Mostyn’s Puppet Cites Erroneous Record Votes
In False Attack Against GOP Caucus Chairman
FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS . . . Personal injury trial lawyer Steve Mostyn badly misfired in his latest attack on State Rep. Larry Taylor (R – Friendswood). Mostyn, the financial godfather of the Texas Democratic Party, spent over $10 million against Republicans last election cycle, has created a new campaign attack dog. Mostyn’s law firm associate, Mark McCaig, launched a new political action committee, Conservative Voters of Texas, in a thinly veiled attempt to attack Rep. Larry Taylor and deceive Republican primary voters.
In a television ad, the trial lawyer front group accuses Rep. Taylor of supporting in-state tuition for children of illegal immigrants and cites a bill (SB 1528) from 2005 to support their claim. The claim is totally false. According to the bill analysis and fiscal note, the legislation actually made it more difficult for children of illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition. In addition, the bill passed the Texas House of Representatives with the support of every Republican and Democratic member (except liberal Hispanic democrat, Rep. Abel Herrero). Governor Rick Perry signed the bill into law.
Rep. Linda Harper-Brown, Chairwoman of the Texas Conservative Coalition, who served on the House Higher Education Committee in 2005, said, “this is an absurd claim by a sham group that has their facts wrong. The requirements spelled out in SB 1528 actually made it more difficult for children of illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition.”
In addition, a website launched by the PAC, posted an attack yesterday on Rep. Taylor for voting for House Bill 1403 from the 77th Legislative Session. But Rep. Taylor was not even in the Texas Legislature at the time of the vote referenced on the website.
Taylor campaign spokesperson Matt Welch said, “These trial lawyers are a cross between Keystone Cops and the ‘gang that couldn’t shoot straight’. They either know they are making things up or they are so incompetent they cannot even read a bill or a calendar.”
Rep. Taylor has been critical of Mostyn’s massive litigation efforts against the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA). Some reports estimate Mostyn has made over $200 million in suing the state agency since Hurricane Ike struck the Texas Gulf Coast in 2008.