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My Experience Of Corruption And Unethical Behavior With My Governor's Campaign

False door canvassing data, I was asked to look into it, ended up fired because of it.

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My Experience Of Corruption And Unethical Behavior With My Governor's Campaign

My name is Austin Evans and I am 24 years old.

I am a former employee of "Texans for Greg Abbott" (from here on out, called TGA), the governor's re-election committee. I became involved with the campaign back in September 2017, when I was introduced to a field organizer (from here on out, called FO) at the Comal County Fair Parade. After doing a short internship, I was officially hired as an FO and began my employment on January 5, 2018. Nine months later, I went through one of the worst days of my life, October 17, 2018, when I was wrongfully terminated from the campaign.

My position of field organizer consisted of door-to-door canvassing with a weekly ID goal that at one point peaked at 600 IDs a week, which means 600 individuals answering our survey. We would ask their name to make sure they were who was on the polling list and then proceed with the survey asking who they plan on supporting in the 2018 elections, including down-ballot races specifically based on where you lived. At the time, the goal of the campaign was 600,000 IDs total, from start to finish, and it was a realistic goal, but once we got through the primaries, the program was purged and where once there were 3+ people at households, we were now knocking on doors that only had 1-2 people. It was after the primaries that it was discovered that those numbers were no longer realistic.

The way the campaign was run was no big secret. We attended numerous training sessions called "Abbott U." This training was offered to not only paid employees but volunteer staff as well. There was even an "Abbott U Graduate class" that my entire family took. We used an app called "Advantage," which was a political canvassing and calling app, available to conservative campaigns. People who had access to it could create their own walk books, choose the neighborhoods they wanted to walk in, and even pick walk areas for your volunteers. The app was supposed to work where a green dot would show you each house or apartment that had a targeted individual, and when you would mark the survey it would put a red dot where the GPS was locating you and the time the survey was done.

I begin my story towards the end of March 2018 when I was given level three access to Advantage by my then boss, San Antonio Regional Director, Chelseay Valenzuela, along with the then Deputy Political Director, Sarah Saiz. This access would show me everything going on around the state, such as where people were walking and how many IDs they had done that day. I was given this access to help my regional director with our region's data, and because I am a very analytical and data-driven person and I tend to think differently than the average person, which comes from my Asperger's. Over a course of a few months I became very intrigued by the way the app worked as far as collecting data, and with the knowledge and approval of my direct bosses, I learned to audit individuals, allowing me to give my Regional Director daily numbers for our region and the entire state. My boss, Chelseay Valenzuela, would often have me do projects or help others when she was unavailable. I was being asked to do things outside my original job description, but I did not mind, and again, I found myself enjoying working with the data side of the campaign.

In early July 2018, the campaign had a retreat in Round Rock, TX, where all the campaign staff came together and at that time we were introduced to Kristy Wilkinson, the new deputy campaign manager. She came from the Republican Party of Texas (from here on out, called the RPT). She was now considered second in line behind then Campaign Manager John Jackson. Mr. Jackson is now the campaign manager for Senator John Cornyn in his 2020 bid for re-election. This retreat was where we learned about the 600,000 ID goal and what we would need to achieve to hit our goal for the November 6 election. After doing the math (again, me being a very analytical thinker), this number was not feasible with the numbers we were being through the Advantage App. During this retreat, I confronted Ryan Bonifay, TGA Data Director, and asked him some questions regarding individuals that showed inconsistencies, such as one FO in the northern half of the state. Mr. Bonifay stated that this FO had extremely old volunteers, and these volunteers did not have smartphones, so paper walk books were being used. After some research into these accounts, it was found that these accounts were all coming from college students with college email addresses. Something appeared not right.

In September 2019, TGA began working with the special election for Senate District 19, where Pete Flores was seeking the office as a Republican. A Republican had not held that position since re-construction (sometime after the Civil War). It was during this special election that I realized the inconsistencies were much bigger than I had originally thought. The San Antonio Region, that included my district, and the Central Region that took in Austin up to Waco, were all moved to SD19 to focus 100% on getting Mr. Flores elected. TGA required us to walk from 9:00 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. every day for multiple weeks. As time went on with our block walking, a few of us from within the San Antonio Region along with my regional director, Chelseay Valenzuela, began asking how some people from the Central Region were hitting so many doors? We were often told that it was because Central was out for longer hours causing them to hit more doors. I am not sure how they could be out any longer than we were since we were required to walk from 9:00 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. every day. With my regional director's and deputy political director's knowledge and approval, I began looking into this SD19 data, and I began noticing staff skipping 2-3 hours during the day, while we were told they were working longer hours than we were. It was at this point that I knew something was not right. How could the administration NOT know these staff members were not working the required hours and there was NO way they were truthfully collecting the IDs that they claimed they were?

