We’ve all gotten those glossy mailers pleading for a donation to a candidate’s campaign. They beg you to spare $50, or even just $25, to help a candidate get elected so he or she can single-handedly save the state of Texas.

How would you feel if you made a donation to a Texas political candidate or PAC, only to learn later that they spent your money on liquor, jewelry, or a luxury resort in California?

That’s exactly what you’ll discover if you peruse the expenditure pages on Transparency Texas. While it is legal for candidates to spend money on travel expenses, fundraising events, and gifts, some of the candidate and PAC expenditures you’ll see are more than a little disturbing.

Unfortunately, the issue of reaching into your pocketbooks to frivolously spend money is a bipartisan problem. Politicians from both sides, usually the loudest voices for bigger spending, are among the worst stewards of campaign dollars.

But it’s cool because it’s someone else’s money, right?

Here are a few examples:

• It’s hard not to wonder why State Representative Dan Flynn, a long-time Republican member of the Texas House, paid for these items with donor dollars:  $86.99 to Massage Envy, $49.98 to Vitamin Shoppe, $31.93 to Star Bright Cleaners, and $25.99 to Kwik Car Auto Spa. Wouldn’t you like to have someone else pick up the tab for your dry cleaning and car wash?
• State Senator Carlos Uresti, “Charlie,” a Democrat from San Antonio, paid $658 to Z Gallerie furniture store, $714 to Golfsmith, and $2,100 to Lone Star Casino Parties. Apparently Senator Uresti enjoys the gambling theme; he spent donor dollars to stay at the luxurious Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas for the bargain price of $5,041. Who wouldn’t want their elected officials spending campaign contributions at a Vegas resort?
• State Representative Charlie Geren is one of the most powerful members of the Texas House. His website boasts that he “voted for sound fiscal policies that balance budgets.” His donors might be surprised then to learn that about $2,000 of their money went to an event at Max’s Wine Dive in downtown Austin. They’d probably be even less excited about State Rep. Geren spending $2,601 at the Hotel Del Coronado luxury beach resort in Southern California. And while $1,300 to the Southwest Expo & Livestock Show seems odd, how about $24,015 – yes, twenty-four thousand dollars – to the Tarrant County Jr. Livestock Show? Wow.
• Texas Supreme Court Justice Paul Green‘s supporters can rest easy knowing he’ll be driving safely while enjoying some good tunes and a fine cigar. Their donations supported expenditures of $694 to OnStar, $672 to Sirius XM Satellite Radio and $137 to Club Humidor.
• For Texas House Speaker Joe Straus’ campaign spending you can start small and end really big: $150 to Toms Shoes, $189 to Anthropologie (women’s clothing and accessories), $200 to Kendra Scott Jewelry, $325 to Nordstrom’s, and $639 to Julian Gold (high-end women’s apparel and jewelry). Sometimes shopping makes you hungry. Maybe that explains $2,350 worth of Dunkin Donuts. Apparently, Speaker Straus likes to host events in premium environments. What else can explain the $29,302 Four Seasons hotel expenses covered by his supporters’ donations? Hopefully those supporters at least got an invite.
• On paper, it looks like Democrat Senator Judith Zaffirini is a car enthusiast. She used donor contributions to pay $31,237 to Ford Credit, Lincoln Automotive Financial Services, Covert Ford, Sames Ford, North Park Lincoln, Discount Tire, Lincoln Motor, Paul Young Chevrolet, OnStar, Sirius XM Satellite Radio and many car washes. In addition, she spent $396 at Neiman Marcus, $251 on Godiva Chocolate, and $120 for Spec’s Liquor. Oh, and she paid $24,594 to the Laredo Morning Times. That’s a whole lot of advertising money, especially for someone who ran unopposed. An absurd amount of money to the paper that makes endorsements in her district? Nothing to see here, surely.
• Republican State Representative Byron Cook, the powerful Chairman of the House State Affairs Committee, apparently thought it was just fine to spend his donors’ money on the following purchases: $138 at the Milk and Honey Spa, $108 at Kendra Scott Jewelry, and $162 for Nordstrom’s Direct. Spa treatments, jewelry, and shopping, all topped off with $972 at Spec’s Liquor. Being a chairman must be nice.

But wait, there’s more. A lot more. Try the search function here at transparencytexas.org. Pick a candidate or PAC. On their page, look just below the pie charts and click on “Payees” or, for more detail, “Individual Payments.” You can scroll through every expenditure made by that candidate or PAC in the most recent election cycle (since January 1, 2015).

Hopefully more transparency will prompt candidates and PACs to be better stewards of their donors’ contributions.