A judge on Tuesday gave Denton political activist Bob Clifton more time to reveal who funded his controversial mass mailers during the recent mayor’s race, after he failed to meet an earlier deadline.

Mark Burroughs

District Judge Vicki Isaacks ordered Clifton to turn over financial records by July 1 showing who paid for the mailers attacking Mark Burroughs. Burroughs, a lawyer and former City Council member, unseated first-term Mayor Perry McNeill in a runoff election June 14.

An attorney for Burroughs had asked the judge to find Clifton in contempt of court after he missed a June 10 deadline to turn over the records.

“We want to know who is funding the mailings,” said Greg Sawko, Burroughs’ attorney and law partner. “We’re entitled to know that.”

Bob Clifton

Clifton, a retired businessman, claimed Tuesday that he never received formal notice of the first deadline. He pledged to comply with the new order but added he would have few documents to provide.

“As far as I can see, I don’t think there are” any records pertaining to the order, he said.

Isaacks’ decision means Clifton avoids a fine or jail time for now. But his courtroom behavior — he appeared without an attorney — tested the judge’s tolerance at times.

From the witness stand, Clifton said he couldn’t answer many of Sawko’s questions about the mailers, including when they were sent and how many people received them.

“Mr. Clifton, I’m running out of patience with these games you are playing,” Isaacks said at one point. “Answer the question.”

Isaacks later cut the inquiry short when Clifton tried to invoke the Fifth Amendment to avoid revealing his e-mail address.

“Your e-mail address is going to incriminate you?” she asked.

“Well, it might,” Clifton said.

Isaacks immediately ordered Clifton and Sawko into her chambers for a private talk. She swiftly announced her decision when they returned about 10 minutes later.

Sawko praised the outcome.

“Our goal is not to put Mr. Clifton in jail,” he said. “Our goal is to find out who’s backing him.”

Clifton’s name appeared on two mass mailers and a flier handed out in Southeast Denton just before the runoff.

Two earlier mailers bore the name Watchdog Society of Denton, an assumed name Clifton registered with the county in October 2006.

Clifton says he alone funded the mailers to highlight alleged conflicts of interest involving Burroughs’ law firm. Sawko & Burroughs collects delinquent property taxes for many area cities and school districts, including Denton.

Burroughs says the mailers violated state law because Clifton did not file finance disclosure statements with the city. In May, Burroughs secured a temporary restraining order preventing the Watchdog Society from distributing any more literature, but a judge overturned it because of a procedural error.

Another judge denied Bur­roughs’ amended request for a restraining order.

Since then, Burroughs has fo­cused on forcing Clifton to turn over financial records related to the mailers. He has raised doubt about Clifton’s ability to solely fund them, pointing to an affidavit Clifton filed in an unrelated case last December in which he claimed poverty.

Clifton’s mailers also spawned at least two pending complaints with the Texas Ethics Com­mission, which enforces campaign finance laws. Clifton has said he would comply with the commission’s decision.

LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com .