ustxtxb_obs_1979_09_07_50_00021-00000_000.pdf

4z, tc.1..c.ot\\ BOIS IYAR CAFE Restaurant and Coffee Shop 1608 Lavaca 478-3281 201 E. Riverside 441-5331 32nd & Guadalupe 452-5010 Create a positive first impression with your next paper or report. Complete your project with one of our inexpensive bindings to create your own special effect. Remember, first impressions can have lasting effects. Call 476-9171 for details Copying is our middle name but not our only service Ginny’s Copying Service, Inc. Cong ress Austin, Texas Representation, Counseling, & Litigation for Political Action Committees on all PAC matters in the Capitol 812 San Antonio Street Suite 206, Austin, Texas Dowling & Wilson Attorneys-at-Law STEPHEN E AUSTIN HOTEL Comfortable rooms in an historic setting at reasonable rates. Meeting and banquet facilities.Free parking. Cocktails in Quiet AtmosST HEN’S phere, Happy Hour, Live piano entertainment Located 3 blocks from the Capitol 7th and Congress, Austin, Texas Reservations and information 512/476-4361 New outdoor French Cafe. Lunch, Supper & Cocktails C LAW crats while ignoring local Republicans. Most Republicans give Clements low marks in this nitty-gritty of politics building goodwill by putting in a kind word about someone at the right time and place, sharing the power that advance information represents, benefiting from local consultation, and so’ forth. But most also give the governor credit for being a “fast learner” and expect things to improve quickly. Looking ahead Bill Clements has been in office a scant eight months of a four-year term. He has been preoccupied with learning the ropes of state government, developing a legislative program, working with the Legislature, and raising money to pay his campaign debt. It is far too early to make a hard-and-fast judgment of him as a party builder. But another freshman Republican governor, Lee Dreyfus of Wisconsin, has attracted national attention by dealing successfully with a Democratic-controlled legislature while injecting new life into a listless state Republican Party. And he has maintained a standing in the polls even higher than Clements has attained in Texas. Clements has the means to match Dreyfus’ achievementif he will. A major test of his intentions will come later this year when Justice Sam Johnson leaves the Texas Supreme Court for a seat on the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. How Clements fills the vacancy is important not just because it is a seat on the state Supreme Court but because it is a statewide elective office. He will need to be creative to enhance Republican chances of winning the seat in the next general election. \(Appointing Texas’ first woman supreme court judge might be the way to do it. Able Republican women, such as Midland County Judge Barbara Culver and former State Rep. Kay Bailey Hutchiappoints a Republican who runs and wins in 1980, Republicans will have taken a statewide office away from the Democrats in two consecutive electionsan unprecedented achievement. Redistricting will bring another test of Clements’ effectiveness as a party builder. Nothing will occur during his administration with greater impact on party development. The governor’s veto power will make him the Legislature’s equal in the game of political hardball over redistricting. How skillfully he plays the game will make a big difference in the fortunes of his partyand in his own standing within the party. ‘ Doug Harlan, a former university professor, practices law in San Antonio. He is currently involved in GOP partybuilding efforts in Bexar County. THE TEXAS OBSERVER 21