DA Garza campaign sends cease and desist letter over flyer, texts
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The campaign of Travis County's current district attorney running for reelection sent a cease and desist letter to an entity responsible for flyers and texts that have been sent to the community this week. The letter claims the group listed on the flyers, Saving Austin, is breaking Texas election laws.
The flyers, which incorporate similar colors and font to ones José Garza's own campaign has been using, urge people to call Garza's office and "stop cutting plea deals" with "monsters." It also featured an image of a ragged and stained teddy bear, and the reverse side showed a photo of a girl with a hand covering her mouth. "You or a loved one could be the next victim," stated part of a text with a video attached.
Under Texas law, political advertising that specifically advocates for or against a candidate must specifically disclose it is "political advertising" and who paid for it. The cease and desist letter said Saving Austin did not adhere to that and called it a "sham, dark money organization."
"In sum, your anonymous advertisements are not only cowardly, misleading, and divisive,
they violate multiple laws. If you do not comply with this demand to immediately cease and
desist from publishing these advertisements, we will consider any and all appropriate legal
action," the letter from Marziani, Stevens & Gonzalez PLLC stated.
The campaign's cease-and-desist letter outlines that Saving Austin is not registered as a Political Action Committee with the Texas Ethics Commission, and it is also not registered with the Texas Secretary of State.
KXAN was not able to reach Saving Austin for comment. KXAN could not find campaign finance information for Saving Austin on the City of Austin or Texas Ethics Commission websites, and an advanced Google Search did not return results for an entity by that name. KXAN also could not find a social media presence for Saving Austin. The address used on the mailer matches that of a UPS store in Irving, Texas.
Garza's opponent in the Democratic primary, Jeremy Sylestine, posted on X that he and his campaign denounce the flyer.
"As a dad of three young girls, it was painful to see. That extreme rhetoric and imagery should have no place in this race," Sylestine wrote.
"Save Austin Now" is a legitimate PAC with a similar name. Its co-founder Matt Macowiak posted on X Thursday that they are not the same, adding, "We are not involved in any way."