Local leaders ‘shocked’ by animosity toward cities, counties in secret Bonnen recording

Updated on Oct. 17 with comment from Rep. Angie Chen Button.

AUSTIN -- City and county leaders expressed shock and disappointment at comments by the speaker of the Texas House and one of his top lieutenants in a newly released recording of a secret meeting in which they say they “hate” local governments and want to make the next legislative session the worst yet for municipalities.

“Any mayor, county judge that was dumbass enough to come meet with me, I told them with great clarity, my goal is for this to be the worst session in the history of the Legislature for cities and counties,” House Speaker Dennis Bonnen is heard saying on the recording of a secret meeting he held with conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan in June.

“I hope the next session’s even worse,” Rep. Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock Republican who is one of Bonnen’s top lieutenants, chimes in.

The comments were made in a secret meeting on June 12 between Sullivan, Bonnen and Burrows at which Sullivan alleges the two lawmakers offered him a quid pro quo. That allegation has rocked Texas politics for the better part of the last three months and trickled all the way down to local politics on Tuesday after the much anticipated release of a surreptitious recording Sullivan made of the meeting.

One day later, local leaders responded by denouncing the comments and urging state leaders to work with cities where a majority of the Texas population now lives.

“All Texans, especially the mayors and county judges who Dennis Bonnen referred to as ‘dumbass enough to meet’ with him, now know what we are dealing with," the Texas Municipal League wrote in a statement on their website. “It is shocking to hear a state official express such animosity toward the cities and counties in his own state.”

The group said it is “appalling” that Bonnen “fails to recognize that pursuing his personal vendetta will ultimately harm Texans who live in our cities.”

Last session, Bonnen and Burrows championed a bill to limit how much local governments can control revenue in an effort to slow the growth of property taxes. Local governments decried the legislation as an overreach that hurt their ability to fund public services, but Republican lawmakers pushed the bill through despite their objections.

State lawmakers also tried to ban cities and counties from using taxpayer money to hire lobbyists to advocate for them in Austin. That effort was defeated by Democrats and a band of Republicans swayed by their local elected officials.

But in the recording released Tuesday, Burrows is heard explaining that passing that legislation is a “benchmark” for the next legislative session in 2021. Burrows also says he has a new plan to buy down property taxes by taking from cities and counties the portion of sales tax revenues local governments use to pay for things like emergency services and public safety.

“We hate cities and counties,” Burrows says.

The Texas Municipal League said that if Bonnen plans on making things worse for cities next session, "legislators should have the courage to reject being bullied and be free to do what they think is best for their districts without fear of reprisals.

“Texas became a great state because we had leaders with a positive vision who wanted to build great cities, not destroy them. We need leaders who will work constructively with other elected officials instead of trying to intimidate and punish them.”

Kevin Burns, a Wise County commissioner who leads the Texas Conference of Urban Counties, said it was disappointing to see state leaders continue to foster adversarial relationships with county leaders. He said counties are the state’s partners in delivering public safety, court administration, election security and health care to Texans.

“Now, some propose to silence those expert opinions and make local government input at the Texas Capitol so burdensome as to be impossible for most,” he said in a statement. “Texas is better than that. Our state officials should welcome the input of local officials.”

In Dallas, council member Lee Kleinman, who has been outspoken against the state’s increased restrictions on local control, said the comments were no surprise. A rift between cities and the state has widened over the last several sessions, he said, because of partisan, racial and urban-rural divides. But Kleinman called on state legislators to move beyond that for the good of the state.

“The success of Texas has been built on the backs of our large cities, yet Bonnen and his ilk seem driven to dampen our growth,” Kleinman said. “Like it or not, Texas is becoming more diverse and urbanized. ... We must be prepared by making policies for the future rather than being stuck in the past.”

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said he found the comments on the tape disturbing, but he is committed to having a positive relationship with the Legislature. It was the citizens of the counties who suffered from an adversarial relationship, he said.

“It makes no political sense to me that there is this fixation on hurting large cities and counties,” Jenkins said. “You’re not hurting me, you’re hurting the people I represent. I’ll work with everyone to find solutions for our residents.”

Meanwhile, the lone Republican on the Dallas Commissioners Court, J.J. Koch, said there was nothing new on the tape.

“It’s been a long simmering fight,” he said.

Koch said he would not support an outright ban on lobbying but suggested some limits or new transparency measures.

“At the end of the day, there’s a greater frustration for the taxpayer,” he said. “They’re saying, ‘I’m paying both of you to represent me. Why can’t you all just get along?’”

Amanda Willard, the chief of staff for Angie Chen Button of Richardson, the Republican co-chair of the Dallas County delegation at the statehouse, said: “Representative Button believes in reasonable local control and feels that Texans are best served when all elected officials are able to work together to develop balanced policies that best meet the needs of our community.”

A request for comment to Rep. Victoria Neave, the Democratic co-chair of the delegation, was not returned.

Staff writers Hayat Norimine and Nic Garcia in Dallas contributed to this report.