ustxtxb_obs_1980_08_22_50_00014-00000_000.pdf

Bullock Does Good; Karma Follows Comptroller Bob Bullock is the only statewide official so far to come out on the side of a federal court order requiring Texas schools to educate the children of illegal aliens. While Republican Gov. Bill General Mark White are moaning and plotting appeals about the decision of U.S. Dist. Court Judge Woodrow Seals which declared unconstitutional Texas’ 1975 law excluding alien children from public schools, Bullock has rallied with some clear figures. Bullock estimates that not more than 20,000 to 50,000 school-aged illegal aliens are in Texas. That would represent no more than 2 percent of the 2.6 million pupils currently enrolled in state schools. Besides, says Bullock, the $40 million it might cost to cover the extra children comprises only 1.4 percent of the state’s share of the education budget, a hefty $2.8 billion. And the money the illegal alien children cost is probably offset by what their parents fo k over while ,wor inwin Texas. “Illegal iens l hav,t,been ying sales p a d o ws I tax, motor vehicle tax asofine tax just like Texas residents. Some may treat them as second-class citizens, but they are first-class taxpayers,” said Bullock. “Frankly, it’s time we quit worrying about where some kid was born and start worrying about what kind of education all our kids are getting.” Bullock is reportedly taking heat both in and out of Austin for his support of alien education. In an unrelated event, \(perhaps as a kind of cosmic justice for showing he can lock was treated to the news in late July that former Supreme Court Justice Ruel Walker has upheld Bullock’s position in a bitter quarrel with the Travis County grand jury. In a special ruling, Walker ordered a portion of an October 1978 grand jury report [Ms., March 15] criticizing Bullock’s office operations expunged from the public record. Walker left intact that portion of the report which dealt with non-Bullock matters. The October 1978 panel had, among other things, investigated various allegations made by Bullock’s former tax information director, Bill Collier. No indictment of Bullock was made, but the jury issued some sharp observations concerning the conduct of the comptroller’s office. Bullock maintained that if the jury had no cause for indictment, it had no cause for freelance criticism, and filed suit to have the panel’s remarks stricken. Justice Walker, called in because the case was too hot politically for most Travis County jurists, agreed with Bullock, saying, “Texas law does not authorize such a report by a grand jury.” Walker’s ruling applies only to the Bullock case, but it may serve as a legal warning to other grand juries across the state. Said Bullock, “This decision provides rotection and a remedy for any person regardless of their station in life who is maliciously maligned by a grand jury for whatever reason be it politically inspired, economically motivated or a simple personal vendetta.” Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, who worked with the 1978 grand jury and who has been feuding with Bullock ever since, said he wouldn’t appeal Walker’s decision. Moore, GOP Target Caperton The defeat of state Sen. Bill Moore in the May 3 Democratic primary has created a kind of power vacuum in the senatorial district around Brazos County, and a coalition of Republicans and conservative Democrats are hoping to plug it with somebody other than Moore’s vanquisher, Bryan attorney Kent Caperton. By all rights, the burden of trying to beat Caperton in a traditionally Democratic district should go to N.A. McNeil, the retired Texas A&M professor who has filed as the GOP candidate. And McNeil probably will be the Republican challenger in November, but it’s not because his brother Republicans haven’t tried to find somebody else. Almost as soon as the Democratic primary results showing Caperton had ended Moore’s 32-year senate career were out, word began spreading that GOP “heavyweights” wanted McNeil to resign in favor of someone with more pizazz. One of McNeil’s friends was approached by backers saying they’d provide $100,000 to a Republican campaign against Caperton if McNeil resigned. McNeil says his friend told the backers to forget it and didn’t even approach McNeil about the offer. Who was behind this? Well .. . Gov. Bill Clements called McNeil to Austin for a chat. The governor said there were three requirements for a successful campaign. McNeil says he met one of them: being a dedicated candidate. The governor’s other two criteria were having a good campaign organization and finding adequate funding. McNeil says he’s working on each. McNeil has named an acting campaign manager, Duane Olney, who is unabashed by the early dump-McNeil feints. “We’re looking forward to the campaign very optimistically,” says Olney, a 48-year-old landscape architect from Brenham. Olney says the campaign now has sufficient financial backing. He also believes a strong Reagan showing in the presidential race could pump a lot of votes into the McNeil column. Olney expects support from Democrats who had backed Moore. “Some of the heavyweights are switching to our side,” he says. Apparently, one of the heavyweights is the Bull of the Brazos himself, who has made it clear he won’t do anything on Caperton’s behalf and is believed to be helping the McNeil-forSenator effort. McNeil, who says “there is no love lost between Moore and Caperton,” won’t deny Moore’s assistance. “I’ve been running since February 4th, but it wasn’t really until May 3rd that I knew who I was running with,” McNeil says. Greg Moses \\ I / Journal 14 AUGUST 22, 1980 ‘