The Ingleside Index (Ingleside, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 47, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 28, 1989 Page: 2 of 12
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lNi»iX
Thursday, Dwcwmbwr 28, 1989
Pog«2 u
pinio
District judges fighting feds and Mattox
Capital Highlights
, « * i
By Lyndell Wilfauns
Texas Press Assn.
AUSTIN-While the price of
natural gas rose with the odd
front, so did the tempers of many
Texas state district judges, one of
whom acused the attorney gener-
a! of selling them down the river.
Capitol halls and state agencies
slowed for the holidays, but the
judges were locked in battle
against a federal judge, Attorney
General Jim Mattox and minority
interest groups.
At issue is how Texas will res-
tructure elections of state district
judges to give minority candi-
dates a better shot at winning.
Mattox met with Hispanic lead-
ers and endorsed a plan to hold
single-member elections by leg-
islative districts in some coun-
ties.
They say an appointment plan
pushed by the governor is a de-
vice to take away the voters’
rights to elect minority judges.
The plan would force incum-
bent judges, elected at-large last
time, to select a district in which
to run, whether or not they reside
there.
The judges fear it will cause a
political party grab bag fiasco in
most elections.
Judges Fight Back
Several judges met shortly be-
fore Christmas to decide how to
respond.
One contingency was a lawsuit
by State District Judge Ted Poe to
Another was a resolution con-
demning Mattox, who they say
intervened uninvited to repre-
sent them, for settling the issue
without even consulting his
clients.
Ethics, Rights Votes
Legally, Mattox is violating
state bar ethics, they say, and his
settlement will leave them with
no basis for legal appeal.
Politically, he is a candidate
who has traded their legal rights
for black and Hispanic votes.
Poe didn’t shirk from ripping
Mattox, a candidate for governor,
for selling them out for his politic-
al gain.
interest of himself and not his
clients. He doesn’t represent
me,” Poe said.
“If 1 were in a courtroom right
now and had to choose between
being represented by Jim Mattox
or Daffy Duck, I’d favor retaining
Mr. Duck,” Poe said.
uHe sold us down the river,”
echoed Judge Bill Harmon.
Campaign Spending
Campaign insiders and outsid-
ers predict Clayton Williams, Re-
publican candidate for governor,
is on the way to a primary spend-
ing reoord.
They predict he will have spent
between 03 million and $4 mil-
lion by mid-January, most of it his
own money.
At this same point in the 1986
race, Mark White and others had
spent only 02 million each.
In contrast, GOP challengers
Ken Hance, Tom Luce and Demo-
crat front-runner Ann Richards
will probably have spent only one
million. Mattox will have stock-
piled about 04 million, but has
spent relatively little.
Brown Eyes Showdown
State Sen. Buster Brown, R-
Lake Jackson, is headed for a
showdown in the Texas Supreme
Court after the 1st Court of
Appeals in Houston ruled him in-
eligible to run for attorney gener-
al because last session he voted to
increase retirement benefits for
that office.
Brown, who was knocked off
the 1986 ballot on this issue, has
deliberately set himself to be a
test case.
Campaign Happenings
The GOP state party chairman
returned the filing fee of Houston
entrepreneur Tommy Fatjo,
saying recent revelations of a
business failure weakens his can-
didacy for comptroller.
, Instead, the party will likely
back Mike Toomey, Gov. Bill Cle-
ment’s chief of staff.
Former U.S. Ambassador Bob
Krueger named a campaign
treasurer and said he will formal-
ly announce next week for the
Texas Railraod Commission seat
being vacated by Hance.
Wes Gilbreath, Houston
businessman running for Texas
Land Commissioner, blasted in-
cumbent Garry Mauro for “con-
flicts of interest, sweetheart
leases, one-bid contracts and out-
landish travel expenses.”
Gilbreath finished first in the
GOP primary for U.S. 8enate, but
lost the run-off election.
Other Highlights
• State Sen. Chet Edwards,
D-Duncanville, launched a cam-
paign to capture the congression-
al seat of retiring U.S. Rep. Marvin
lead) of Waco.'
• Former state Rep. Anthony
Hall, the Houston city council-
man who lost a congressional bid
to state Sen. Craig Washington,
was named chief of Houston's
mass transit agency.
• Gov. Clements appointed
the first Republican state district
judge in Travis County history.
Austin lawyer Will Wilson, Jr.
succeeds Harley Clark, who va-
cated the bench earlier this year.
• Agriculture Commissioner
Jim Hightower announced for re-
election, saying his third term
would be his last.
Mattox is the only lawyer I
restrain Mattox, as the state’s ' know who handles cases in the
lawyer, from signing anything on
their behalf.
Letters to the editor
EAS — job well done
Dear Editor:
Congratulations for a “JOB
WELL DONE” are due for the suc-
cessful drive to obtain the re-
quired positive response to the
GTE survey for Extended Area
, Telephone Servioe!
