gubernatorial election, according to Public Policy Polling.

Patrick, a Houston Republican, is in a heated runoff with incumbent David Dewhurst and drew statewide attention Tuesday for his immigration debate with San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro. The winner of the Republican runoff will face San Antonio Democrat Leticia Van de Putte in the Nov. 4 general election.

“That's a horrible name,” said Jessica Luther, a writer and activist in Austin. “The Texas GOP rarely surprises me, but this one actually does.”

The fundraising group is registered as a general purpose committee, meaning there are no restrictions on whom it can contribute to, said Natalia Ashley, interim executive director with the Texas Ethics Commission. Donations to or from the PAC are unclear because a deadline for financial disclosures has not passed since the committee was registered.

Ashley said the law regarding names of PACs, which is a group of two or more people that accepts political contributions and/or makes political expenditures, only specifies the name may not be similar to another committee's name.

The committee is registered to a private residence owned by Nowacki, according to property records.

“I don't think we've come across a PAC with a name as tasteless as this,” said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, a non-partisan group that tracks money in politics. “It would be hard to imagine what kind of candidate would accept their support.”

kparker@express-news.net