Houston Chronicle: Millionaires gave a third of all money raised for '06 state races

Candidates for Texas' legislative and major statewide offices collected almost $158 million in campaign funds during the 2006 election cycle, according to a study released today by Texans for Public Justice. That total is the equivalent of the annual average wage of more than 3,800 Texas workers. But TPJ found there is little average about some of the donors to Texas politicians. Almost a third of all the money raised - $52 million - came from 141 millionaires who donated $100,000 or more each.

Millionaires gave a third of all money raised for '06 state races

Candidates raises a total of $157.6 million

By R.G. RATCLIFFE, Austin Bureau
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
September 27, 2007

AUSTIN - Candidates for Texas' legislative and major statewide offices collected almost $158 million in campaign funds during the 2006 election cycle, according to a study released today by Texans for Public Justice.

That total is the equivalent of the annual average wage of more than 3,800 Texas workers.

But TPJ found there is little average about some of the donors to Texas politicians. Almost a third of all the money raised - $52 million - came from 141 millionaires who donated $100,000 or more each.

"Average people don't have much of a voice in the system," said TPJ Director Craig McDonald. "The role of the small donor is almost nonexistent."

Texans for Public Justice is a campaign finance reform advocacy group that supports limits on contributions to candidates and aggregate limits on money given by individual donors. Both concepts are generally opposed by Republicans as an infringement on freedom of speech.

The state's top donors in 2006, according to the TPJ report, were Houston home builder Bob Perry and his wife, Doylene, who gave $7.1 million. San Antonio investor James Leininger and his wife, Cecilia, came in second with contributions totaling $5.5 million. Perry and Leininger mostly contribute to Republicans.

Democratic lawyer Fred Baron and his wife, Lisa, were third at $2.1 million. Dallas tax consultant George Ryan, who gave heavily to the independent gubernatorial campaign of Carole Keeton Strayhorn, was fourth at $1.4 million. Houston lawyer John O'Quinn ranked ninth with the $1.1 million he gave to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell.

While the total money raised in the 2006 cycle did not equal the $195 million of 2002, McDonald said it is a record if the 2002 totals subtract the $60 million that millionaire Democrat Tony Sanchez gave to his own losing campaign and the $11 million that millionaire Republican David Dewhurst spent from his wallet winning the lieutenant governor's office.

McDonald said the 2002 report also included candidates for Texas' top appeals courts while the current report does not.

"This is actually an increase of $30 million over 2002," McDonald said.

In 2002, when every member of the state Senate faced re-election after redistricting, the candidates raised a total of $21.5 million, he said. Last year, with just half the members facing re-election, candidates raised $27.4 million.

In the House, which elects all of its members every two years, fundraising jumped from $33 million in 2002 to $59.6 million in 2006, McDonald said.

He said the clout of special interests can be seen in the fact that 81 percent of the money raised by House candidates came from outside their districts.

"He who pays the piper calls the tune in politics," McDonald said.

The entire report, plus links to individual districts, can be found on the tpj.org Web site.


TOP DONORS OF 2006
Total raised by statewide and legislative incumbents and candidates: $157.6 million

Individuals
- Bob and Doylene Perry of Houston: $7.1 million
- James and Cecilia Leininger of San Antonio: $5.5 million
- Fred and Lisa Baron of Dallas: $2.1 million
- George and Amanda Ryan of Dallas: $1.4 million
- T. Boone Pickens of Dallas: $1.2 million

Political action committees
- Texas Association of Realtors: $3.6 million
- Texans for Lawsuit Reform: $3.4 million
- Texas Republican Legislative Campaign Committee: $2.1 million
- Texas Democratic Trust: $1.7 million
- Texas Medical Association: $1.6 million

Money raised by candidates
- Incumbents: $88.9 million
- Challengers: $36.9 million
- Open seats: $23.8 million

Note: The money raised by candidates does not equal the total because the total includes 15 senators who raised money but were not up for re-election.
Source: Texans for Public Justice

Austin American-Statesman: Report details $158 million spent in 2006 elections

Texans for Public Justice has released its comprehensive analysis of campaign spending for the 2006 election cycle with a new feature: reports on individual lawmakers. The report focuses on money raised by 378 major-party candidates for the Texas Legislature and seven statewide offices, ranging from governor to land commissioner. What's new are the "Officeholder Profiles" that include the top donors to individual officeholders. Read the article at the Austin American-Statesman

Report details $158 million spent in 2006 elections

New this year: reports on individual state House and Senate members.

By Laylan Copelin
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, September 27, 2007

Texans for Public Justice has released its comprehensive analysis of campaign spending for the 2006 election cycle with a new feature: reports on individual lawmakers.

