In an apparent violation of party rules requiring Democratic National Committee officers to remain neutral in presidential primaries, the DNC’s finance chairman has been raising money for Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Henry R. Muñoz III, a former fundraiser for President Barack Obama who became DNC finance chairman in 2013, is helping organize a Wednesday fundraising event for Clinton in San Antonio, Texas, according to longtime Democratic operative Gilberto Ocañas and Bexar County Democratic Party Chairman Manuel Medina.


“I know he’s made a few calls to raise money,” Medina said of Muñoz on Tuesday. “He’s certainly taking it upon himself to make tomorrow’s fundraiser a success.” Muñoz was also present at a Clinton campaign kickoff breakfast in San Antonio last month at which local supporters met the campaign’s national political director, Amanda Renteria, and other staff, according to Ocañas.

DNC rules, designed to ensure all candidates get a fair shake in presidential primaries, state: “The Chairperson shall be responsible for ensuring that the national officers and staff of the Democratic National Committee maintain impartiality and even-handedness during the Democratic Party Presidential nominating process.”

DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a national co-chair and dogged surrogate for Clinton’s 2008 presidential bid, has long been viewed as on the outs with the Obama White House and closer to Clinton. A spokeswoman for the DNC declined to comment.

Muñoz’s activities could contribute to a perception that the national party is already rushing ahead to promote Clinton as the nominee and prompted swift blowback from a leading adviser to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of Clinton’s rivals for the nomination.

“All parties should follow their own rules,” said Sanders adviser Tad Devine. “It’s very important in the primary process that the DNC not take sides before the voters have made their decision.”

Muñoz, who owns a San Antonio-based architecture firm, was a major bundler for Obama’s reelection campaign, working with Mexican-American donors in Texas. He also co-founded the Latino Victory Project — which helps to elect Latinos to public office and advocates on issues like immigration reform that are of special interest to American Latinos — with actress Eva Longoria.

“For well over a decade, Henry has done all that he can to ensure that all Democrats, up and down the the ticket, are positioned for success, and would do the same for any other candidate,” wrote Muñoz’s personal spokesman, Jon Reinish, in a statement. “However, he has not donated to any campaign personally, made any endorsement or co-hosted any event as the primary process plays out.”

Muñoz’s efforts on behalf of Clinton come as San Antonio’s Latino community carves out a prominent place in her political universe.

Rep. Joaquín Castro has also been raising money for the Clinton campaign in San Antonio, according to Ocañas, himself a Clinton donor. He said Castro, Muñoz and Bill Clinton’s former Housing and Urban Development secretary Henry Cisneros have all been “working hard” on Clinton’s behalf.

Cisneros and Muñoz have vocally supported the consideration of Castro’s brother, current HUD secretary and former San Antonio mayor Julian Castro, as a candidate for the vice presidency in 2016.

“Certainly Julian Castro deserves to be on the short list for vice president of the United States,” Muñoz told BuzzFeed last month. Also last month, in an interview with Univision, Cisneros claimed that people on Hillary Clinton’s campaign had told him that Castro was at the top of their list of potential vice presidential candidates and that “they don’t have a second option, because he is the superior candidate considering his record, personality, demeanor and Latin heritage.”

In April, the Clinton campaign named another Latino from San Antonio, attorney Jose Villareal, as its treasurer.

Clinton’s fundraiser will take place at 3:30 local time at San Antonio’s Club Giraud. Co-hosts, who must raise $27,000, and event hosts, who must raise $50,000, gain access to a private reception with Clinton.

“We wish it was a public event,” said Medina, “but we understand she’s got a fundraising deadline real soon.”