"Say it ain't Mold Joe" Nixon is back!

Former State Representative Joe Nixon (R-Houston) is back in the news again, back supporting the insurance industry, and in bed with State Representative Larry Taylor trying to shake down a attorney who represents homeowners against their industry. Taylor is an insurance salesman and Nixon, when in office, also represented the insurance industry and authored sweeping tort reforms to protect them. From the Texas Tribune. (Nixon is sitting on the left)   Nixon was also called the hypocrite of hypocrites because of a little $300,000 mold claim he had. I wrote about it back in 2004: Rep Nixon to Texas Families: Let them eat mold! During the summer of 2001 hundreds of homeowners across Texas testified on the subject of mold contamination of their homes. Many recalled months of strange rashes, nosebleeds, and upper respiratory illnesses and spending thousands of dollars for exploratory medical tests ranging from cancer to lupus. Some lost their memory. Others lost their homes. And others such as the insurance lobbyists, lawyers, and tort reformers claimed, "mold is gold", and mold claims were "frivolous" based upon hysteria not scientific facts. And then there were those who stood watching homeowners in tears pleading for help from consumer groups and the State Legislature, while they were quietly collecting their own share of the gold and conveniently ignoring the hysteria, and the claims of frivolity. Such is the case of State Representative Joe Nixon (R) Houston. In 2001 while hearings and legislation was being crafted to address mold claims, Rep Nixon received over $300,000 for his own mold claim. Like many mold victims, his life was disrupted while his family spent a year in a crowded apartment during his mold remediation. But unlike many victims, he kept silent about the dangers of toxic mold, the cost of remediation, the horrible stress upon the family, and the urgent need to address mold contamination. Rep Nixon had an opportunity to address the Texas Department of Insurance during one of many of historic mold hearings held across the state and in Austin. His position, as a Texas Representative, would have validated the claims by other homeowners affected by mold contamination. His own experience of having his family life disrupted, his financial situation threatened, and his emotions stretched to the end would have put a halt to the false claims of "hysteria", "frivolous" and "mold is gold". But he didn't. Instead he stood silently collecting his pot of gold, while others were foreclosing and struggling to keep their children in good health as well as struggling with their insurance companies. Later in the 2003 Legislation Session, Rep Nixon sponsored the tort reform bill on behalf of the insurance industry and the tort reform groups. These were the same organizations that were claiming toxic mold was based upon hysteria and had driven up the cost of insurance forcing companies out of business. Members of these organizations testified at the mold hearings, and some were appointed to the Department of Insurance Mold Task Force. All while Rep Nixon was collecting $300,000 on his own "legitimate" claim and crafting an insurance welfare bill, House Bill 4. This hypocrisy is not limited to Rep Nixon. In 2001 the Attorney Generals Office in Lubbock was evacuated and remediated due to mold contamination at the owners expense. And in 1995 the Texas Governor Mansion was remediated at a cost of $50,000 to the taxpayer. So while Rep Nixon's family, Governor Perry's family, and the employees of Attorney General John Cornyn were safe from the hazards of toxic mold, hundreds of Texas families, looking for help from their leaders, were left, out in the mold. The current focus of Rep. Nixon's mold claim is on the criminal aspect of insurance fraud and political payback, but the focus should also be on the moral aspect. How could an elected leader, in the State that invented the word "compassion", stand idle, with his hands buried in the pot of gold, while his people are in financial ruin, poor health, and pleading for help? How could Rep Nixon ignore the hearings and families who have been ravaged financially, physically, and mentally by mold contamination while he collects on his own claim and crafts legislation on behalf of those who provided his gold? This lack of compassion, in itself, should be criminal.