State Rep. Dawna Dukes (D-TX): Today’s Public Official Misfit  

Dawna succeeded in duping the voters in Austin of electing her as a member of the Texas State House of Representatives in 1994. According to a report by the Texas Tribune, Dawna is the most absent member of the House of Representatives.

In January 2017, a Travis County grand jury indicted Dawna on 13 counts of tampering with government records, stating that she made false entries on state travel vouchers to obtain reimbursements she was not lawfully entitled to. Those charges are felonies punishable up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

The criminal indictment states in part:

• Signed personal action request to office of administration for House of Representatives to get raise for a staff member so that member could take her children to school during working hours
• Abused her official capacity as a public servant
• Misused public for her personal gain
• Deposited two checks from a festival that were given as reimbursement for expenditures from her campaign into her personal account and used the funds for personal purposes
• Collected $61.50 for travel expenses on 13 occasions she wasn’t entitled to

All that remains now is to see how long it takes before Dawna cops a plea to lessen the time she’ll spend in prison.

As we speak (ca. April 2017), Dawna continues to sit as a Texas State Representative due to the fact that she refuses to resign.