Texas Rep. Eddie Rodriguez Launches Crowdsourcing Site To Make Up For County Funding Loss

AUSTIN, TX — State Congressman Eddie Rodriguez, a Democrat lawmaker from Austin, has launched a fundraising campaign allowing residents to make up for a $1.5 million county shortfall created when Gov. Greg Abbott blocked grant money from reaching key programs over a feud with the sheriff.

The fundraising site, dubbed #StrongerTogether, enables Texas residents to contribute donations directly to county coffers to compensate for the funding created after the governor rescinded the grants this week. Just hours after its Friday launch, the site had already raised nearly $8,000 among 119 people as of 4:36 p.m., an aide to Rodriguez told Patch.

Judge Sarah Eckhardt, who has ultimate oversight and stewardship over the now-jeopardized county programs, sent a notice to supporters on Friday alerting them to the fundraising site.

"With much gratitude I send you this link to a fundraising account that has been set up with Austin Community Foundation (ACF) for the benefit of Travis County court programs recently cut by Gov. Abbott in retribution for Sheriff (Sally) Hernandez' lawful decision to limit her office's involvement in federal ICE responsibilities."

Eckhardt said the site launched by Rodriguez was one of several formed in the wake of the governor's funds cutoff: "My sincere thanks go out to the organizers of this website, as well as at least seven other crowd-sourcing sites that have spontaneously appeared over the last 48 hours."

A GoFundMe campaign with the same aim formed two days ago has so far raised more than $2,000 toward the $1.5 million goal.

But she noted the newly emerged site dubbed #StrongerTogether "...is the only one linked to Austin Community Foundation. I encourage other efforts in this beautiful groundswell of support to work with ACF - it has the capacity to handle the accounting necessary to get these funds over to affected court programs quickly and cleanly for donors and the County," Eckhard said in a prepared statement.

Late Friday afternoon, Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez also applauded the grassroots fundraising efforts aimed at making up for the shortfall created by Abbott. She encouraged residents to contribute via her Facebook page.

Abbott previously had demanded that Hernandez cooperate fully with U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) officials in helping to deport undocumented immigrants, threatening the cutoff of funds if the sheriff failed to comply with his demands. That cooperation calls for the sheriff to honor warrantless detainer requests from ICE in keeping people suspected of being in custody behind bars before ICE agents are able to retrieve them and launch deportation proceedings.

By Wednesday, Abbott made good on his threat by blocking $1.5 million in grants to Travis County from reaching a number of agencies even while their mission is unrelated to law enforcement. Prior to the cutoff in grant money, Travis County Judge sent a letter to Abbott urging him to reconsider while outlining a list of the county programs that would be in jeopardy if he went through with his threat — programs designed to assist families, women, children and veterans with a variety of assistance efforts.

In response, a letter sent to Eckhardt — not by Abbott personally but from an underling he directed to respond to the judge — was dismissive of her pleas and, at times, palpably in its tone, while conveying the governor would stand firm in his position to rescind the funds.

The funding kerfuffle was sparked when Hernandez — elected by roughly 60 percent of the county electorate in favor of a Republican candidate — described her more nuance approach to enforcing immigration policy. Rather than target all undocumented immigrants for deportation by complying with ICE detainer requests, the sheriff said she would detain only the most hardened offenders — those accused of serious crimes that include aggravated sexual assault, murder or human smuggling — on behalf of ICE.

The sheriff's approach didn't sit well with Abbott, who followed through with his threat of cutting off all county grants as a result. As Eckhardt has explained, the blocked funds affect agencies unrelated to law enforcement but designed to help vulnerable communities.

Enter Rep. Rodriguez. On Friday, his brainchild crowdsourcing site was launched with the title Travis County #StrongerTogether to help fund the programs — drug prevention efforts, a specialized court helping veterans in legal trouble to follow a lawful path, a program helping women resorting to prostitution to exit the lifestyle, crime victim assistance and more — that are now in jeopardy given the governor's actions.

Many view Abbott's cutoff of annual grant money as political retribution for Hernandez's perceived insubordination. The sheriff has detailed the corrosive effects aggressive deportations have on communities, whose members are subsequently averse to reporting crimes, including rape, in their neighborhoods for fear of having their undocumented status discovered — reasoning that failed to move Abbott.

“If Governor Abbott is willing to sacrifice our veterans, women and children to score political points, then we will show him the power of love,” Rodriguez said in a prepared statement provided to Patch by the congressman's aide, Alejandro D. Pena.

Like Eckhardt and other critics of the governor's punitive measure against the county by virtue of the sheriff's stance, Rodriguez didn't mince words in categorizing Abbott's move. But the congressman went a step further, calling the governor's actions harmful with no room for interpretation: "Rep. Rodriguez leads effort to prevent harm to Travis County vets, women and children," the headline of his news statement blares.

"If Gov. Abbott is willing to sacrifice our veterans, women and children to score political points, then we will show him the power of love," Rodriguez said in a prepared statement. "I have been inspired to lead this effort by the number of people who have reached out and asked how to contribute to Travis County's threatened programs. Together, we will raise the money necessary to ensure that our community's vulnerable do not suffer during these uncertain times."

In his statement, Rodriguez alerted to the more progressive vibe found in Travis County in general and Austin in particular, a sensibility in contrast to other part of deeply red Texas. That progressive bent prompted the election of Hernandez by some 60 percent of the vote and has been evidenced at various local vigils and protests protesting the Trump administration's efforts to ban travel for Muslims and for building a wall along the southern U.S. border.

"The people of Travis County are resilient and take care of each other," Rodriguez said. "That's what Travis County #StrongerTogether is all about. I have been inspired to lead this effort by the number of people who have reached out and asked how to contribute to Travis County's threatened programs.

"We are Travis County, and hate has no home here."

Those wishing to contribute to county programs in jeopardy after the governor's funding cuts can do so by clicking here.

>>> Official photo of Gov. Greg Abbott, above, via State of Texas website; photo of Rep. Eddie Rodriguez via State House of Representatives website