WACO, Texas (AP) - A Central Texas county commissioner has been charged with a misdemeanor after a Texas Rangers investigation concluded he had offered to pay a 2015 primary opponent to drop out of the race.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office charged McLennan County Commissioner Will Jones with offering a gift to a public servant. Under state law, a political candidate is considered a public servant.
Jones is free on a $1,000 bond. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to a year in county jail and fined up to $4,000.
The Waco Tribune-Herald (https://bit.ly/2mqF4GH) reports Jones said in January that he considered the offer to opponent Ben Matus a “simple business transaction” and not a bribe. On Tuesday his attorney, Jim Dunham, said Jones “continues to be fully open.”
___
Information from: Waco Tribune-Herald, https://www.wacotrib.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.