Nov. 12, 2001, 10:23PM
Jackson says coalition wants role in energy deal
By NELSON ANTOSH
Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle
Activist Jesse Jackson says the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition intends to be a part of the regulatory process leading to the closing of the Enron-Dynegy deal.
The organization, which he founded, owns Enron stock and shares in several other large Houston-based energy firms.
"Dynegy needs our participation to get approval," Jackson said Monday.
The organization's interest in the acquisition of Enron by Dynegy is in assuring minority inclusion in any possible spinoffs, employment, contract commitments and EEOC rulings.
Jackson is here for the first annual energy summit conducted by the Houston bureau of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Wall Street Project. The summit continues today in the Hyatt Regency downtown.
Those companies played a role in this conference that suggests they are in touch with Jackson already. On Monday he praised Enron head Ken Lay's integrity although the Enron executive is on the other end of the political spectrum.
Lay and Dynegy's chief executive officer, Chuck Watson, would have been at the group's energy summit if it weren't for the announcement last week that turned everything topsy-turvy, Jackson said.
The coalition opened its Houston bureau in May on Smith Street so it can do research, go to annual meetings and distribute information, Jackson said.
Protests and boycotts are not part of the plan, said William-Paul Thomas, the bureau chief here.
The Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, which Jackson heads, has taken an interest in energy and Houston in particular, as demonstrated by his appearance at the Offshore Technology Conference here early this year.
Blacks and Hispanics have been locked out of employment, upper-level management and contracts, Jackson said.
Jackson lamented the lack of emphasis on energy security now that the nation's attention has turned to terrorists and anthrax.
He also took the opportunity, in an interview, to criticize President Bush's plans for stimulating the economy from the top down, with a tax plan that will benefit large corporations to the tune of billions of dollars.
"It must be bottom up," Jackson said.
One-third of Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's idea for economic stimulation is travel vouchers, worth $1,000 each and good for up to six months.
This would help employment in the hard-hit travel and vacation industries during the holiday season, he said.
On Monday he praised Enron head Ken Lay's integrity although the Enron executive is on the other end of the political spectrum.
That can't be good.