Pioneer Spirit
Fri., July 30, 1999
Go ahead, snicker at the name, but the chunk of cash this group has gathered for the governor's 2000 presidential bid is no laughing matter. Each Pioneer has pledged to raise at least $100,000 (with limits of $1,000 from individuals and $5,000 from PACs). So far 115 have succeeded, which means that at the very least, these Pioneers have amassed about a third of the $37 million the Bush campaign has raised thus far. The moniker may be hokey, but the Pioneers are a vital cog in Bush's record-breaking fundraising machine; they're part of a sophisticated, unprecedented, and perfectly legal (although ethically questionable) bundling scheme.
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Who are these elite hustlers? After criticism from his political opponents and prodding from campaign finance watchdogs, the Bush campaign last week released the names of the 115 who have hit their $100,000 goal. But there are still as many as 300 more unnamed Pioneers out there who haven't hit their $100,000 quota yet. Craig McDonald of Texans for Public Justice, a nonprofit, bi-partisan research organization that tracks the influence of money in politics, says that's unacceptable. "Our chief concern is, it skirts the spirit, if not the letter of the law," that limits individual campaign contributions, says McDonald, who has written a letter to the governor asking him to release all the names, addresses, occupations, and business affiliations of his fundraising Pioneers. "Almost all these names raise red flags," McDonald said. "When you look at the list, these are all people who have an economic interest in being close to the President. ... They're going to need bunk beds in the Lincoln bedroom."
Gov. Bush says the Pioneers are "a grassroots organization," not an effort to skirt campaign finance laws. But "grassroots" is a humble description of this powerhouse. Among the Pioneers named last week, three are Bush family members, and a number are old friends and business associates who have contributed to Bush's gubernatorial campaigns. Fifty-six are Texans (see list below), and three are attorneys with the Houston law firm Vinson & Elkins. Also on the list: lobbyist Wayne Berman, whose clients include sugar giant Flo-Sun Inc., and lobbyist J. Peter Terpeluk Jr., who counts the government of India among his clients; former Minnesota senator Rudy Boschwitz; Washington Rep. Jennifer Dunn; and Govs. John Engler of Michigan and Bill Owens of Colorado. For the names of all 115 fundraising Pioneers, their occupations, and the amount they have contributed to previous Bush campaigns, see the Texans for Public Justice Web site at http://www.tpj.org. ó Lisa Tozzi
TEXAS PIONEERS
| Joe Allen | Houston | Attorney, Vinson & Elkins |
| Joe Barton | Ennis | U.S. congressman, House and Energy Commission chairman |
| Lee M. Bass | Fort Worth | President, Lee M. Bass, Inc.; member of billionaire oil family; Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission member |
| George Bayoud | Dallas | Former secretary of state under Gov. Bill Clements |
| Louis A. Beecherl | San Antonio | Investor,Texas Oil & Gas; Beecherl Investments, Former UT regent |
| Dennis R. Berman | Dallas | President, Denitech |
| Teel Bivins | Amarillo/Austin | Republican state senator; chair, Senate Education Committee |
| Michael Boone | Dallas | Attorney, Haynes & Boone |
| Dan Branch | Dallas | Attorney, Langley & Branch |
| Nancy Brinker | Dallas | Wife of Norman Brinker, Brinker International restaurant empire who gave Bush $34,500; founder of Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, largest privately funded organization dedicated solely to breast cancer research. |
| Claiborne Carrington | San Antonio | (no other information available) |
