Conflicts and Interests

To limit the power of the Legislature, the state constitution calls for its members to be part-time lawmakers who can hold full-time jobs in their districts. So what happens to the world of ethics when public policy collides with private ambition and legislators write bills that affect their own pocketbooks? Let’s ask Senator John Carona.
by Jay Root
June 2013
Photograph by Jeff Wilson

The Brookfield subdivision in Pflugerville, north of Austin, lies two miles from Interstate 35 in a bland patch of suburban sprawl, the kind that sprouts like clover on the edge of cities. Cookie-cutter homes line winding streets with tea-themed names like Earl Grey Lane and Darjeeling Drive. Two playgrounds, erected in the middle of circular intersections, fill with children when school lets out. In the summer a fenced-in swimming pool—for Brookfield residents only—provides a break from the punishing Texas heat.

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Tags: POLITICS, LEGISLATURE, JOHN CARONA, HOA, SHAWN RIGGS, DALLAS

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