Why did Park Cities voters get mailings from a PAC in Austin?
The election is over, and Michael Denton Jr. has been sworn in as a new member of the Highland Park ISD board of trustees.
But two questions have left some Park Cities residents scratching their heads — who are the Hispanic Republicans of Texas, and why did they send voters mail?
Many voters received two flyers from the Hispanic Republicans of Texas PAC on Friday, May 2, or Saturday, May 3, which was election day. The flyers characterized Denton’s opponent, Jon Altschuler, as “woke” and called on residents to vote against him.
The board of trustees’ candidates, who are both HPISD dads and district volunteers, did not have positive opinions of the mailings.
Altschuler said the flyers were deceptive; he’s supported candidates from both major political parties, and is a centrist, not a far-left political activist.
But he said the accuracy of the mailers is beside the point. Politics weren’t relevant in this non-partisan election and distracted from issues important to HPISD voters.
Altschuler called on those behind the mailers to “act like real Texans” and identify themselves.
Denton also said he thought the flyers were distracting to the community.
“I had no knowledge of the flyers. I don’t know who the organization is,” he said. “Nobody on my campaign had anything to do with it, or any knowledge of it whatsoever.”
Former Highland Park Education Foundation president Dallas Cothrum, who is pictured with Altschuler on the flyers, said that his image was used without his permission, and that he was none too pleased to see himself on the mailers.
“I’m just disappointed that you have outsiders interfering in a local election and politicizing something that ought to be a community decision,” he said.
Park Cities voters weren’t the only ones puzzled by Austin-based Hispanic Republicans of Texas’ involvement in the election for Place 4 on the HPISD board of trustees.
Jon Taylor, a professor of political science and chair of the department of political science and geography at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said he also wondered why the PAC became involved in the race.
Taylor said Hispanic Republicans of Texas appears to be “an astroturf group.” It has a compelling name for public relations purposes but doesn’t seem to be doing very much politically right now.
When this article went to press, the group hadn’t posted Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter since December 2024. According to campaign finance reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission, the PAC made less than $9,000 in political contributions between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2024. The PAC’s contributions over the same period in 2023 totaled more than $45,000.
“Why are they returning now?” Taylor asked. “And why in this particular school board race?”
Hispanic Republicans of Texas’ treasurer, Trey Newton, said the PAC didn’t initially plan to become involved in any May races.
It has played a role in school board elections across Texas, including in Tyler, Round Rock, McAllen, Corpus Christi, and San Antonio. But in early May, Hispanic Republicans of Texas was focusing on candidate recruitment for the upcoming primaries, Newton said.
He explained that the group decided to send the mailers after receiving numerous calls and emails from members about the Highland Park election and researching the candidates. There wasn’t time to take any other action.
“It was kind of exceptional,” Newton said, “how many calls we got about this race in particular.”