These congratulations go to a
lot ofpdople that are sincerely
concerned about the welfare and
growth of our two communities
that put in numerous hours and
their own money into this effort. I
can't name all of these good
citizens, but a few are Repre-
sentative Robert Earley, Mayors
Bob Watson and Mark Crawford,
both Ingleside and Aransas Pass
City Councils and staff, the
Chambers of Commerce, Kay
Wolf and Gina Gilliam and their
staffs and volunteers, the Aransas
Pass Progress and Ingleside Index
Publisher,. Dick Richards and his
staff notably, Laura Simank, and
die numerous local civic dubs
and organizations.
Hopefully, this resounding re-
sponse to the last of numerous
road blocks set up by the Public
Utility Commission will give yet
another clear signal that our com-
munities want this service. This
service will be another step in the
efforts to improve the quiriity of
life and to open yet another eco-
nomic enhancement to develop-
ing our area.
This determined and coordin-
ated effort just shows what our
two communities can accom-
plish when we work together. Our
two communities share one of the
most beautiful areas on the Texas
coast and working together we
can make it one of the most desir-
able places to live, work and raise
our families.
Hie challenges and demands of
Homeport call for coordinated
planning and joint efforts to en-
sure successful ventures. Let’s
continue working together!
R.P. “Sonny” Park
Executive Director
Area Business Council
JUST WHEN
YA REA UZB
MAY HAVE
TOO A\4NY IRONS
IN TH' FIRE..
Good money after bad
Cost of waste disposal going up
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The
savings-and-loan debacle, which
is going to Cost the American tax-
payer hundreds of billions of dol-
lars, is just the tip of the iceberg.
The federal government has
accepted responsibility for over
five trillion dollars -- that is, five
thousand thousand million dol-
lars — in debt, through programs
that don't appear on any budget.
Congress has oo-signed loans to
everybody from Bubba’s Catfish
Farm to Susie’s School of Cosme-
tology to Colonel Strongman’s
Banana Republic, and no one
knows how much of that tab Un-
de 8am will have to pick up.
The government’s credit also
backs Fanner Mao, the Federal
Agricultural Mortgage Corpor-
ation; Sallie Mae, the Student
Loan Marketing Association; the
Farm Credit System; the Federal
Home Loan Bank system; and
scores of other entities through
which cash is handed out to de-
serving and less-than-deserving
individuals and businesses.
Of the #26.2 billion in Fanners
Home Administration (FmHA)
loans outstanding in 1987, nearly
half were in default. More than
half of the loans in default have
been so for more than threeyeara.
FmHA is writing off a reported
022 billion in bad debts.
(D-Michigan) told Time ma*t- of over a trillion'dollars, and the
sine: “It'sas if every man, woman, federal government's Pension Be-
and child in this oountry each nefit Guaranty Corporation in-
an-*ieiMMf • mm«uI for suras #20 to #40 billion in under-
A recent study indicates that
more than two-thirds of the #14.1
billion reserves of the Federal De-
posit Insurance Corporation
percent a year since 1970. Over-
all, liability under credit and in-
surance programs has grown 900
percent in the past 20 years.
Why did Congress create such
a mess? Because these programs
enable the politicians to buy
votes with the voters’ own
money, by helping special in-
terest groups in ways that don’t
show up on the reoord books.
Sometimes the beneficiaries are
farmers, business people, or
young people seeking to buy a
home. But more often than not,
these programs take money from •
credit-worthy, insurable people
to provide, say, flood insurance
for bungalows on Hurricane 1s-
A ghetto teenager working his
firatjob at McDonald ’s
that help finance
education of amillte
Whether it is the way we would
most like to spend our money or
not, a lot of it goes now, and more
is going in the future to disposing
of the vast quantity of things we
waste and throw away. That
seems a waste in itself but there it
is.
Juan Garza, city manager of
Corpus Christ!, talked to repre-
sentatives of cities and counties
in the Coastal Bend at a meeting
away for recycling. This is in con-
trast to payment made for mate-
rials which can be recycled.
Another study that will be
needed is an identification of
possible landfill sites and in-
formation about the cost of meet-
ing environmental requirements
at those sites and of their life ex-
pectancy. Travel distanoe in any
collection system has to be oonsi-
He considers it inevitable that
Corpus Christ! will take a lead in
helping local governments of the
'region find a way to dispose of
solid Waste, within their means
and without despoiling the en-
vironment.
months ago, talking about
alternatives. He said there are
potentials for region-wide or
oounty-wide collection systems
or other ooooerative ventures.
He said there is a need to deter-
mine what volume of garbage is
“staringus in the face.” He added,
“Like it or not, I think Corpus
Christ! will be involved in some
sort of regional development.” .
The basis for this conclusion is
that the oost of all the require-
that SOSM people, who I
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To Congress, to beauty of to
guaranteed-oredit-ana-
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The Ingleside Index (Ingleside, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 47, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 28, 1989, newspaper, December 28, 1989; Aransas Pass, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1172157/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ed & Hazel Richmond Public Library.