The report focuses on money raised by 378 major-party candidates for the Texas Legislature and seven statewide offices, ranging from governor to land commissioner. It continues the group's past analyses of top donors (Houston builder Bob Perry repeats as No. 1), campaign dollar totals (32 percent higher than four years ago) and the most prolific political action committees (Texans for Lawsuit Reform edged out the Texas Association of Realtors).

What's new are the "Officeholder Profiles" that include the top donors to individual officeholders.

The reports might bust a few myths.

For example, Perry, who spent most of his $7.1 million on Republicans, was the top donor in 2006 to next year's Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, state Rep. Rick Noriega ($7,000). Both are from Houston.

It also reinforces some stereotypes.

State Rep. Mike Krusee, R-Williamson County, who leads the House Transportation Committee and champions toll roads, was favored by construction and concrete companies. His top three donors were from those industries.

The report was compiled from campaign fundraising and expenditure reports available from the Texas Ethics Commission.

Craig McDonald, executive director of Texans for Public Justice, said that even though the information is readily available, it's difficult for the public to compile in a meaningful way because there are so many reports and so many donors who contribute under slightly different names.

"If you try to do this at the Texas Ethics Commission, you are stymied," he said. "This is one-stop shopping."

Unfortunately, it looks back at only the 2006 elections. Real-time analysis, McDonald said, will have to wait for real-time money for quicker results.

To see the report, Money in PoliTex: A Guide to Money in the 2006 Texas Elections, visit www.tpj.org/reports/politex2006.

Money in the 2006 campaign, at a glance:
-$158 million raised for 173 statewide and legislative offices.
-Two-thirds of that money went to the winners.
-141 big-dollar donors ($100,000 or more) gave one-third of the $158 million.

House candidates raised 81 percent of their money ($48 million) outside their district (mostly from Austin-based groups or lobbyists).

Senate candidates raised 70 percent of their money ($14 million) from outside their districts (mostly from Austin-based groups or lobbyists).

9 percent of the money - so-called late train money - was given after the November election

Dallas Morning News: Study: Wealthy Texan group leads political donors

An elite group of 142 wealthy Texans at the heart of an escalating money chase showered state politicians with more than $50 million in campaign cash last year, according to a new study. The study, conducted by the nonprofit organization Texans for Public Justice, underscored the growth in political fundraising in a state where more and more money is coming from a corps of influential givers. Read the article at the Dallas Morning News

Study: Wealthy Texan group leads political donors

9 contributors gave at least $1 million each to state candidates in '06

By WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News, Austin Bureau
Thursday, September 27, 2007

AUSTIN - An elite group of 142 wealthy Texans at the heart of an escalating money chase showered state politicians with more than $50 million in campaign cash last year, according to a new study.

Leading the list of Texas' biggest blue-chip donors were nine contributors who gave at least $1 million each to statewide and legislative candidates in 2006.

The study, conducted by the nonprofit organization Texans for Public Justice, underscored the growth in political fundraising in a state where more and more money is coming from a corps of influential givers.

"A small handful of business tycoons control political money in Texas," said Craig McDonald, executive director of Texans for Public Justice.

The study is the first comprehensive review of fundraising by state candidates from governor to all 181 members of the Texas Legislature. Houston homebuilder Bob Perry was the state's biggest campaign contributor in 2006, giving $7.1 million to candidates. He is Gov. Rick Perry's biggest political donor, giving $1.4 million directly or indirectly through a GOP group to the Republican incumbent.

Other top campaign contributors giving at least $1 million to state candidates included Dallas attorneys Fred and Lisa Baron, Dallas tax-consulting executive Brint Ryan and Dallas oilman T. Boone Pickens.

The totals mark a sharp escalation in campaign spending in a state where, unlike federal races, there are no limits in the size of donations to state candidates.

According to the study, 52 percent of Gov. Perry's money in his 2006 reelection came in contributions of $10,000 or more.

By contrast, a computer analysis by The Dallas Morning News found that only about 10 percent of the money raised by Bill Clements and 30 percent raised by Mark White in 1986 were in contributions of $10,000 or more.

In 1990, contributions of $10,000 amounted to a third of Ann Richards' $12 million total to win the Governor's Mansion.

The report provides fundraising profiles for the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller and 181 members of the Texas House and Senate. Each profile lists an official's top contributors and breaks down their money.

