Former Texas Councilman Clayton Perry’s girlfriend stood by him through his recent drunken hit-and-run disaster, but it’s not the first political scandal she has weathered, sources tell The Post.
Laura Olson — a four-times-divorced mom of two — has been dating Perry “on and off ” since 2019, a friend of the former city representative told The Post.
She stuck by him after he was arrested last November for an alleged drunken hit-and-run and was by the former San Antonio councilman’s side as recently as April 24, when they partied on a float for the Texas Cavaliers River Parade 2023, as shown on KSAT-TV.
The 50-year-old, San Antonio-based business manager is said to be “always very pleasant to be around and she seemed to be very loyal to Clayton,” according to the pal, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
However, multiple other sources tell The Post that blond Olson is familiar in political circles for another reason: She is the woman with whom state Attorney General Ken Paxton had an extramarital affair.
The affair came into sharp focus after it was discussed as a key part of an illegal quid pro quo investigation and corruption accusations against Paxton that led to his historic impeachment on May 27.
On the day of the vote, Texas lawmakers revealed that Paxton, 60, had cheated on his wife, Sen. Angela Paxton, and even professed to be “in love” with his new squeeze back in 2019, but did not name the woman.
Glamorous Olson has been involved in politics for years as a member of the Bexar County Republican Women. In posts on the group’s Facebook page, she can be seen in pictures with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. In another photo, she’s wearing a knee-length black dress and cowboy boots as she poses with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
Clayton’s pal said Olson has a calming effect on Perry, explaining: “I liked her for him because when he was dating her, he was really happy and really different and easier to get along with.”
Paxton, who has been married since 1986, has been suspended from carrying out official duties until he can be tried in the state Senate. Separately, he is the target of a criminal investigation by the FBI, which is now being led by the Justice Department, according to the Associated Press.
“The affair is important because it goes to Ken Paxton’s political strength,” Texas Rep. Ann Johnson of Houston said during the impeachment Saturday.
“He knows that with his folks, he is family values. He is a Christian man, and the idea of the exposure of the affair will risk him with this base.”
It’s unclear when Olson’s relationship with Paxton began or ended, but according to state lawmakers at the impeachment hearing, he was seeing his mistress in 2019.
Paxton lamented feeling unable to end the romance, telling his staffers he was “continuing to be in love,” lawmakers alleged at the impeachment hearing.
Olson’s most recent divorce was filed in 2022, and finalized in March. Neither Perry, Paxton nor Olson responded to The Post’s numerous requests for comment.
While Paxton’s entanglement with Olson itself was not illegal, it’s now central to an illegal quid pro quo investigation.
Nate Paul — a friend and major political donor to Paxton — gave Olson a job at his Austin real estate company in exchange for help from the state’s top prosecutor, Texas House members claimed during the impeachment vote.
“Nate Paul giving his mistress a job means that he no longer has to drive back and forth from San Antonio to see her, and it makes her more convenient [if she is] here in Austin,” Johnson added during the proceedings.
Paxton also helped Paul get access to FBI documents after the feds raided his home and businesses in August 2019, Texas House members alleged during the impeachment hearing.
Paul did not respond to a request for comment.
It’s unclear what kind of work Olson did at World Class Holdings, the multimillion-dollar real estate company Paul owns.
In November 2020, Olson filed legal paperwork to block lawyers from deposing her in a lawsuit filed against her prosecutor ex. Lawyers representing some of Paxton’s former top deputies, who accused him of bribery and abusing his office to help Paul, sued after they were fired. In all, eight former Paxton employees were fired or quit — triggering the FBI investigation.
Some of the whistleblowers sought to force Olson to turn over employment and compensation information, as well as other personal records.
The motion filed by Olson and World Class Holdings argued that the legal dispute was between the whistleblowers and the Office of Attorney General — not them. They called the subpoenas and deposition requests an “invasion of privacy.”
Neither Olson, Paul nor Paxton were deposed, as a judge quashed the requests, according to court records. Paxton settled with the whistleblowers to the tune of $3.3 million, using taxpayer funds. In order for the amount to be paid, the legislature had to approve the payout. That prompted the House to launch its own investigation — which ultimately led to the vote to impeach Paxton.
Paxton’s former lover had also worked for Texas Sen. Donna Campbell from 2013 to 2020, according to Olson’s LinkedIn profile. First she was Campbell’s San Antonio coordinator and later became the district director.
Campbell did not respond to a request for comment, and Olson’s employment with the elected official is not under investigation.
Campbell, along with other members of the Senate, will decide Paxton’s fate during his trial, which has been scheduled for no later than Aug. 28.
Olson liked a tweet by her former boss where the senator explained she and her colleagues will act as jurors in the upcoming trial.
Paxton’s former paramour still follows both him and the Attorney General’s Office on Twitter.
In what is perhaps a telling move, the devoted Republican also follows another famous political mistress — Bill Clinton’s former fling Monica Lewinsky — on the social media platform.
Sen. Angela Paxton, who has not indicated whether she will recuse herself from the vote against her unfaithful spouse, also did not respond to a request for comment from The Post.
Meanwhile, in April, Perry pleaded no contest to two charges by which police claim he downed 14 drinks before falling asleep in a drive-thru and crashed into a car at an intersection, according to the San Antonio Express-News. He left office when his term ended last month.
