Jerry Patterson challenges Dan Patrick to Financial Disclosure after Clear Lake Tea Party Debate

Last week at the Clear Lake Tea Party Lieutenant Governor’s candidate debate, Texas State Senator Dan Patrick and Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson exchanged comments about personal finances and retirement pay relating to an elected officials’ service in public office. At the event, Dan Patrick asked Jerry Patterson if he was going to have to take on an extra job in order to serve as Lieutenant Governor or if he would be depending on his military and state retirement pay.

Patterson has responded with a news release challenging Senator Patrick to disclose personal financial matters for the citizens in the name of transparency, saying "Senator Patrick, I challenge you to meet me in the following financial disclosures to the people of Texas" and listed items including: tax returns, legal documents regarding any personal and any business bankruptcy, lists of creditors, petitions, interim orders, final orders, final judgments, copies of federal, state and local tax liens, and legal documents relating to personal name change and other aliases used. The full text of Patterson's news release is provided below.

The two candidates will face off again at the next Lieutenant Governor's debate in Tyler, Texas on Saturday, October 12 at 2 PM at the UT-Tyler Ornelas Activity Center.


Patterson Challenges Patrick To Financial Disclosure

Let's See What You've Got, Dan. Show 'em if you got 'em.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 11, 2013
Contact: Chris Elam, Campaign Manager - 512.476.2014

Today, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson called State Senator Dan Patrick's bluff regarding Patrick's challenge during the October 3 Clear Lake Tea Party debate in Harris County.

With apparent disdain for the fact that Commissioner Patterson's 24 years of service in the United States Marine Corps prior to his election as Senator to the Texas Legislature entitled him to his Marine Corps retirement, Senator Patrick challenged Patterson on not having a job to supplement the $600 per month salary that Texas pays its Lieutenant Governor.

In response to Patterson's acknowledgment that he does not have the "personal resources" that Senator Patrick has, Patrick quipped during the debate, "I worked hard for it."

"But did he? Dan Patrick filed bankruptcy so he wouldn't have to pay $816,000 of bills he owed to many hard working Texans. And after walking away from those debts - he legally changed his name, never paid those folks back and poured over one million dollars of his new wealth into his political campaigns instead," Patterson commented today.

Although Senator Patrick's checkered financial history is unknown to many Texans, on September 19, 2013, the Dallas Morning News published an article that touched on a few of the highlights of what is known about Patrick's background. However, many questions still exist regarding Senator Patrick's finances including: full details of his personal bankruptcy, unpaid creditors, personal name change from Dannie or Daniel Scott Goeb to Dan Patrick, other aliases, multiple businesses organizations, and tax liens at federal, state, and local levels.

In contrast, Patterson stated again on October 3rd that he planned to take his already earned military and state retirement while serving in the $600 per month Lt. Governor's job, backing up his statement that "Disclosure is the key to everything." In response, Patrick fired, "You couldn't like the rest of us have a job?" Firing back, Patterson stated, "Being the Lieutenant Governor of Texas is a full time job, Dan... and that's what I intend to do - full time Lieutenant Governor."

Today, Patterson threw down the gauntlet. "It's time to put up or shut up," said the retired Marine aviator. "Dan Patrick has publicly intimated that the retirement I have earned for my service to my country and my state isn't good enough. He has suggested that when I'm elected I should get another job and shirk my duty as a full-time Lieutenant Governor. He has stated that he is not ashamed of his financial history and believes that his subsequent success after stiffing his creditors would make him better for the office."

"In fact, should he be elected, he has announced plans to imitate former Texas Governor Pappy Lee O'Daniel who hosted a Sunday radio show from the Governors mansion in order to sell his own Hillbilly Flour. Like Pappy, Dan intends to use his elected office to enrich his radio station. He still hasn't paid back his creditors, but just this week he has used his personal funds to buy false campaign TV ads. Senator Patrick's statements are offensive to me and I'm calling his bluff. I'm willing to let the people of Texas decide how we stack up on these matters of personal finance."

"Senator Patrick, I challenge you to meet me in the following financial disclosures to the people of Texas:

  1. Copies of tax returns from 2006 through 2012 - a 7-year period using IRS record keeping standards.
  2. Copies of all legal documents regarding any personal and any business bankruptcy - Chapter 7, 11, and 13 - including docket reports, claims registers, lists of creditors, petitions, interim orders, final orders, final judgments, etc.
  3. Copies of all federal, state, and local tax liens - both personal and business, payments, and release of liens; and
  4. Copies of all legal documents relating to personal name change, other aliases used, and names of all business organizations whether active, inactive, expired, or forfeited."

Let's see what you've got, Dan. Show 'em if you got 'em," said Patterson. "I'm willing to provide tax returns all the way back to when I was flying fighters and you were wearing rainbow-colored wigs on the TV news. I'm not ashamed of my past. Let's get this all out in the open for the people of Texas. I hope you'll be a man and step up to the challenge."

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