The Woodlands Township elections get 'ugly' over advertising war

Amy Lampman, running for The Woodlands Township Board Position 1, hands out information to voters during early voting on Friday, Oct. 28, 2016, at the South County Community Center in The Woodlands. Amy Lampman, running for The Woodlands Township Board Position 1, hands out information to voters during early voting on Friday, Oct. 28, 2016, at the South County Community Center in The Woodlands. Photo: Michael Minasi, Staff Photo: Michael Minasi, Staff Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close The Woodlands Township elections get 'ugly' over advertising war 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

In the weeks leading up to Election Day, The Woodlands Township has been caught in the middle of increasingly contentious campaigning, with heated accusations of misinformation and cronyism targeted at both sides.

On one side, The Woodlands Concerned Taxpayers, a nonprofit group started by former chairman of the township board Bruce Tough, has put forth an aggressive campaign - including mailers, signs, billboards, online ads, robo calls and even TV ads - warning residents about a 70 percent property tax increase should the township incorporate now. The mailers, with an eye-catching red and orange design, endorse one slate of candidates: incumbent Mike Bass (Position 2), Amy Lampman (Position 1), Stuart Schroeder (Position 3) and Chris Grice (Position 4).

On the other side, the Residents Advocates, a group that emerged during last year's election to unite candidates who opposed the controversial Woodlands Parkway extension, have endorsed an opposing slate: incumbent Gordy Bunch (Position 1), John Anthony Brown (Position 3), Bruce Rieser (Position 4) and Brian Boniface (Position 2). The group also received the endorsement of the Texas Patriots PAC, a local tea party group that has sent out mailers countering the information being circulated by Tough's group. A ninth candidate, Bob Leilich (Position 1), is featured on some literature from the Concerned Taxpayers but did not receive an endorsement from either group.

Both Tough and those on the other side have accused each other of spreading misleading information and doing a serious disservice to the community.

Bunch and the other Residents Advocates have called Tough's campaign "scare tactics" aimed at influencing the outcome of the board election. They say that the advertising gives the false impression that incorporation and a property tax increase are in question this election cycle and that Bunch and the other candidates are pushing for immediate incorporation.

Don Norrell, president and general manager of The Woodlands Township, has confirmed that there has not been an official tax rate study conducted to determine what the actual impact of incorporation would be on property taxes.

"The entire Woodlands is being inundated with a message that The Woodlands is trying to incorporate now and a tax rate increase is imminent," Bunch said. "It's a lie."

The Texas Patriots PAC decried a mailer sent by The Woodlands Concerned Taxpayers targeting senior citizens that featured a message from Tough's father, Coulson Tough, warning them about the "sneaky 'Residents' Advocate' group … behind the 'INCORPORATE NOW' lobby effort to raise our local property taxes!"

"It's despicable," said Luke Bowen, with the Texas Patriots PAC. "Their tactic is scaring seniors."

It's a tactic that just might work, according to Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.

"It doesn't matter what's true, it's what you can get people to believe," Rottinghaus said. "The trigger word in Montgomery County is taxes. That's the easiest way to get people's attention and to rally them to get out to vote. … There is a serious concern that the taxes are too high, especially in places like The Woodlands with high-value homes."

Tough, however, stands by the claims made by his Concerned Taxpayers materials.

"It is informative and educational," Tough said. "Everyone who receives the information has been most appreciative."

But Tough isn't the only one who has been accused of giving out misleading information. The Texas Patriots PAC sent out a mailer listing a number of claims they labeled "facts" in opposition to the information coming from Tough's group.

Residents received a flier in the mail from the Texas Patriots PAC stating that "it is not true that The Woodlands is safe from annexation by Houston until 2057." The statement referred to the regional participation agreement that The Woodlands Township entered into with the cities of Houston and Conroe in 2007 that barred the cities from annexing The Woodlands until 2057. The flier argued that, since the agreement was made by state statute, it could be repealed by state statute, and that The Woodlands has been "on the defense" every legislative session.

But, according to state Rep. Mark Keough, R-The Woodlands, this statement is false.

"The idea that we as a community should be afraid of this happening is unfounded," Keough said.

He explained that the Texas Constitution protects legislation from being applied retroactively. Essentially, even if the law were changed, The Woodlands' agreement with Houston and Conroe would be grandfathered.

"I think the narrative that's going around is causing fear in the community," Keough said.

Tough also rebutted the Residents Advocates' accusations by accusing the opposing groups of using scare tactics themselves, saying that they've promoted a picture of The Woodlands as powerless to protect the community's roads from becoming like heavily trafficked and strip mall-lined FM 1960.

Funding questions

As Woodlands residents have been on the receiving end of a barrage of campaign materials, both groups have questioned the funding behind these pushes.

Representatives of the Residents Advocates and the Texas Patriots PAC suspect that The Woodlands Concerned Taxpayers' advertising effort has been an extremely expensive one, but records of the group's spending are not yet available because it is registered as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization and is not required to report campaign financing.

Tough would not reveal the amount of money spent nor who was funding it, but said the effort is led by himself, his wife Diana Tough and his father Coulson Tough.

"I'm a nonprofit entity and I'm accepting donations, which I have received," Tough said.

Residents Advocates candidates have hypothesized that developers, such as The Woodlands Development Company and parent company Howard Hughes, could be involved in Tough's efforts.

"Like many residents and businesses in The Woodlands, we are receiving communications from all the different sides in the current Township election," read a statement from the development company, which did not respond to specific questions. "We are concerned about our community. Like many other businesses in The Woodlands, we oppose an increase in taxes."

At the polls

As the battle surrounding the township election rages on, voters have turned out in droves to vote early.

The Woodlands has seen the greatest turnout of Montgomery County in the first four days of early voting, with 13,788 people casting votes in the township, accounting for about 25 percent of the turnout in the county.

Cars circled the parking lot of the South County Community Center in The Woodlands most of the week, struggling to find a spot. The line for early voting stretched well outside the building's front doors and nearly to the library next door.

Signs riddled the green space surrounding the parking lot - most relating to The Woodlands Township election and only a few supporting Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. Still, many of the voters were focused more on national politics than local races.

A few locals acknowledged that this year's Woodlands Township election has been more controversial than in previous years.

"It's gotten very ugly," said Cheryl Sanford, a 32-year resident of The Woodlands. "I've never seen it like this."

"It has not been this contentious," said Renata Tyree, a 10-year Woodlands resident. "It's the first time we've had opinions in opposite directions."