FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, August 19,2025

McKinney Airport Expansion: A Tale of Ethics Violations, Secrecy & Developer Influence

McKinney’s controversial airport expansion seems mired in ethics violations, secret meetings, and developer influence – despite voters twice rejecting taxpayer funding for the project. Evidence points to a troubling pattern of deception and disregard for public trust.

Key Findings

Texas Ethics Commission fined the campaign treasurer of 'McKinney Above the Rest’ – a pro-airport PAC – $2,500 for failing to timely disclose over $70,000 in contributions and expenditures for the airport bond election in 2023.
Political insiders and developers were behind the PAC, such as former Mayor George Fuller, former Mayor Brian Loughmiller, former Councilman David Brooks, and developer David Craig.
Voters twice rejected airport bond measures, in 2015 (52% - 48%) and in 2023 (59% - 41%), but city leaders refused to listen and, instead, pushed the project forward.
In 2025, city leaders proceeded to fund the airport expansion by issuing revenue bonds backed by city sales taxes.
On July 18, 2025, city leaders held a secret groundbreaking on the airport expansion project and asked the media not to report on the groundbreaking until it was over.

Public Outrage

Citizens call the groundbreaking a betrayal– describing city hall as 'throwing dirt in the faces of taxpayers while hiding behind fences.' Social media comments and local groups reveal overwhelming opposition to the expansion and mounting distrust in city leadership. North Texas Conservation Association has filed a federal lawsuit, challenging the April 2025 Environmental Assessment on the airport project.

McKinney deserves leadership that listens to its citizens, and that prioritizes transparency over secrecy and accountability over political gain. It’s time for truth, not deception.

Demands

1. Conduct a proper environmental study on the entire airport project, not just the terminal area.

2. Publicly release all PAC and city records tied to the airport project immediately.

3. Conduct an independent investigation into potential city/developer coordination.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

North Texas Conservation Association Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging McKinney Airport Expansion

McKinney, TX — May 27th, 2025. Yesterday, the North Texas Conservation Association (NTCA) filed a petition with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (North Texas Conservation Ass’n v. Texas Dep’t of Transp., Case No. 25-1135) challenging the Environmental Assessment (EA) related to the planned expansion of McKinney National Airport.

The petition contends that the EA—approved by the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT), McKinney Mayor George Fuller, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)—fails to meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NTCA is asking the Court to vacate the FAA’s Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and the accompanying Record of Decision (ROD), and to remand the EA back to TXDOT for a thorough and legally compliant environmental review.

NTCA’s President, Dr. Paul Chabot, stated, “We believe the environmental assessment done on the McKinney airport expansion is seriously flawed. It fails to fully and adequately consider environmental impacts in the vicinity of the airport, such as the Heard Museum and residential areas in McKinney and Fairview. The people of North Texas deserve better.”

NTCA’s General Counsel, Steven E. Ross, says, “The McKinney City Council seems to have been more interested in meeting the timeline set by some unnamed commercial airlines than listening to voters.”

NTCA, a nonprofit corporation that has applied for 501(c)(3) status, is dedicated to protecting the region’s environment, wildlife habitats, and rural character.

To engage with the community and provide further information, NTCA will host two upcoming town hall meetings:

June 11, 2025 – Fairview, TX
June 19, 2025 – McKinney, TX

Registration and additional details are available at: ntconservation.org. A copy of the filed petition can also be found on this website.

Media Contact: Email: info@ntconservation.org

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO ABOVE MEDIA AVISORY

In response to NTCA’s request for federal court review of the deeply flawed Environmental Assessment (EA) conducted for the McKinney airport expansion, the city, led by outgoing Mayor George Fuller, immediately responded with mudslinging and personal attacks. That is unfortunate and not helpful. The people of North Texas deserve better.

- Some have claimed that NCTA’s request for judicial review is a political stunt. That is incorrect. NTCA does not support or oppose any of the candidates in the current McKinney runoff election. The voters of McKinney should make their own choices in the runoff. NTCA’s case will likely remain pending long after McKinney’s runoff election is over.

- The timing of NTCA’s petition for review was based entirely on the timing of the issuance of the final environmental assessment regarding the airport expansion. TxDot issued a first “final” EA on March 27, 2025, and a corrected final EA on April 21, 2025. Federal law gives interested parties up to 60 days to file a petition seeking judicial review of an EA. NTCA timely filed its petition for review on May 26, 2025, within the 60-day window. If the city and TxDOT had finalized the EA sooner, NTCA would have filed sooner.

- The City of McKinney’s irresponsible comments, through its Mayor George Fuller, try to paint the request for judicial review as a political stunt driven by Dr. Paul Chabot. That is also incorrect. Actually, it was NTCA’s General Counsel, Steven Ross, who posed the idea for NTCA to leading figures from McKinney and Fairview. These leaders joined together to form NTCA. NTCA has broad support from North Texas.