A statewide political action committee that advocates for charter schools has spent more than $58,000 on a local Democratic state representative race, targeting candidate Alexsandra Annello.

The Legacy 44 PAC, which describes itself as supporting Democratic candidates and “bold education policy reforms,” has been primarily funded this year by two of the nation’s richest men, neither of whom live in Texas. The PAC recently sent mailers and digital ads attacking Annello to voters within the Texas House District 77 boundaries.

The mailers reviewed by El Paso Matters don’t indicate that the PAC’s mission is to promote charter schools and education. The mailers instead make misleading or incomplete accusations about actions Annello took as a member of City Council.

The mailers say Vince Perez and Norma Chávez, two other candidates in the March 5 Democratic primary, are better choices. It makes no mention of the fourth candidate, Homer Reza.

Annello said Legacy 44 is closely tied to Republican donors and charter supporters, despite the fact that the PAC says they support only Democrats and advocate for public charter schools and traditional public schools that are innovative.

“Republican funders are behind this PAC,” she said. “This is not a surprise. I’ve been endorsed by the teacher unions, by Texas Parent (PAC) and teachers themselves. As the most Democratic candidate in this race, I am the target.”

The two primary donors to Legacy 44 so far this year are billionaire Michael Bloomberg and Jim Walton, who have differing ideologies.

Bloomberg, who became a billionaire from the media company bearing his name and donated $300,000 this month to Legacy 44, has identified at various times as a Republican, a Democrat and an independent. He is a former New York City mayor and unsuccessful Democratic candidate for president in 2020.

Walton, the billionaire son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, gave $200,000 to Legacy 44 in January. He has largely been identified as a conservative Republican, but has occasionally made donations to Democratic candidates and causes, according to campaign finance records. 

Annello, Perez, Chávez and Reza are running in the Democratic primary to replace incumbent state Rep. Lina Ortega, who is not seeking reelection. The election is March 5, early voting ends Friday.

Garry Jones, spokesperson for Legacy 44 and the executive director for Democrats for Education Reform Texas, said Legacy 44 is getting involved in this race because “we want to make sure we have the right Democrat in the seat,” Jones told El Paso Matters. 

“Legacy 44 works to elect Democratic candidates across Texas committed to policies promoting high-quality public education,” he said. “Both Vince Perez and Norma Chávez attended local public schools and have strong records of advocating for high-quality, accountable public schools.”

Jones said the flyers don’t include background information on Legacy 44’s emphasis on charter schools because the information is available online.

According to its campaign finance reports, Legacy 44 has spent $58,504 to oppose Annello. The political action committee has donated to a handful of Texas Democratic candidates in 2024, but Annello is the only candidate targeted by the PAC with what are known as “independent expenditures,” messages created and paid for by a PAC instead of a candidate. 

Accusations against Annello

The Legacy 44 PAC flyers say Annello voted for a property tax increase for seniors while on City Council, voted against a City Council code of conduct, and that she was investigated for misusing her city-issued gas card.

The allegations are not backed up with details or context, and in the case of the gas card, without noting the investigation’s findings, which Annello said is unethical. Jones said the claims have news citations attached to them, which allows voters to go look up the article. 

Annello said the claims are false or taken out of context.

For example, the excerpt on the flyer saying Annello was investigated for allegedly misusing her city-issued gas credit card does not say the city’s Ethics Review Commission dismissed the complaint.

“The flyer is just not true,” Annello said.

Jones said all of the wording on the flyers meets the required disclosures mandated by the Texas Ethics Commission.

Annello accuses Perez

Annello said that one of her opponents, Perez, is behind the PAC’s mailer. State law prohibits PACs from coordinating with candidates on independent expenditure messages, and Annello didn’t provide any evidence linking Perez to the attacks. 

“He does work for charter schools,” Annello said.

Perez has been a consultant for the Council on Regional Economic Expansion and Educational Development, which funds and builds efforts to increase educational attainment and improve student performance in the El Paso region. CREEED was instrumental in bringing IDEA Public Schools, a charter school, to El Paso.

Perez said Annello’s claim is nonsense.

“It’s the same attack that has been used against me, against CREEED and other candidates in the past and it is absolute nonsense,” Perez told El Paso Matters. “We’ve seen this tactic over and over again and it doesn’t work. I grew up in El Paso, I went to public schools here, and I will always support public schools.”

Perez said he was not contacted by Legacy 44 to inform him that the flyer was coming out. “We (his campaign) have no control over any of these organizations and what they do,” Perez said. 

Chávez said she had never heard of the Legacy 44 PAC.

Legacy 44 describes itself as a committee that supports Democratic candidates and elected officials who “fight for a public education system that empowers all students,” according to its website. 

The group’s name is a reference to former President Barack Obama, the 44th president, who supported the expansion of charter schools.

Disclosure: The Council on Regional Economic Expansion and Educational Development is a financial supporter of El Paso Matters. Financial supporters play no role in El Paso Matters’ journalism. The news organization’s policy on editorial independence can be found here.