Who's paying for the the Texas Senators NM vacation?

San Antonio Express News | 8/14/2003 | Roddy Stinson

[The South Texan]

Here's some Roddy Stinson for you:

Roddy Stinson: Who's paying for senators' N.M. visit? (you will be amazed)

Web Posted : 08/14/2003 12:00 AM

On the sleuthing trail ... CASE: "Roddy, I keep reading that taxpayers aren't paying the expenses of the 11 Democratic senators who ran away to Albuquerque.

"I find that difficult to believe. Who is paying their bills?"

INVESTIGATION: The senators have told reporters that they are paying for their meals and hotel rooms with "personal funds" or "money from campaign officeholder accounts."

Bet on the latter.

The scheme to kill congressional redistricting is being financed by fat cats and political action committees who feed the senators' officeholder kitties.

Fortunately for the politicos, the Albuquerque vacation won't make much of a dent in their accounts.

Case in point: Sen. Juan Hinojosa, one of the unofficial leaders of the runaway group.

According to state records, between July 1 and Dec 31, 2002, he received $236,386 in contributions.

$100,000 of the money (42 percent) came from only seven contributors:

Texas Trial Lawyer Association PAC — $50,000

Richard Warren Mithoff, a personal injury lawyer in Houston — $10,000

Perry & Haas, a personal injury law firm in Corpus Christi — $10,000

Morgan & Weisbrod, a medical malpractice law firm in Dallas — $10,000

Baron & Budd, a plaintiff law firm in Dallas — $5,000

Frank L. Branson, a personal injury lawyer in Dallas — $5,000

C. Cary Patterson, a Texarkana attorney specializing in class action suits — $5,000.

It gets uglier.

While verifying the $50,000 contribution to Hinojosa from the TTLA, I found several references to the Runagate Eleven.

Since 2000, the trial-lawyer PAC has contributed ...

$87,500 to Gonzalo Barrientos

$20,000 to Rodney Ellis

$6,000 to Frank Madla

$10,000 to Eliot Shapleigh

$11,500 to Leticia Van de Putte

$15,000 to Royce West

$5,000 to John Whitmire

$5,000 to Judith Zaffirini

Individual trial lawyers also contributed tens of thousands of dollars to the senators. (A few examples: Cary Patterson contributed $5,000 to Zaffirini; Perry & Haas contributed $5,000 to Barrientos and Morgan & Weisbrod contributed $7,000 to West.)

Of course, other professional/business/labor groups contributed to the senators' treasuries.

San Antonio Sen. Van de Putte, the most vocal vacationer, reported contributions of $197,639 during the last six months of 2002.

Very little of the money came from her constituents. Her finance report reads like "Who's Who Among Austin Lobbyists."

Space limitation prevents my listing all of the special interest groups that contributed $1,000 or more to her campaign/officeholder account, so I will just mention a few large contributions from San Antonio individuals, groups and firms:

H.B. Zachry PAC, $1,000; Loeffler, Jones & Tuggey, $2,000; Martinez Garcia & Co., $1,500; Henry Muñoz, $1,000; San Antonio Apartment Association, $1,000; San Antonio Firefighters, $1,750; San Antonio Police Officers Association, $1,500.

The latter two groups have made it possible for San Antonio taxpayers and City Public Service ratepayers to answer the question, "Who is paying the expenses of the Runagate Eleven?" by looking into a mirror.

Follow the dollars ...

From taxpayers/ratepayers to City Hall ... to pay envelopes of uniformed personnel ... to dues paid to fire/police unions ... to the officeholder account of Van de Putte (not to mention Madla, Zaffirini, Barrientos and Whitmire) ... to Albuquerque's Marriott Pyramid North ...

" ... a Southwestern-style hotel, featuring an open, 10-story atrium with a rock waterfall and lush greenery ... with two restaurants and a lobby lounge, indoor/outdoor pool and fitness room"

I'm sure the senators would want me to thank you.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To contact Roddy Stinson, call (210) 250-3155 or e-mail rstinson@express-news.net. His column appears on Tuesday

[The South Texan]

Gotta love ol'Roddy in the liberal mess known as the SA Express Snews.

