Posted on 03/26/2004 6:56:37 AM PST by Theodore R.
Perry's trip to Bahamas with donors draws criticism Associated Press
AUSTIN (AP) — "With all due respect, have you LOST YOUR MIND?" a Lockhart woman asked in an e-mail to Perry. "This little trip to the Bahamas ... has convinced a long-term, middle-aged conservative to vote you out of office."
Letters and e-mails from 16 people to Perry's office were among documents related to his Presidents Day weekend trip that were released in response to a Public Information Act request by the San Antonio Express-News.
Perry's office didn't release other documents relating to internal policy deliberations. The governor's office is seeking an attorney general's decision to exempt them from disclosure, spokeswoman Wendy Bengal said.
Perry's office didn't provide requested information on his itinerary or billing for the trip, which Bengal said the office doesn't have.
If Perry's office has access to such documents relating to state business, they should be made public, said Joseph Larsen, a Houston lawyer and board member of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.
"They're kind of caught in a double bind here," Larsen said. "They don't want to admit he was just down there on a junket, so they're claiming he was down there on some kind of state business. Having admitted he's down there on state business, that business obviously is subject to the Public Information Act."
Perry's office said the trip, first reported by The Dallas Morning News, was to discuss education policy. Perry released briefing documents that Bengal said were used during the trip.
Among those on the trip were Perry's wife, Anita; campaign donors John Nau and James Leininger; Brooke Rollins of the Texas Public Policy Foundation; and Grover Norquist, president of the Washington-based Americans for Tax Reform, which opposes tax increases.
The governor's office said Perry uses campaign money to pay for nearly all trips as governor and "travel expenses are reported on his campaign expenditure reports."
"I am confident that the great majority of Texans appreciate the governor's decision to not ask them to pay for his travel," said the form letter from Dede Keith, deputy director of administration and constituent services.
A San Angelo woman wrote that she was disappointed over the campaign fund use.
"My husband and I work hard for our money, and we don't have time to take vacations, much less trips to the Bahamas," she wrote. "I have contacted the Republican Party of Texas with instructions to remove us from their mailing/phone lists. We will no longer contribute to the Republican Party of Texas as long as you are in office."
"I am confident that the great majority of Texans appreciate the governor's decision to not ask them to pay for his travel," said the form letter from Dede Keith, deputy director of administration and constituent services.
A San Angelo woman wrote that she was disappointed over the campaign fund use.
"My husband and I work hard for our money, and we don't have time to take vacations, much less trips to the Bahamas," she wrote. "I have contacted the Republican Party of Texas with instructions to remove us from their mailing/phone lists. We will no longer contribute to the Republican Party of Texas as long as you are in office."
The possibility that publicly funded vouchers for private school tuition might have been discussed drew concern from a woman identified as a Dallas-area PTA leader. Perry, Leininger, the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Norquist have supported vouchers.
"Richardson Independent School District is broke, and you are being sweet talked into ... diverting money to vouchers!" the woman wrote. "Wake up and smell the coffee, governor."
A Richardson man said: "A select few seem to have your ear."
A woman identifying herself as a Houston teacher wrote: "Thank you for humiliating the teachers of this city with such an extravagantly made-up way to spend money in the name of all underpaid educators. Oh, and just in case there are extra funds for the study of educational finance, I myself would be willing to go to the Bahamas and discuss reform with you."
I live in Texas, all of these people are what you would call "ideological" conservatives. That is, as far as I know, none have any interest in gaining favors from the government. They run foundations or think-tanks for crying out loud. If they lobbied Governor Perry at all on the trip, they probably lobbied for school vouchers for poor kids, lower taxes and other conservative legislation.
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