Associate Press: Giuliani's ties to Houston law firm gives him Texas boost

The former New York mayor, Republican Rudy Giuliani, has built a formidable political base in Texas with the help of well-connected Republican money men. He owes his advantage in part to his role as a name partner with a powerhouse, Houston-based law firm known for its impressive roster of energy-giant clients, Bracewell & Giuliani.

Giuliani's ties to Houston law firm gives him Texas boost

By KELLEY SHANNON, Associated Press
September 21, 2007

AUSTIN - Republican Rudy Giuliani - thrice-married, liberal on social issues and a consummate New Yorker - seems an unlikely White House contender to be embraced by a Texas' GOP establishment rooted in the energy industry and dominated by religious conservatives.

But the former New York mayor has built a formidable political base in Texas with the help of well-connected Republican money men. He owes his advantage in part to his role as a name partner with a powerhouse, Houston-based law firm known for its impressive roster of energy-giant clients, Bracewell & Giuliani.

His partnership in the law firm has also brought Giuliani unwelcome criticism in connection with some of the firm's more controverisal clients, including a Spanish contractor involved in planning part of a Texas superhighway toll road known as the Trans-Texas Corridor.

Texas farmers and other landowners are worried their property rights will be trampled to make way for the highway. Conspiracy theorists see Giuliani, because of his highway connections, as allied with a cabal of international monied interests plotting to supplant the United States with a North American Union that includes Mexico and Canada.

Giuliani joined the law firm - then called Bracewell & Patterson - in March 2005. More than 400 lawyers work for the firm, which has offices in New York, Washington, Connecticut, Dubai, Kazakhstan and London.

Giuliani reported in a federal financial disclosure form in May that he received $1.2 million in income from Bracewell & Giuliani during 2006 and the first five months of 2007. He was also entitled to a 7.5 percent share of revenue from the firm's New York office.

The firm's managing partner, Patrick Oxford of Houston, is the national chairman of Giuliani's presidential campaign. A former University of Texas System regent appointed by then-Gov. George W. Bush, Oxford has strong ties to many of Texas' top political leaders. He raised $100,000 for Bush in his 2000 presidential run, served as co-chairman of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's re-election campaign last year and is treasurer for Sen. John Cornyn's current re-election campaign.

The law firm's employees in several Texas cities have also donated to Giuliani's campaign, federal election reports show.

"The relationship with Bracewell has given Giuliani a financial foothold in the state," said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, which tracks money in politics.

While Giuliani isn't "totally in sync with the base on social issues," Texans liked his take-charge approach during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and his mayoral record on crime-fighting and budget control, said Austin-based GOP consultant Reggie Bashur, who is not working with any presidential candidates.

"The grassroots in Texas is ... strongly conservative. ... very much right-to-life, very fiscally conservative, strong on national defense, very strong on the war on terror, not overly sympathetic to the gay rights movement," Bashur said.

Because Texas' primary comes late in the lineup of nomination contests, the state's role in the nomination is primarily that of money generator. Giuliani's campaign finance chairman is Roy Bailey, a former finance chairman of the Texas Republican Party. Dallas billionaire T. Boone Pickens and Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks are major fundraisers.

Giuliani had raised $3.69 million in Texas as of July 30, the most of any presidential candidate. Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton was second with $2 million. Among Giuliani's Republican rivals, Sen. John McCain has raised $1.79 million from Texas donors and Mitt Romney has raised $1.76 million.

"I think there are many issues, principally on the issue of leadership and overall electability, that are causing many voters in Texas to support the mayor," said Giuliani spokesman Elliott Bundy.

Giuliani has also developed a bond with Texas Gov. Rick Perry, whom he helped win re-election last year. That groundwork could make Perry a high-profile ally in Texas, although the governor hasn't yet endorsed a presidential candidate.

Bracewell & Giuliani's political action committee gave $10,000 to Perry a year ago, just a few weeks before his re-election. Perry and Giuliani have talked in person and by telephone several times and have a good relationship, Black said.

Bracewell & Giuliani represents a business consortium involved in the Trans-Texas Corridor, a costly, high-profile toll road pushed by Perry and opposed by farmers and ranchers.

The first phase of Perry's proposed $184 billion toll road, envisioned as part of a superhighway stretching from Oklahoma to the Mexico border, was planned by the Cintra Zachry consortium, composed of Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte SA of Spain, one of the world's largest developers of toll roads, and Zachry Construction Co. of San Antonio.

Landowners say they worry that fields and farmhouses in Texas families for generations would be bulldozed for the highway. The state acknowledges some private land will be taken, but Perry said new roads are needed to handle Texas' growing population and trade.

The consortium sued Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott last year to keep parts of its development agreement with the state secret, saying the information was proprietary. The Texas Department of Transportation took the unusual step of siding with the consortium in the lawsuit against Abbott, whose office had ruled the agreement should be made public.

