ustxtxb_obs_1977_07_01_50_00009-00000_000.pdf

Political Intelligence Jim Ro c kw e l l U.S. Rep. Bob Krueger has made it official. The 41-year-old Demo crat announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate at an “old-fashioned political rally” at his home in New Braunfels. Twenty-eight thousand invitations were mailed out for the Fourth of July event. The invitation promised nickel beer and nickel cokes, but that’s not how Krueger intends to finance his run for the Democratic nomination. Garry Mauro, his campaign director, plans to spend at least a million dollars for the primary with the help of a “committee of 200,” each member of which will be asked to raise $5,000. Mauro claims he already has 97 on the pledge committee, including such wealthy givers as Bernard Lifshutz of San Antonio, Alan King of Houston, Frank Crossen of Dallas, and Kerrville’s L. D. Brinkman. Ron Calhoun, Dallas Times Herald political writer, reports that a mid-June reception in Dallas’ Fairmont Hotel netted eighteen businessmen for Krueger’s big-giver committee. Krueger, who has spent about $50,000 on campaign preparations, opened his state headquarters in Austin on July 1. His emphasis this summer and fall will be on money-raising, assembling a statewide campaign staff, and getting himself before as many groups as will have him. Meanwhile, Dallas attorney Barefoot Sanders, state insurance commissioner Joe Christie, and former U.S. Sen. Ralph Yarborough continue to sound out their support around the state, trying to decide whether to get into the 1978 Senate race. The rating game The end of a legislative session always brings some pleasure: rat ings. While Texas Monthly published its traditional “Ten Best, Ten Worst” list, some publications opted for less declarative groupings. The conservative Dallas Morning News, avoiding the problem of distinguishing among the cast of the 65th Legislature, simply broke down “key” votes into a statistical ranking of how well state lawmakers fit the News’ editorial policy. The Capitol press corps Rep Bob Krueger: off and running found itself unable to name anyone “Best” or “Worst” and decided instead to identify the “Dumbest.” In first place was Charles Finnel, also graced with the Monthly’s designation, “Reupholstered Furniture.” Hard on Finnel’s heels were Elmer Martin, T.H. McDonald and Jim Clarkall “Used Furniture,” as the Monthly saw it. Former speaker candidate Fred Head, who is also a former “Ten Worst” winneror loser, or whateverwas next, followed by “New Furniture” Lou Nelle Sutton. Senfronia Thompson, Tony Polumbo, Leroy “Used Furniture” Wieting, Frank Gaston, Leonard Briscoe and Tom “Ten Worst” Schieffer. Briscoe received additional notice: the Monthly cited him for his reputation among lobbyists as a man willing to say, “If I’m going to help you, then you got to help me.” Reporters singled out black conservative Clay Smothers as “Slime of the Year.” In retaliation, the House voted the Dallas representative “Freshman of the Year”; the Dallas Morning News rated him “50.0 percent”whatever that means. The Monthly put him at the bottom among the “Ten Worst.” Wounded politicians probably don’t like the rating game. McDonald, who clinched his press corps honor when he called execution by injection a “slap on the wrist,” urged that reporters be banned from the House floor “so we won’t be contaminated.” Sic tempora. There’s an abiding myth in Texas that the unemployed among us are a bunch of layabouts who wouldn’t take jobs even if free beer were part of the deal. About 5,500 Houstonians have recently put the lie to this popular impression. That’s how many unemployed people applied for work when it was annnounced that 2,000 public service jobs would be available in street repair, trash disposal, rat control, and other civic services. The city’s receipt of $22 million in federal money will fund the jobs. For a solid week in June, about three persons a minute filed through the Albert Thomas convention center to sign up for work. Where’s the justice? More troubles for state supreme court Justice Don Yarbrough, this time of the life-and-death variety. On June 25, The Houston Post’s Tom Kennedy reported in a copyrighted story that last December Yarbrough approached former business associate Bill Rothkopf to propose the “elimination” of unemployed banker Bill Kemp. Kemp, in testimony offered to the Harris County grand jury, reportedly claimed that Yarbrough was involved in the forgery of a $200,000 letter of credit. Rothkopf told the Post reporter that Yarbrough wanted a Mexican national known only as “Pete” to kill Kemp and dispose of his body south of the border. The plan was abandoned early last month, Rothkopf said, because Yarbrough couldn’t raise the hit money and “the timing was bad.” Yarbrough is in trouble in Travis County too. Rothkopf told Harris County prosecutor Carol Vance about another forgery, this time one involving an automobile title. Rothkopf says that on May 16, Yarbrough came from his court chambers to an Austin motel room, where, wearing rubber gloves to guard against fingerprints, the 36-year-old jurist handed over a title to a car that Rothkopf was to use in return for leaving Houston and laying low during Yarbrough’s disbarment proceedings; the scheme was intended to prevent Rothkopf’s availabilty for testimony. Rothkopf said he signed the title “in bad handwriting” in the name of a third personall under Yarbrough’s supervision. Houston DA Vance has turned over all evidence of the alleged car-title forgery to Travis County DA Ronnie Earle. George Christian, Houston Natural Gas, and others lobbying the Legis lature this session for authority to build coal-slurry pipelines across Texas, ar July 1, 1977 9