| Bill Ceverha | Dallas | State lobbyist, former state rep.; clients include Pioneer Louis Beecherl and PSG Inc. |
| Peter Coneway | Houston | Investment banker, Goldman Sachs & Co.; his wife gave Bush $35,000 |
| Robert Dedman Jr. | Dallas | CEO, ClubCorp International; on National Center for Policy Analysis' Board |
| Bob Devlin | Houston | CEO, American General Financial |
| Jim Francis | Dallas | President, Francis Enterprises, Pioneers' coordinator |
| D. Stephen Goddard | Houston | Managing partner, Arthur Andersen LLP |
| Dick Heath | Dallas | CEO, BeautiControl Cosmetics |
| R. Steven Hicks | Austin/Dallas | CEO, Capstar Broadcasting Co.; brother Tom Hicks bought Texas Rangers from Bush |
| Roger Hirl | Dallas | Pres & CEO, Occidental Chemical Co. |
| Bob B. Holland III | Dallas | Senior VP, general counsel, Triton Energy |
| James Huffines | Austin | Investor, Morgan Keegan; Bank of Dallas |
| Gaylord Hughey Jr. | Tyler | Attorney, Hughey Oil Co.; attorney, Potter & Gunn |
| Thomas Johnson | Austin | Exec. director, Associated General Contractors of Texas |
| Walter Johnson | Houston | President & CEO, Southwest Bank of Texas |
| Don Jordan | Houston | CEO, Reliant Energy |
| Richard & Nancy Kinder | Houston | Chairman & CEO, Kinder Morgan Inc.; former CEO of Enron |
| David Laney | Dallas | Attorney, Jenkins & Gilchrist |
| Kenneth Lay | Houston | CEO, Enron; wife Linda gave Bush $22,500 |
| Steve Letbetter | Houston | President, Reliant Energy |
| Tom & Nancy Loeffler | San Antonio | Tom: Attorney, Arter & Hadden; ex-member U.S. House of Reps; Bush appointee to UT Board of Regents |
| Thomas Marinis Jr. | Houston | Attorney, Vinson & Elkins; sits on board of directors at Phoenix House, substance abuse service org. |
| Dean & Andrea McWilliams | Austin | Dean: spokesman for former Texas Sen. Mike Galloway Andrea: independent lobbyist |
| Vance Miller | Dallas | CEO, Henry S. Miller Co. |
| Philip Montgomery III | Dallas | Owner, P.O.B. Montgomery & Co. |
| Charles Nash | Austin | Owner, Chuck Nash Chevrolet; former member of Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission |
| Dennis Nixon | Laredo | Banker, International Bancshares Corp. |
| Erle Nye | Dallas | CEO, Texas Utilities; Bush appointee to Texas A&M Board of Regents |
| Joseph O'Neill III | Midland | Managing partner, O'Neill Properties |
| Marshall Payne | Dallas | Investor, Cardinal Investment Corp. |
| Robert Pickens | Dallas | Investor, self-employed |
| Don Powell | Amarillo | President, First National Bank; Bush appointee to Texas A&M Board of Regents |
| Dub (A.W.) Riter Jr. | Tyler | Managing partner, Pinstripe Investments; Bush appointee by Bush to University of Texas Board of Regents |
| Raul Romero | Houston | CEO, S&B Infrastructure; Bush appointee to UT Board of Regents |
| Rusty (Edward) Rose III | Dallas | Partner, Cardinal Investments; former Bush business partner (Texas Rangers) |
| Tony (A.R.) Sanchez Jr. | Laredo | CEO, Sanchez-O'Brien Oil & Gas; oil, land, banking magnate; Bush appointee to UT Board of Regents |
| Nicholas Sarafy | Brownsville | Business executive, Performance Testing Services |
| Bud (Allan) Shivers Jr. | Austin | Consultant/investor, Waste Recovery Inc., Texans for Lawsuit Reform spokesman, son of former governor |
| Jack Vaughn | Dallas | Owner, Vaughn Petroleum |
| Roger Wallace | San Antonio | Consultant, PSI |
| Mrs. Jimmy Westcott | Dallas | Homemaker; related to Carl Westcott of Westcott Communications |
| Robert Whilden Jr. | Houston | Attorney, Vinson & Elkins |
| George Williams | Houston | Investment Banker, Williams Partners Inc. |
| Roger Williams | Dallas? | ? |
| Bob Wright | Harlingen | President, Wright Way Construction |
| Charles Wyly Jr. | Dallas | Executive, Sterling Software |
This list was compiled by the Texans for Public Justice