Our hard work paid off and Sen. Pete Flores won SD19, becoming the first Republican to hold that office since the reconstruction after the Civil War. I often wonder just how much I and other TGA staff helped get Senator Flores elected. From my understanding, it was Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's campaign that did the most work, helping put Mr. Flores over the top. It was a night I never imagined, and I was excited to be a part of history being made, I felt like I was a part of something great and was on top of the world. Now, after researching the numbers, I don't necessarily feel that way anymore. Yes, I was there. Yes, I walked daily for long hours, but so much of that data from TGA staff was false.

After we finished working SD19, I began helping one of our other field organizers, Hunter Vick, who's turf bordered mine to the north. Hunter had already told me that he had something very important he needed to tell me, but he would not say anything by phone or email. He would only tell me once we were in person. That afternoon, we met up and he started discussing things with me that were occurring in the campaign, that in my opinion were downright inappropriate and unethical. It helped connect the dots that I had learned in researching SD19 numbers but did not understand. Hunter had emailed Sarah Saiz and Kristy Wilkinson regarding things he had been told about what had happened during the SD19 special election. Below is a quote for quote, the email Hunter sent to Sarah and Kristy:

"Sarah and Kristy,

As requested I am writing you to explain my knowledge of the goings-on during and just prior to SD19. I would like to begin by reiterating my request to remain anonymous for as long as possible and also to resolve this matter as swiftly as you can.

I first became acquainted with these circumstances shortly before SD 19, it was brought to my attention by my team member Trey that my numbers were low and making the team look bad, and that they could possibly be detrimental to them in the long run. After dancing around the subject on the phone I flat out asked him if he was referring to fudging numbers, and he said yes. I was under the impression that he meant marking a house as an "undecided" vote instead of a "no answer" response or something similar, but as I became more of an accepted member of the team I was introduced to a method widely used by many of my co-workers to get consistent numbers at higher rates without being asked questions. Trey, one of his volunteers (Roger), Nicole, and our former coworker Yvette all used this method in varying degrees to maintain their goal. They have all alluded to other members on the campaign that they know for a fact are also using this method. This "method" involves driving to or standing within a certain vicinity of a house peg on the map in advantage, waiting a specific length of time, and then marking a response. I was shown how to operate this method by them. I have personally witnessed Trey, Roger, and the new Austin regional director Madison do this, and have been told personally by the others mentioned above that they have done this themselves. I have also been present for several conversations that alluded to someone on the data team instructing various people how to stay under the radar and avoid questions. This, I have been told, has been going on for months and there are large number of demographics in San Antonio that are severely flawed because of it.

During SD19 I was repeatedly placed in a group with Trey, Collins, and Madison. Trey and Madison drove the car and periodically dropped off myself and Collins at locations within a neighborhood. Their numbers were consistently higher than ours and it was said in so many words by Trey to me that they were using his method. Further, when we came across gated houses we were instructed by Madison to place campaign literature on the fence or the gate and then mark the house as a "no answer" door. She said that the campaign was more interested in canvassing as much territory as possible and leaving literature and less interested with the demographics, and that regardless and "no answer" doors were statistically the same as a "gated community" mark.

Recently, a number of us were out for drinks after the Governor's debate with Lupe Valdez. Trey, in front of Nicole, Roger, and myself flat out told Rachel Kern from the Republican Party of Texas about our method and everyone had a good laugh. He also said in front of everyone involved and that I was one of the only ones that he knew of that did not do this, and I would think if Rachel was an honest person that she would corroborate this assertion if asked.

In closing I would like to lament to both of you that I wish I had come forward sooner. I have always valued my integrity and have generally been regarded as an honest person and allow me to apologize and offer my assistance with whatever you may require of me."

The email below was a follow-up to the one above from Hunter to Sarah and Kristy:

"A lot transpired after the team found out that Trey's employment was terminated early this evening. I was contacted by our former teammate Ingrid Gamboa over messenger asking what happened and I played dumb so I would not be implicated in any of this (I can provide screenshots to the conversation if you require them). She had not spoken to Trey before messaging me, so she was told by someone else about Trey getting fired through the grapevine. After, Ingrid called me and placed me on a conference call with Trey, who was upset, at 10:19 this evening. She asked repeatedly about what happened and when she was pressed about how she knew, she refused to say and fumbled with her words. Trey asked if Kevin told her and she again refused to say instead insisting that she and Kevin "hadn't spoken since Sunday evening" and changed the subject to ask about Trey's future employment opportunities to see if she could come on board also. The call ended and I was immediately called back by Trey, who now believes that Kevin is the one who turned him in. I asked why he thought this and he explained that Kevin and Ingrid have had a long-standing sexual relationship (which I knew about shortly after I came on board at TGA) and that it would make sense if he "ratted" on him because Kevin has had a crush on Madison Huerta and was "furious" at trey for attempting to make several advances toward her during the wind down of SD19, and must have wanted him gone(obviously because trey considers us friends and has no idea that I am the one that came forward). I asked how Kevin would know about any of this and trey said that Kevin was he and Roger's "eye in the sky" and that he would watch their data and keep track of them so no questions would be raised. It turns out Kevin is the one that I mentioned in my earlier email that explained the limitations of the Advantage system and how to work within them while utilizing Trey's "method".

