Candidate’s Divestment Promise Missing From Filings
Hard to walk away from a $129,000 salary it seems.
The Republican runoff in TX-35 has turned into a slugfest. Now Trump-endorsed Carlos De La Cruz is taking hits over his status as a disabled veteran.
With days left in a bitter Republican primary runoff election between John Lujan and Carlos De La Cruz in Texas’ 35th Congressional District, a mail ad sent this week by the Lujan-aligned political action committee Protect and Serve knocked De La Cruz over his disability status, referring to him as "the ‘100% disabled’ kickboxer."
Incumbent John Lujan has also faced scrutiny recently for hiring, and possibly trying to hide, a Democrat consultant working on his campaign:
In 2022, State Rep. Lujan faced an ethics scandal over a $5.4 million state contract held by his company, Sistema Technologies, with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, an agency overseen by a House committee on which he sat. Lujan acknowledged the "potential conflict of interest" and pledged to divest:
According to a 2007 nonbinding legal opinion issued by then-state Attorney General Greg Abbott, while it's OK for someone who holds a state contract to take office, it could be illegal if those contracts are renewed or modified by the Legislature — including by appropriations bills — while a lawmaker holds office. Lujan can avoid that situation by divesting from his company, as he said is his intention.
However, Lujan’s congressional financial disclosures indicate he remained in the business. Lujan's 2026 candidate report, filed May 17, lists him as Senior Vice President of Y&L Consulting, Inc., with a salary of $129,312.48. His prior report reflects the same arrangement.
The firm now paying Lujan and the one behind his 2022 scandal are closely linked. Y&L Consulting's legal name is "Yash & Lujan Consulting, Inc." The Greater San Antonio Chamber describes Sistema as a company that "started under the umbrella of Y&L Consulting." Both operate under YASH Technologies, according to LinkedIn.
The two firms divide their work by sector. According to a company listing on RemoteHub, Sistema pursues "local and state government" IT contracts while Lujan's employer, Y&L, handles "commercial" business. Y&L's own website states: "Through Sistema Technologies, a sister company of Y&L Consulting, we bring decades of experience providing tailored IT solutions for government agencies."
Sistema, the government-facing side of the company that pays Lujan, holds active state DIR contracts and lists clients including the Texas Education Agency, TxDOT, the Office of the Attorney General, the Health and Human Services Commission, the Comptroller, the Department of Family and Protective Services, Bexar County, SAWS, Capital Metro, and Bexar County 911:
Lujan's legislative assignments cover several of those agencies. In the 89th Legislature, he serves as Vice Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Articles VI, VII, and VIII, which sets budgets for natural resources, business, and regulatory agencies, and chairs the International Relations Subcommittee of Trade, Workforce and Economic Development.
His prior assignments included Licensing and Administrative Procedures, which oversaw TABC; Transportation, which oversees TxDOT; and Juvenile Justice and Family Issues, which oversees DFPS. As a budget subcommittee vice chair, Lujan helps set the funding for agencies that are paying his employer's sister company.
Four years ago, Lujan stated he would step away from the business of selling to the state. The filings he signed this month show otherwise. Lujan is still drawing a six-figure salary from the sister company of the same operation, and still has influence over the agencies issuing government contracts.