Pilot Point Mayor Elisa Beasley is facing a sworn complaint from resident Monica David regarding campaign finance reports.
In each of her campaigns since 2022, first against Matt Mcllravy, then in a campaign against current council member Chad Major, Beasley didn’t claim the bulk of her finances. In the following run-off election against Major, she did not file any campaign finance report.
“She’d been talking about the council not being transparent and I just wanted to show that she’s not always transparent,” David said. “She did not fill out all her paperwork. If she was a totally transparent mayor, she’d have filled out her paperwork properly. There is one time she didn’t even turn it in.”
Although Beasley declined an interview, she spoke about the complaint during her Dec. 10 Facebook live video and issued a statement.
“She, along with a group of old school bullies, that’s what I call them, … basically sued me,” Beasley said in the video. “I think it’s important, because what she’s done is, she chose to tie me up in the judicial system. She chose to weaponize the judicial system. … [She] basically filed a lawsuit against me.”
David clarified. “They didn’t make it easy to fill out this sworn complaint, and for her to call it a lawsuit, it was not,” David said. “This is a sworn com- plaint. It’s like if you got a speeding ticket, you wouldn’t call that a lawsuit.”
The letter she received from the Texas Ethics Commission clearly states the action as a complaint.
“The Texas Ethics Commission received a sworn complaint ... on August 19, 2024,” the letter states. “The complaint alleges that, as a candidate for mayor of Pilot Point, Texas in 2022, you failed to file the following campaign finance reports.”
David filed the complaint for all three of Beasley’s mayoral elections, though the race she ran in 2022 against Mcllravy has exceeded the statute of limitations.
Regarding the other two, first against Major and then again against Major in a runoff election, TEC accepted jurisdiction.
“My family and I funded most of my campaign,” Beasley said. “I didn’t file the proper reports to reflect that but am working with TEC to file it all accurately, so we remain above reproach.”
Both council members Major and Brian Heitzman have in part funded their own campaigns, which is reflected in their paperwork available on the city website.
“The city secretary’s office has the duty to provide requisite forms, receive and file the forms provided by the candidates, make forms available for inspection, or copy and preserve the documents,” City Secretary Lenette Cox quoted from the election packet. “While I may answer some questions, my advice has no official status, and you are not protected if the information is incorrect.”
David filed another complaint as well, though it was outside TEC’s jurisdiction.
“The second one I sent off was on electioneering,” David said. “They wrote back and said that violation is not in their jurisdiction, but they told me where I could send it to, and I have not yet sent it to the Texas Attorney General’s office. It really wasn’t dismissed; I just haven't filed it in the proper place yet.”
