A recent ruling said Garza and Travis County officials must release some records sought by the KVUE Defenders amid ongoing reporting on the issue.
AUSTIN, Texas — Travis County District Attorney José Garza has sued the Texas Attorney General’s Office in a continued fight against releasing information about a secret $115,000 security allotment he received earlier this year.
The lawsuit says that releasing the information would jeopardize Garza’s safety and violate his right to safety.
It comes after Attorney General Ken Paxton ruled in October that Garza and the Travis County Auditor’s Office must release some records sought by the KVUE Defenders amid ongoing reporting on the issue.
In October, Travis County commissioners made a move that could help them avoid litigation over claims they violated the Texas Open Meetings Act.
The commissioners unanimously approved a motion to “approve funding” of $115,000 to Garza “for necessary security enhancements” to protect his safety. The move could clear up a vote in March that led to Paxton’s lawsuit.
In August, the KVUE Defenders revealed commissioners secretly gave Garza the money for home security enhancements. Paxton and government transparency experts argued it happened illegally outside of public view.
Dispatch logs obtained by the KVUE Defenders show deputy constables have performed a special security assignment at Garza’s house almost nightly since early February.
The KVUE Defenders could not find another example of another local official receiving this type of taxpayer-funded security for this long of a period based on a perceived threat.
Part of the issue is that commissioners used a vague and overly broad agenda item that critics said did not inform taxpayers in Travis County about how their money would be spent. Commissioners voted on the item again during the October meeting, which Commissioner Margaret Gomez said was to set a record for what they did and to do so with transparency.
Former Judge Bill Aleshire said they only did it after they were caught and sued.
“They’ve gone back and done what they should have done in the first place, is give proper public notice they are doing to consider these kinds of issues,” Aleshire said.
It remains unclear what the money will or has already paid for. Commissioners didn’t make other comments about the expenditure and have continued to fight the release of records related to the matter.
KVUE reached out to two other commissioners and County Judge Andy Brown, who all voted to approve the security funding for DA Garza, but never heard back.
