Free Republic

This week, as Texas Comptroller and gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn turned up the heat on Governor Rick Perry, it would appear that she has found herself in some hot water as well. Following a scathing swath of Strayhorn radio commercials about Governor Perry, the Texas State Auditor’s Office released a rather scathing report of its own about Strayhorn. Despite the agency’s perfunctory statement that they “are not implying any wrongdoing on the part of any individual or group associated with the information in this report,” political hounds from Beaumont to El Paso admit it smells like a scandal—and Strayhorn’s...

Another day, another squabble as Perry-Strayhorn fight continues. By Ken Herman and Michelle M. Martinez AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Thursday, April 22, 2004 Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, dabbling in subject matter a tad sexier than the usual daily number crunching, said Wednesday that the state should shut down all topless bars by prohibiting them from selling alcoholic drinks. The proposal is the latest in what have become daily Strayhorn attacks on Gov. Rick Perry's proposed school finance package. The Perry plan, aimed at drumming up more money for public schools while reducing property taxes, includes a proposed $5 admission surcharge at...

AUSTIN — Increasing criticism of Gov. Rick Perry by Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn has cost her a longtime campaign treasurer. Houston oil and gas operator George Strake Jr., the comptroller's chief fund-raiser for 20 years, said in an interview Thursday he could "no longer stomach" Strayhorn's strategy of attacking Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and other GOP leaders. Although she denies it, political insiders say Strayhorn has been positioning herself to either take on Perry in 2006 or maneuver toward another position, like lieutenant governor, should U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison challenge Perry and Dewhurst seek Hutchison's senate seat. "It's...

Says children will pay for it 'for the rest of their lives' AUSTIN -- Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn on Monday delivered a scathing review of Gov. Rick Perry's school finance proposal, saying it would create a $10 billion deficit within five years and provide little property tax relief. Just one day before lawmakers convene a 30-day special session on school finance, Strayhorn likened the governor's plan to a "balloon payment" that Texas children "will be paying for the rest of their lives." "This governor's plan replaces Robin Hood with Robbin' Everybody," Strayhorn said in probably her most pointed attack on...