Sunday, November 23, 1997
More Abilenians appointed under Bush
By RICHARD HORN / Abilene Reporter-News
A decade ago, an Austin observer pegged Abilene as a political wasteland,
with little voice in Texas government because few people were asked to serve
on state boards.
Things have changed.
In the first three years of his term, Gov. George W. Bush has appointed
more than 20 Abilenians to state posts, more than any of his predecessors
at least back to Preston Smith in the early 1970s.
And for what appears to be the first time, Abilene's share of gubernatorial
appointments has surpassed its share of the Texas population.
"This is the most that Taylor County has ever had," said Larry
Gill, the county's Republican Party chairman and an administrator with the
Dodge Jones Foundation.
The higher tally also reflects how city leaders have made a concerted
effort in recent years to raise Abilene's profile in the capital.
"Everyone knows different areas of the state think differently,"
said Kris Seale, who monitors and promotes appointments for the Abilene
Chamber of Commerce. "The more representation we can have from this
part of the state, the better off we are."
Records from Bush's office show the governor has appointed 20 people
from Abilene and Taylor County.
That represents 1.1 percent of Bush's 1,824 appointments. Taylor County
represents about 0.7 percent of the state's population.
At the beginning of the fourth year of Gov. Ann Richard's term, she had
appointed 12 Abilenians, representing 0.5 percent of her total. The county
made up about 0.65 percent of the population in 1994.
"I certainly think Ann Richards had good people in a lot of her
appointments, as well," Gill said. "But there were more from big
cities, which were her strongholds." Republican country
Taylor County showed itself to be Bush country in 1994, when it gave
the Republican close to 58 percent of the vote, well over his statewide
total. As is usual with gubernatorial selections, several though not all
of Bush's appointees contributed to the GOP cause.
For years, Abilene was considered a city that "sat on its wallet,"
politically speaking, and neither sought nor received much voice in state
government. But there's been increasing involvement, with city leaders working
closely with state Rep. Bob Hunter and the city's senators to boost participation.
Local leaders actually tally 27 Abilene appointees, including those to
regional review panels, the Governor's Awards for Excellence and the Interstate
Oil and Gas Compact Commission. The governor's office, however, does not
count those appointments for comparison's sake.
Gill, who said he has been able to work closely with the governor's office
in recommending people, praised Clay Johnson, Bush's appointment secretary,
for both the number and quality of positions for which Abilenians have been
selected.
Three Abilenians -- Floyd Nickerson, Nancy Jones and Jeri Pfiefer --
now have voices on three higher education boards of regents: the Texas State
University system, Texas Tech University and Texas State Technical College,
respectively.
Mayor Gary McCaleb won a seat on the Texas Science and Technology Council,
charged with improving the state's competitive position in the high-tech
industry. The panel includes the heads of the state commerce department
and workforce commission and several top educators and industry executives.
Abilene also regained a seat on the Brazos River Authority, which it
had held during the Clements administration but then lost. Deborah Bell
served on the board in the late '80s and was appointed again by Bush.
In addition, three Abilenians in the past three years -- Morris Burns,
Scott Taliaferro Jr. and Allan Frizzell -- have been named to the Oil and
Gas Compact Commission, designed to promote conservation and efficient recovery
of oil and gas in the nation. Democrat re-appointed
The city lost at least one appointment under Bush. Richards had given
Abilene its first-ever seat on the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, held
by attorney Gilbert Rodriguez.
Bush did not reappoint him, though Rodriguez had the most conservative
parole rate on the panel. Abilene has retained a physical parole board office;
Bush's appointee, Charles Shipman of Wichita Falls, stays in Abilene part
of the week.
At the time, Bush officials said, the governor rarely reappointed people
to the same posts, preferring to involve as many new people as possible.
There also was talk of restructuring the parole board, combining the Abilene
and Amarillo offices.
In fact, Bush did make at least one Abilene re-appointment, and it surprised
some Republicans and probably some Democrats, as well. In December 1995,
A.E. "Butch" Nelson was re-named to the Texas Appraiser Licensing
and Certification Board.
Not only was Nelson originally a Richards appointee, but he was former
chairman of the Taylor County Democratic Party, though it's not known if
Bush's staff was acquainted with that part of his resume. Nelson could not
be reached for comment.
David Dillman, the county's current Democratic chairman, said he was
pleased with the number and quality of Richards' appointees from Abilene.
She said from the beginning she wanted to reach out broadly to grass-roots
Texas in filling state posts, he noted.
"As I look at this (Bush's) list, they do appear to be by and large
Republican establishment insiders," he said. "It's a nice list
if you're a political insider, but not if you're making $20,000-$30,000
a year. I don't know how helpful those appointments will be politically
with the grassroots."
But Gill said the appointments process has worked exactly as Bush intended.
"He said he wanted to be the governor of all of Texas and he wanted
the best people in the state working on his boards and commissions,"
Gill said. "These are the best appointments we've had, both in terms
of numbers and quality."
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