Lobby Thrust & Perry: New Governor Hires Hired Guns As He Hypes Lobby Ethics Code

Special Interests Enter Governor’s Office
Through Revolving Back Door

January 5, 2001

New Texas Governor Rick Perry walked a tight rope on December 22 when he simultaneously:

• Issued a “strict” ‘revolving door’ lobby policy for his staff; and

• Named nine new senior staff members—one-third of whom come from the special-interest lobby.

Governor Perry’s ethics rules signal some concern for conflicts of interest that arise when public officials exit the revolving door directly into the for-hire lobby. In the same breath, however, Perry personally invited hired guns to enter that revolving door and join his senior staff.

Three top Perry hires registered as lobbyists during the last legislative session. Policy Director Victor Alcorta III reported that nine business interests paid him up to $725,000 to lobby for them in the last legislative session. Communications and petro-chemical interests dominate his clients (who gave $52,750 to Perry’s lieutenant governor bid).

Legislative Affairs Director Patricia A. Shipton is a protégé of revolving-door lobbyist Jerry “Nub” Donaldson (the ex-legislator who made up to $720,000 lobbying in 1999). Shipton reported that 17 clients paid her up to $360,000 in the last session. The Texas Civil Justice League leads Shipton’s list of diverse business clients (who contributed $31,000 to Perry’s last campaign).

Perry’s third lobbyist staff pick is Communications Director Robert S. Howden, who has lobbied for the Texas chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business for 10 years (reporting a 1999 lobby income of up to $100,000).

The chief flaw of Perry’s ethics policy is not the fact that it turns a blind eye to lobbyists who enter government through the revolving door. Nor is it the fact that this policy prescribes a short cooling-off period for staff who want to enter the lobby (as little as one year). Although these are serious deficiencies, the main defect of this policy is that Perry adopted it by fiat. As such, these rules vanish when Perry reneges the policy or leaves office.

The fatal flaw of ad hoc ethics rules was demonstrated on December 28, when President Clinton revoked his 1993 executive order that would have barred senior federal officials from lobbying for five years. Fortunately, Clinton lacks authority to overturn a more resilient 1978 law that bars federal officials from lobbying for one year.

Rather than declaring half-baked ethics policies by fiat, Texas’ governor and legislature should enact a tough new ethics law to truly slam the brakes on Texas’ runaway revolving door.