I am honestly sick to my stomach and somewhat shocked. If there is any detail of this email that is unclear I am happy to clarify, but I am nervously typing this to you after it just transpired. I apologize about being the bearer of bad news two days in a row and even more sorry that I am still to some degree involved in this because of my friendships with my teammates (Present and former). If you would like to reach out to me via phone or email to talk about this at your convenience I would be happy to oblige."

Hunter was told that the data was severely flawed because of the way the numbers were being "fudged." It had been theorized by multiple staff that it was the Deputy Data Director Kevin Weisfeld, who was helping these other staff members cheat under the radar. Hunter told me when he was done that, they were told not tell anyone else about these findings, so why he told me all of this I am not sure.

As we headed into October, I pulled data for August 2018 to October 2018 from our Advantage app, for our staff and volunteers. Since we were no longer doing the all-day walks as we did with the special election, I began to use my extra time to look into these data files. In reviewing them, I found a lot of inconsistencies across the state involving dozens of accounts.

Shortly after going through these files (again, with the knowledge and approval of Sarah Saiz and Chelseay Valenzuela), my access to level 3 suddenly disappeared, which at the time I had had since late March. I began asking why this access was suddenly removed, as to which I was given no response. Sarah Saiz and Chelseay Valenzuela could not answer that question, which in turn made me even more curious as to why the access was removed. Staff and volunteers were given generic passwords in the beginning and were then told to change their password, I knew someone had to have left their account with a generic password, and if I could find someone that didn't change their password, that would give me the access I needed to continue my research. Again, both Sarah and Chelseay (my two direct supervisors) were aware of everything I was doing and approved of it. In continuing my research, I found surveys where people were walking in rural areas and surveys were marked in the middle of the street in gated communities, and once over a football field away from the street.

Upon my findings, I called Sarah Saiz, telling her everything that I had found. Sarah then directed me to pull as much data as I needed and once finished, to let her know so she could have the holders of those accounts change their passwords. After the phone call, she texted me (which I have proof of) and told me to find out everything I could regarding SD19, which I did.

On October 10, 2018, I sent Sarah an email discussing with her all my findings. On October 11, 2018, she replied to my email and CC'd Kristy Wilkinson. I then received an email from Kristy Wilkinson, CC'ing Ryan Bonifay, and I quote:

"Austin,

While I appreciate your passion for finding integrity. I would like to remind you that this is far outside the role of a Filed Organizer. You're role is to manage voter contact and volunteer recruitment. Sarah, Ryan, and myself are in charge of managing the personnel issues, ID integrity, and overall team production.

While in SD – 19, many of the team members were out for longer hours than you and some of the San Antonio team, they also worked more consistently than the SA even into the evening. That allocates for a larger amount of doors knocked.

Our Data Director, Ryan Bonifay has been added to the email to assist with any other questions you may be having.

We have 25 days left to the election – I would greatly appreciate it if you could focus your energy on volunteer recruitment, activating new individuals into the filed, and hitting your ID number. Like we saw in SD – 19, those things determine a win or a loss.

Regards,

Kristy Wilkinson

Deputy Campaign Manager of Political

Texans for Greg Abbott"

She just stated that Sarah was in charge of ID integrity, and Sarah had explicitly told me to look into the discrepancies. During my time with TGA, I did numerous data projects for the region, and at no time was it mentioned that I was performing duties outside of my role until I started bringing up the discrepancies.

It was not long after these emails that we come to October 17, 2018, a day that I will never forget. It is a day that is etched in my mind, very clearly and to this day, still makes me anxious and sick to my stomach. I had a doctor's appointment that day, in which I decided I was going to skip my walking for the day, and I still had one more day in our political week to get my now 500 ID goal. At 5:12 PM, I missed a call and then received a voicemail from Kristy stating she was in the room with Ryan Bonifay and Sarah Saiz, Kristy stated that they had seen some "strange" activity on my account during one of their weekly/bi-weekly audits. I returned their call within minutes of listening to the voicemail, as to which I began being interrogated as to why my account looked like I was hard-core cheating, for days, if not for weeks. She wanted an explanation of why this was occurring. How could I give an explanation into something that was not true? How and/or why would they ask me to explain this behavior if it did not occur. They began questioning me regarding my logging into other staff accounts, in which I didn't deny doing that and I had no problem admitting since my direct supervisors (Sarah Saiz and Chelseay Valenzuela) were aware and had explicitly requested I do this to try and figure out the discrepancies. Because I could not give an explanation about my account and logging into other accounts, I was terminated immediately by Kristy. In the past, Chelseay Valenzuela had told me that you could not be fired for cheating without video proof. In fact, they asked me to follow an FO and video that person to prove cheating. If I was doing what I was accused of, where was the proof? If I was "hard-core" cheating, as Kristy put it, it would have been very easy for someone to follow me and get proof of the cheating. Also, when looking at my Advantage App profile, it showed the account had an iPhone 10 attached to it. NOBODY in my family has never, nor have they ever, had/owned an iPhone 10. We have had iPhone 6s and 8s. That was only one discrepancy out of many.