The transportation department and the consortium dropped the lawsuit last October and agreed to release the contents of the contract.

But the lawsuit further fueled concerns about foreign ownership of a major Texas highway, and the project continues to be criticized by conservative groups like the Eagle Forum and the John Birch Society, who see it as part of an international conspiracy to create a North American Union. The conspiracy theory has also provided fodder for cable television commentators like CNN's Lou Dobbs.

Earlier this year, Giuliani sold his investment firm, Giuliani Capital, for an undisclosed sum to the Macquarie Group, which is part of Macquarie Bank of Australia. Cintra and Macquarie's infrastructure group formed a consortium that operates a major toll road in Indiana.

Scott Segal, a Washington-based Bracewell & Giuliani partner in charge of its government relations division, said Giuliani was not involved in the Texas toll road legal work and that the law firm doesn't lobby on behalf of Cintra Zachry.

"Mayor Giuliani has had no association or has done no work for the Cintra Zachry venture," Segal said.

Black, Perry's spokesman, said he doubts Perry even knows that Giuliani's firm has represented the transportation companies in connection with the project.

"The governor does not concern himself with who Rudy Giuliani's law firm may or may not represent," Black said.

San Antonio Express-News: Toll road foe sues over TxDOT ad campaign

Terri Hall of the San Antonio Toll Party and Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom wants a state court order to halt spending on the "Keep Texas Moving" campaign because, she contends, it violates a state prohibition on state officers or employees using their authority for political purposes. "Unlike purely educational public relations efforts such as the 'Don't Mess with Texas' campaign, the KTM campaign is a one-sided attempt to advocate one political point of view on a highly controversial matter that is far from politically decided," Hall said in her court petition. Read the article the San Antonio Express-News

Toll road foe sues over TxDOT ad campaign

Peggy Fikac - pfikac@express-news.net
Austin Bureau
September 21, 2007

AUSTIN - An activist outraged over state transportation officials' multimillion-dollar campaign to promote toll roads and the Trans-Texas Corridor is taking her fight to court.

Terri Hall of the San Antonio Toll Party and Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom wants a state court order to halt spending on the "Keep Texas Moving" campaign because, she contends, it violates a state prohibition on state officers or employees using their authority for political purposes.

"Unlike purely educational public relations efforts such as the 'Don't Mess with Texas' campaign, the KTM campaign is a one-sided attempt to advocate one political point of view on a highly controversial matter that is far from politically decided," Hall said in her court petition.

She also wants to block lobbying attempts by the transportation officials to persuade Congress to allow more tolling, such as a proposal on tolling interstates.

The state is asking that Hall's claim be denied and her petition dismissed, saying the Texas Department of Transportation is allowed by law to promote toll projects and that its campaign is responsive to a call from the public and elected officials for more information on road initiatives.

"Merely because plaintiff disagrees with the tolling of roads in Texas does not provide her with an avenue for relief," said the filing by the state attorney general on behalf of Steven Simmons, interim executive director of TxDOT, and Coby Chase, director of the agency's government and public affairs division.

TxDOT spokesman Chris Lippincott said, "For quite some time now TxDOT has heard calls from elected leaders and the driving public to explain what we are doing to improve mobility in our state and why we are doing it. The 'Keep Texas Moving' public involvement campaign is an effort to engage Texans on these issues and seek their participation in solving some of our state's most serious problems."

A hearing had been scheduled Thursday, but the state objected to the case being heard by a visiting judge. The hearing was delayed until Monday.

"Selling toll roads like soap is an outrageous use of the taxpayers' money. Whether or not it constitutes highway robbery under the law is a question best left to the judge," said Craig McDonald of Texans for Public Justice, which tracks money in politics.

Toll roads and the ambitious proposed transportation network known as the Trans-Texas Corridor have been touted by Gov. Rick Perry and others as necessary in the face of congestion.

But the initiative has drawn widespread criticism over the potential corridor route and the state partnering with private companies to run toll roads.

The campaign includes a range of advertising and elements, such as training for officials who will appear on radio talk shows. It is estimated to cost $7 million to $9 million in state highway funds.

Gulf Coast Polluters Dominate School Tax Breaks (Part 2 in a 2 part series)

Texas school districts have awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in property tax breaks under a 2001 law. The law was ostensibly designed to lure businesses to develop in districts with low property tax revenue. In practice, the biggest tax breaks are going to oil refineries and petrochemical plants to expand existing facilities within property-rich districts on the north Gulf Coast.


Read the report