State ethics filings show Vanman, then the CEO of WatchGuard Video, gave $5,000 to Paxton’s campaign in 2009 and 2013. In 2017, he contributed $500 to Sen. Angela Paxton.that WatchGuard Video was building a $46 million, 200,000-square-foot campus in Allen. Ken Paxton represented Collin County in the state Legislature from 2003-2015; his wife, Angela Paxton, now represents the area.
According to Vanman, the stories raising concerns about his company’s links to Paxton are politically motivated attacks. He said he met Paxton through church and still counts the attorney general among his friends, although the two rarely see each other. Paxton never had more than a 5% stake in the company and played no role in winning the various contracts WatchGuard Video secured with the state, Vanman told“Ken Paxton was a passive shareholder, along with many other people,” he said.
Vanman secured the contracts himself, he added, through his connections in state highway patrol and the strength of the company’s product. To date, he said WatchGuard Video has provided cameras to about one-third of all law enforcement agencies in North America.; the terms of the deal were not disclosed. Motorola did not comment for this story.