A Texas corporate lawyer got mad about illegal evictions—and did something about it

Thanks for posting this. A great long read. I really admire this guy for remembering where he came from after he made it.

Lots of terrible things in the article, but this stood out to me:

During last year’s legislative session, he partnered with state senator Nathan Johnson, a Democrat from Dallas, to try to get traction on a right to cure bill. ... In Austin, he took meetings wherever he could get them. That included a private confab with Brandon Creighton, a Republican senator based in the Woodlands, north of Houston. ... Creighton seemed to sympathize with the import of such a bill, Melton said. Later, though, Creighton told him the idea was dead on arrival. “The Apartment Association doesn’t want us to do it, so we’re not going to,” Melton said Creighton told him. (Creighton didn’t respond to an interview request.)

According to Martin, “The Texas Apartment Association is incredibly powerful at the state legislative level.” Last year, the association’s political action committee doled out $162,000, including $7,500 to Creighton; Governor Greg Abbott was the only elected official who received more. Creighton is also the owner of Creighton Realty Partners, a residential and commercial real estate firm that does business with influential landlords in Montgomery County, where he’s based.

What's amazing to me is how small the amount of money donated is. I suppose since Creighton's own business interests are aligned, more is not needed. I know this kind of corruption is rampant at all levels. It seems impossible to stop because it's self-perpetuating. Until this kind of thing is illegal (and enforced), I don't think we're going to really see justice.

This guy is a certified badass. It sucks that the system is so bad down there, and is worse that it'a so widespread. It's great that there are people with the means and ability to assist, as well.

I'm surprised at how light a touch it seems to take to beat these cases, which Melton even describes, and it highlights the root, a lack of due process.

More than 37,000 evictions were filed in Dallas County in 2023, disrupting roughly 8 percent of renter households. That tally doesn’t include untold numbers of unofficial evictions, in which landlords oust renters from their homes without going through the courts.

These numbers are wild

Mirror, for those hit by the paywall:
https://archive.is/jDVun