Perry's big donors get appointments, government business

Considering what we know about the NAFTA/CAFTA super highway, why does this not surprise me!


http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercuryn ... 296141.htm

Posted on Thu, Aug. 17, 2006



Perry's big donors get appointments, government business



Associated Press
AUSTIN - A small group of super-rich political contributors, giving at least $25,000 a year, will put at least $10 million into Republican Gov. Rick Perry's re-election treasury as part of a fundraising corps the campaign calls the Century Council.

Donors pledging at least $100,000 get invitations to private luncheons with the governor, and many are beneficiaries of government business and plum state appointments, The Dallas Morning News reported Thursday.

Three Century Council members have lucrative contracts to help build Perry's multibillion-dollar toll-road project.

The state has deposited millions in investment funds operated by three other top-tier givers. Sixteen donors are Perry appointees to coveted boards, including the Parks and Wildlife Commission and state university regent boards.

The number of super-donors dwarfs anything Perry's three most recent predecessors had, according to a computer-generated review of contribution records.

Perry has attracted twice as many $25,000 contributions as fellow Republican George W. Bush did in 1994 or 1998. Perry has more than five times as many as Democrat Ann Richards had in her 1990 campaign and Republican Bill Clements had in 1986, according to the records.

Perry campaign spokesman Robert Black said the donors get no special treatment. Black said donors give money because they support Perry's stewardship as governor.

"They believe in his leadership, his vision for the future and where he wants to lead the state," Black said. "If they have any ulterior motives, they need not give."

Advocates of campaign finance reform say the big money is designed to buy access.

"The kinds of people who step up to the plate to give this kind of money tend to be people who want something from government," said Andrew Wheat of Texans for Public Justice, a nonprofit group that tracks campaign contributions.

Texas law does not limit the size of campaign contributions.

Perry's rivals in this year's governor's race also have big-dollar donors, although in far fewer numbers.

Democratic nominee Chris Bell's biggest contributor is Houston auto dealer Ricardo Weitz, who has provided airplanes for the candidate to use, a contribution worth $171,900.

Hair products executive John McCall of Spicewood tops independent challenger Kinky Friedman's donors with $851,000 in contributions and donated office space.

Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, running as an independent, has among her biggest donors Beaumont lawyer Walter Umphrey, who has given her $500,000, and Houston lawyer John Eddie Williams, who has given $450,000.

Perry's campaign has criticized Strayhorn for accepting $1.5 million since 2002 from Ryan & Co., a Dallas-based tax-consulting firm that has represented several businesses disputing tax bills from Strayhorn's office.

A state auditor's report last year said Strayhorn's office had settled tax cases totaling $461 million within a year of receiving contributions from such companies. The audit did not allege wrongdoing but recommended that candidates not accept donations from those with interests before their office.

Among Perry's donors, at least 85 are members of the Century Council, who have contributed at least $25,000 a year toward Perry's re-election since his last campaign in 2002. Some have given much more.

His biggest contributor, Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, who is not related to the governor, has given more than $700,000 since Rick Perry became governor in late 2000.

In 2003, the Legislature created a state agency to resolve construction disputes between homebuilders and consumers. The governor appointed the Houston homebuilder's corporate counsel to the agency's governing board.

Black said there is no connection between contributions and state appointments or contracts.

"These are major donors that have been with the governor for a long time," Black said.

Three highway contractors benefiting from Perry's toll road initiative known as the Trans-Texas Corridor have been major Perry contributors since the late 1990s.

H.B. Zachry, whose San Antonio construction company is a partner in the project, began giving annual contributions of $10,000 after Perry was elected lieutenant governor in 1998. After Perry succeeded Bush as governor, the contributions grew to at least $25,000 a year.

Two other construction executives whose companies have state contracts as part of Perry's toll-road plan - James Dannenbaum and James Pitcock, both of Houston - first gave $25,000 contributions to Perry when he was lieutenant governor.

The Texas Department of Transportation, which is overseen by Perry appointees, chooses the contractors. Some Perry contributors were unsuccessful bidders on the project.

Three members of Perry's Century Council have been appointed to the Parks and Wildlife Commission. Other big-dollar donors are appointees to the University of Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech boards of regents.

Information from The Dallas Morning News: http://www.dallasnews.com