AUSTIN — Republican state House candidate Gary Gates has long fended off allegations that he abused his children. Now a national Democratic group is bringing up the accusations in political attack ads less than a month before a critical special election in Fort Bend County.
Forward Majority is spending “just under six figures” on an ad it released Tuesday about things the Gates children told Child Protective Services officials in 2000 about possible abuse in the household, which included 13 children, 11 of them adopted. The abuse case was later dropped.
“His own kids told Child Protective Services he forced them to take vomit-inducing medicine, handcuffed and beat them with a wooden board,” says the narrator. “Gates then spent a fortune to shield alleged abusers like himself.”
All of the children were taken from the Gateses by Child Protective Services, but a judge ordered them returned to the home four days later. After CPS dropped the case, Gates launched a legal battle that led to restrictions on when the agency can remove children from their parents.
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Reviving 20-year-old allegations shows Democrats and outside interests are “desperate” to win the district, said Craig Murphy, Gates’ political consultant. “We knew they would stoop to this.”
Gates’ motivation for adopting children grew from the death of his father, he said. Gates’ father was murdered when he was 18, thrusting him into a position to support his family, which later led him to grow a business buying, renovating and renting homes and apartments. He and his wife decided to adopt children who were left alone like he was when his father died.
“You can say anything you want about Gary Gates ... He took kids who had no future and now they have a wonderful childhood,” said Murphy. “I challenge you to adopt 11 kids and not have any problems.”
Murphy pointed to testimony from a a clinical psychologist who opined during the legal proceedings that he would “not hesitate to place my own children in their care.” Gates’ campaign released an ad last month featuring personal testimonials supporting his candidacy. Among them is his daughter Raquel, who said, “He adopted me and takes such good care of our family, no matter what.”
The child abuse case stretches back to 2000. Court records say that Gates and his wife Melissa’s adopted 10-year-old son had an eating disorder and would take food and gorge himself. After discovering the boy had taken two boxes fig bars and eaten them in the attic, Gates stuffed the wrappers into a plastic bag and pinned it to the fourth-grader’s shirt before sending him to school the next day with a note explaining the reason for the punishment, the records show.
School officials reported the incident to child welfare authorities, along with other allegations about the boy’s punishments for stealing food, which included being handcuffed to his bed for a day, sitting in the “chair position” with his back against the wall and running up and down stairs until his legs hurt, the records say. The boy told investigators past punishments included drinking “throw-up” medicine and moving bricks. He said he had also been spanked with a board. After siblings told of other discipline handed down by the Gateses, the children were removed from the home that evening. The state dropped its investigation seven months later.
A federal appeals court dismissed Gates’ lawsuit claiming state and local officials violated his family’s constitutional rights when they removed his children from the home. However, the fight helped spur changes in policy, including a requirement that child abuse investigators seek a court order before removing children from their homes except in extremely dangerous circumstances.
The ad comes ahead of the Jan. 28 special election runoff between Gates and Democrat Eliz Markowitz. Early voting begins Jan. 21.
For subscribers: Biden endorses Markowitz in Texas House special election runoff
The stakes are high in the special election to fill the state House seat vacated in September when Republican John Zerwas retired from the Legislature. Although the district has reliably elected Republicans to serve in the statehouse, the open seat and Markowitz’s showing in the November special election have made the district something of a bellwether of the political climate in Texas, and whether it is shifting to blue. Markowitz, the only Democrat in the race, earned 39 percent of the vote, short of the 50 percent needed to win the race outright. Gates earned 28 percent of the vote and emerged as the top Republican in a crowded election.
The race is attracting unprecedented attention: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden endorsed Markowitz Monday; former presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke has repeatedly door-knocked for her, and former New York City Mayor and presidential contender Michael Bloomberg campaigned door-to-door with her late last month.
Democrats need to win nine seats from Republicans to take control of the Texas House, offering the party a chance to change the political dynamic as lawmakers prepare to redraw Congressional and Legislative district boundaries following the 2020 Census.
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Democrats attack Fort Bend state House candidate over 2000 child abuse case - Houston Chronicle
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