David Lowe, who is running against State Representative Stephanie Klick in the upcoming Republican Primary runoff in Texas House District 91, touts his past work as a police officer on his campaign website. However, The Texas Voice has learned that Lowe is not eligible to be re-rehired as a peace officer by the law enforcement agency where he once worked.
According to public records, Lowe became a Deputy Sheriff with the Collin County Sheriff’s Department on June 18, 2018. Just ten weeks later, on August 27, 2018, Lowe was demoted to the position of Detention Officer with a reduced salary.
On his campaign website, Lowe claims that he “found his calling back to politics” while working as an officer and later took a job working for the Republican Party of Texas in North Texas during the 2020 election cycle.
However, questions surround Lowe’s tenure with the Collin County Sheriff’s Department. While Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner declined to comment on the reasons for Lowe’s demotion, Skinner confirmed that Lowe was not eligible to be rehired as a peace officer by his office. When asked by The Texas Voice if Lowe was eligible to be rehired by the agency, Skinner responded, “Under its current policy and standards, David O. Lowe is not eligible for re-hire as a peace officer with the Collin County Sheriff’s Office.”
Lowe’s later work in politics was also subject to controversy.
During Lowe’s prior campaign against Klick, former Dallas County Republican Party Chairman Rodney Anderson- whose tenure as County Chairman overlapped with Lowe’s work for the Party- spoke out against Lowe and described his conduct as a Party employee as “damaging to Party efforts.”
Anderson, who also once served in the Texas House of Representatives, stated, “I am disappointed, but not surprised to learn that David Lowe is once again making false statements about elected officials. He worked here in Dallas County just a short time ago, and as the County Chairman I was forced to confront him spreading mis-truths about the County Party. David Lowe’s blatantly false information was damaging to party efforts, and now that he has moved to Tarrant County to run for office, it saddens me to see him using the same tactics against Stephanie Klick. I urge the voters of HD 91 to strongly reject these tactics. Stephanie Klick is an honorable, respected, and effective conservative serving Texas well.”
According to candidate information posted on the Texas Secretary of State’s website, Lowe—who is currently 40 years old—listed his occupation as “retired” when he filed paperwork for his current campaign for State Representative.
Despite Lowe’s brief past career in law enforcement, numerous prominent law enforcement organizations have endorsed Klick for re-election. In statements endorsing Klick, these law enforcement leaders have frequently referenced Lowe’s past ownership of pornographic internet domain names.
In a 2022 statement regarding his past ownership of the sexually oriented domain names, Lowe cited a desire to earn extra income coupled with stress in his life. “Over a decade ago, to make extra money, I bought and sold hundreds of web domains in bulk. I never ran these websites, but would buy the domains solely to resell them. I was also struggling with adjusting to life after my deployments in Afghanistan and an impending divorce. Suffice it to say it was one of the worst times in my life,” said Lowe. However, information obtained by The Texas Voice indicates that Lowe’s ownership of the pornographic domain names predated his 2012 divorce from his first wife by several years.
“Some of the worst crimes we witness in law enforcement are against vulnerable or abused women and children. Unfortunately, pornography is a hotbed for this type of criminal activity. David Lowe profiting off the porn industry and the exploitation of women shows a disqualifying lack of judgment and moral compass. Law enforcement officers work every day to protect Texans from human trafficking, prostitution, and drugs that are the lifeblood of the porn industry. While Governor Abbott and Representative Stephanie Klick have given us the resources to combat these crimes, David Lowe invested in the industry that harbors them. We strongly urge the citizens of HD 91 to return Stephanie Klick to Austin so she can continue to help us keep Texas safe for our citizens,” said Lt. Richard Jankovsky, President of the Texas Department of Public Safety Officers Association PAC.
Other law enforcement groups endorsing Klick include the Fort Worth Police Officers Association, the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT), the Texas Municipal Police Association. and the National Border Patrol Council.