After the call and the days afterward, I had the full support of my regional director, Chelseay Valenzuela and Deputy Political Director, Sarah Saiz. They requested my resume so they could send it to their contacts. They both knew the termination was wrong and believed it was crossing the lines of a retaliation firing. It was at that point I began the process of attempting to get my termination overturned.

I put together an email and sent it to TGA Political Consultant Dave Carney, putting in detail everything that had transpired over the last couple of months and my concern over the falsified data. At that time, he also appeared very concerned with what he was hearing. He agreed that we should schedule a meeting at TGA Headquarters in Austin and on November 1, 2018, we had our meeting. It was never discussed who would attend this meeting, but I had hoped that senior staff members along with Chelseay and Sarah would be in attendance. In the days leading up to this meeting, Chelseay would ask me who was going to be in attendance, and all I could do was answer her with "I don't know," because I did not know. So, as I arrive at the headquarters, I let them know I am there and I sit in the small lobby for a good 20-30 minutes when a gentleman shows up and I am introduced to Gardner Pate, the campaign attorney. I had never met him before, much less heard his name mentioned. We walk into a room that appears to be a standard meeting room and there sat TGA Campaign Consultant Dave Carney. The three of us sat down and began this so-called meeting by asking me what all had happened. After I was finished explaining everything, the meeting suddenly turned in to a nasty interrogation with a threat being made, and I quote Dave Carney, "We will f*** you for everything you have, using every resource we have possible if you do not delete the data you have on your laptop." He stated that it was illegal for me to be holding data on my laptop after I was terminated because of the non-disclosure agreement I had signed, and he stated that all TGA property was to be returned immediately. Since my termination, I have never to this day been contacted by anyone with the campaign and asked to return anything. Mr. Carney and Mr. Pate stated how it was highly illegal to log into other people's accounts, even if my direct supervisors were aware and had asked me to pull information for them. From speaking to several professionals after my termination, I understand that this falls under what is called a tacit agreement because there were never any objections. Carney and Pate did a very good job at intimidating me, even causing me to break down in that meeting. Now, looking back, I should have never allowed them to intimidate me the way they did. If I had it to do all over, I would not have allowed it to happen, I would have stood stronger. After the interrogation and intimidation ceased, it was decided that if I deleted all the data from my laptop, that my termination would be overturned, and it would be considered a resignation. Mr. Pate told me to send him an email stating I was resigning my position, so on November 2, 2018, at 12:35 pm, I sent the email that I was resigning my position with TGA effective October 17, 2018. I immediately received a response from Mr. Pate on November 2, 2018, at 12:41 pm saying, "Received and accepted." I thought that everything was good, and I could move on. That could not have been further from the truth!

Recently I was notified that my campaign reference which was supposed to be given as a resignation was given as a termination, and Sarah, the staff member giving the reference stated I was terminated for unethical behavior. I have sent a couple of emails to the campaign attorney asking why the agreement we had was not honored but as of today, I have not received a response.

*Conclusion*

The 2018 elections were expected to show Texas shift more purple, but the extreme shift has made me believe that those leading the campaign and having data falsified caused a bigger lean left than what was expected. I would believe the number of falsified ID's to be in the 6-digit range. The biggest issue is that all the down-ballot candidates relied on this campaign and our data to help them get elected/re-elected. There is not a bigger group that I know of that relied on us more than the judicial races across this state, and if you look at election day, we nearly got swept. If that doesn't say something to all of us, then I don't know what does.

We need transparency with campaigns and their information, including the data. Candidates need to win because of accurate information, not lose because of wrong information. Not everyone can get a war chest in the tens of millions as Governor Abbott did. I truly believe had information been accurate with voter IDs, Ted Cruz would have won by at least a couple more points than he did.

My family has been in this state since 1833, I am a proud Texan and extremely proud of my Texan heritage.

This is a huge reason I have finally decided to come out with what I find to be truly disturbing with Texans for Greg Abbott.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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