[ChewedGum]

I wonder if they are going to use campaign money to help pay their fines also.

Gum

[MEG33]

Thanks for the post.Speaking of newspapers,can anyone name a newspaper in Texas that is at least fair and balanced and has a conservative lean in the editorial page?I'd like to visit their website!

[Buck W.]

Fifteen years or so ago, Dallas had two papers: the Times Herald and the Morning News. The former was liberal, and the latter conservative. Since the Times Herald's demise, the Morning Snooze has raced to fill the liberal vacuum.

[MEG33]

I am sick about the DMN.I grew up with it.I moved to California for 10 years and when I came home,I didn't recognize it.How is the Star Telegram?The Houston Chronicle is the lib rag I can't abide.

[linn37]

While visiting my dad in Waco I got to enjoy the Waco Tribune!Gee they are'nt even a little bit liberal are they!

[thackney]

Yesterday on KPRC 950am during an interview with Kyle Janek (TX State Senator, District 17) confirmed that the Chicken D's in NM are receiving their Per Diem ($125/day if I remember right) while they are hiding because technically the Senate is in session.

[thackney]

KPRC 950am KSEV 700am

Oops, the other Houston talk radio

[hocndoc]

I did a search on "Redistricting" "Texas" and "Senators", I don't know why I missed this. Sorry for the duplicate.


At least now we know,*that's* how redistricting became official Democratic Party business!

Isn't this what we expected?

Soon, very soon, we should be hearing from the runaways that tort reform is racist and hurts minorities. (Especially minority trial lawyers and Democrat Senators. Ignore the small businessmen.

[hocndoc]

You were just a few minutes faster than I was, ping!

[ClancyJ]

I don't believe these senators are using campaign contributions. They may temporarily but they will get reimbursed from taxpayer funds after the spotlight moves off of them.

They are not about to squander their vote buying ability on a political stand. They intend to use taxpayer funds and hide it under some "great effort needed to help the poor".

[hocndoc]

More ping and bump (sounds wrong for a Texas lady to say, but there it is)

[MEG33]

They get per diem while skipping out on the session?GRrrrrr! That is outrageous!!

[FITZ]

Knowing how democrats are, it's certainly not them paying their own way.

[Rogle]

New Mexico Bernalillo taxpayers are picking up the tab for the 24/7 security tab so that some bounty hunter doesn’t grab one of them and haul them back to Texas.

[Squantos]

Thank you very much for the ping. I hope yer days are easy !

Stay Safe !!

[shiva]

I wish someone from Albuquerque would play 'tourist' and take some pics of the," Southwestern-style hotel, featuring an open, 10-story atrium with a rock waterfall and lush greenery ... with two restaurants and a lobby
lounge, indoor/outdoor pool and fitness room" and post them in here. I would love to see that.

[Congressman Billybob]

As Deep Throat told Woodward and Bernstein, "Follow the money." The Trial lawyers want Congress to leave alone the process by which the lawyers use the courts as a cash cow. The Democrats in Congress have repeatedly demonstrated their support for "government of the lawyer, for the lawyer and by the lawyer."

With this information in hand, it all makes perfect sense. The lawyers are using pocket change out of their winnings to support state legislators who are standing in the way of knocking five or six Democrats out of Congress. The lawyers are purchasing useful items for their offices, the way they would buy a Xerox machine, or hire a secretary. Only in this case, they are renting Texas State Senators for during the time that they are useful.

Kudos to the author of this article. It's always a delight to find a reporter who believes in doing his homework. This article is light-years ahead of all the other press on this subject.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, "Nuts and Bolts in California" posted on FR, also published in San Francisco and on UPI.

[CheezyD]

http://www.jqhhotels.com/htmlsite/hotels/nm/albuquerque/

[Buck W.]

The Star Telegram (aka Startlegram) is about the same as the Morning News, but they occasionally surprise.