After tree killing episode, Cailloux puts her money behind Roman Garcia

Sandy Cailloux put her money behind Roman Garcia in the race for the Kerrville mayor’s seat, contributing 62% of his $9,500 campaign donation, one of the largest single donations to a City Council candidate in recent years. 

The Lead learned from sources that Cailloux has told people in the Riverhill community that she dislikes Joe Herring Jr. — a dispute born from the Cailloux Foundation hacking down an ancient live oak on their Water Street property adjacent to Herring’s print shop last year. Much of that dispute came from the foundation’s plans to construct a luxury hotel on the site and Herring’s reluctance to sell his property to accommodate the project. 

The tree became a significant controversy last year, with hundreds expressing outrage at removing a tree that the Cailloux Foundation once marketed as “The Founder’s Tree,” referencing Kerr County founder Joshua Brown resting in its shade. 

Cailloux’s donation of $6,000 was the largest in the early stages of the mayoral race. The election is May 4. With that infusion, Garcia raised more than $3,000 from seven donors. 

Thursday was the deadline for campaign finance report filings. Garcia came in at the end of the day, while Place 3 candidate Brent Bates didn’t submit a report. The political action group Kerrville Forward filed its first report, noting it took in more than $14,000 in donations. We The People, Liberty In Action, which backs Garcia and Barbara Dewell Ferguson, has never filed a campaign finance report. 

Even with the Cailloux donation, Garcia trails Herring in fundraising by more than $3,000. Place 4 incumbent Brenda Hughes raised more than $14,000 for her re-election campaign against Dewell Ferguson. 

However, the Cailloux donation shows that she’s ready to insert herself into the political conversation after the debacle with the tree — a self-inflicted wound. Cailloux’s tone deafness on the tree removal featured a doubling down by the foundation, which she runs with her husband, leading to the ending of the Kerrville Chalk Festival, closing the parking lot adjacent to City Hall for the foundation’s private club, and the elimination of a longtime scholarship program. 

Cailloux’s four-digit donation wasn’t the only one made to a candidate during the campaign; others included: 

• $2,000 from Edward Soto to Barbara Dewell Ferguson.
• $1,000 from James Avery owners Chris and Ruth Avery to Brenda Hughes. 
• $1,000 from J. David Williams to Brenda Hughes. 
• $1,000 from Elizabeth Henderson to Brenda Hughes. 
• $1,000 from Gary Gilmer to Joe Herring. 
• $1,000 from J. David Williams to Joe Herring. 
• $1,000 from Robert Malson to Kent McKinney.
• $1,000 from Donald Henderson to Kent McKinney.

Follow the money

The candidates combined to spend more than $24,000 in the first filing period, but it is interesting to see where they spent it. Except for $29 spent in New Braunfels, the trio of Joe Herring Jr., Kent McKinney and Brenda Hughes spent $16,000 in Kerrville. The printing company, Kwik Signs, received the bulk of the money from the campaigns. Herring Printing Co., owned by Joe Herring’s family, received $1,200 in printing jobs. 

The duo of Barbara Dewell Ferguson and Roman Garcia spent 83% of their funds outside Kerr County — mostly with sign printers in San Antonio and Austin.