Governor Pushed for Special Tax Status
after Lunch with Developer and Donation
Capitol Inside
April 22, 2025
A conservative media site revealed on Monday that Texas Governor Greg Abbott sought to secure federal tax breaks for the controversial subdivision Colony Ridge immediately after meeting with the main developer and taking $100,000 in campaign cash from the developer's wife.
While Abbott takes credit for an ICE deportation raid at the massive community near Houston in February, an extensive investigative piece by the Daily Wire that shows how he set the stage for the area's explosive growth after cultivating a relationship with developer William "Trey" Harris in 2018.
The publication released a series of letters that Abbott sent to the U.S. Treasury secretary in the spring that year in a belated attempt to secure an opportunity zone designation for Colony Ridge and the surrounding area in a move that would reduce the tax burden for investors there.
While the report contains no direct evidence of bribery or other legal violations, the timing of the Republican governor's sudden and persistent intervention with regard to Colony Ridge could come back to haunt him in a potential presidential race that he envisions at some point. Abbott's office denied any wrongdoing with the actions that the Daily Wire probe exposed.
But the timeline could be a source of substantial angst for the leader of the nation's second largest state if he plans to pursue higher ambitions with an eventual White House bid.
Abbott expressed his intentions to nominate the area for the special status initially in a letter to then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnushin on March 21, 2018 - the deadline for such requests.
The governor had received $100,000 for his re-election campaign from the developer's wife, Celeste Harris, two days earlier on March 19.
Abbott wrote to Mnushin again to request an extension on April 6, 2018 - two days after having lunch with Harris the developer and GOP State Senator Brandon Creighton of Conroe at the Governor's Mansion. According to the report, Creighton worked at the time as a vice-president for one of the largest home builders at Colony Ridge. The senator said that he didn't discuss business during the meal with the developer and the governor.
Abbott formally requested the opportunity zone tag in a third letter to the Treasury chief on April 10, 2018.
The governor's wish was granted when the Internal Revenue Service designated Colony Ridge as an opportunity zone in July that year.
Harris contributed $1.3 million to Abbott during the next four years. But the governor threw the developer under the proverbial bus two years ago after Republicans on the far right began portraying Colony Ridge as a crime-infested cartel hub for a migrant invasion in the U.S.
While the allegations were unsubstantiated and wildly overblown, the governor responded to the furor by adding Colony Ridge to the agenda of a special session in 2023. But Abbott remained silent when no bills on the subject were debated in committee or on the floor of either chamber in Austin during the special session.
A spokesman for the governor said in response to the Daily Wire probe that the opportunity investment zone designation wasn't the cause of problems that have plagued Colony Ridge. Abbott didn't mention the role he'd played in the development's explosive growth earlier this year when he touted the state's role in a roundup that culminated in the apprehension of 110 migrants as a token showcase for President Donald Trump's deportations push.
The number of migrants who federal agents apprehended on or near the southern border soared to record levels during Trump's first term as president in 2019 - the year after Abbott's successful push for the special tax status for Colony Ridge.
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