ustxtxb_obs_1982_03_26_50_00014-00000_000.pdf

It 1 r About? White . . from page 1 that’s what I’ve done. I’ve also decided that you don’t just run because of your own political whims, you also ought to have some reason to be running for office, and that’s what I’m doing. There’s a need today for a new governor of Texas, not four years from now. How would you distinguish yourself from Governor Clements? Well I’m a Democrat! That’s a good start .. . And he is I don’t know what. But I think he’s made some bad decisions in his service in the governor’s office, and I think I have been in a better position to discover those decisions and how bad they were, because I’m the guy that has to clean up the messes he’s made. Prisons Could you give us some examples? Well, the prison case is a good one. He vetoed the second-year appropriation funding for prison construction, and tried to disguise not only the impact, but the reason for doing it. It was done to show tightfisted, fiscal conservative policies, when in fact it was one of the worst fiscal decisions that was ever made, not to mention the fact that in the middle of our lawsuit we’re telling the federal court that we’re doing everything that can be done to take care of overcrowded conditions in the prisons. And then he vetoes the appropriation in the middle of our argument, almost. It didn’t sit well with the court. It didn’t make good sense. Then he turns around and asks for an emergency appropriation in January for the following year. That money is yet to be in other words, we paid more for the prison than we would have, and we got less for it. To date, not a single prisoner resides in those dormitories that were to be built with the money that was appropriated for prison construction. I remind you that Rice University stadium was built in nine months. Before you get to run against Clements, you’ve got a couple of opponents in the primary to get by .. . That’s right. Got five, I think. Well, five two major ones. What distinguishes you from them? Oh, I think the major distinction should be that, uh, including a number of major considerations, one is that I think I can demonstrate that I can win in November, and I don’t think it makes much difference if you can’t win in November what you won in May. Neither of my opponents have ever run a serious campaign against a serious opponent. Both of your major opponents stress their legislative and administrative experiences as qualifications for the office of governor .. . And that may be one of their drawbacks as opposed to one of their positives. And their supporters frequently mention what they see as problems in the attorney general’s office during your time here. Frequently they talk about a dismantling of the consumer affairs department. Well, we ought to dismantle the whole state government than, if that’s what you suggest has occurred, because our consumer protection division has collected more money since I’ve been here than it has in any period of time in the past. So you would say .. . That’s just ridiculous. Utterly senseless. And they don’t really understand what consumer protection really is. They’ve been kind of bantam-roostering around, talking about consumer protection. Consumer protection doesn’t happen to arise in one division of this office; this whole agency is a consumer protection office. When we fight an antitrust suit, and we file a lawsuit in the energy department to hold down the price of hauling coal to Texas, that’s the biggest consumer protection lawsuit that’s ever been filed in the history of Texas. Will that be an emphasis in your if you were governor, would you emphasize consumer concerns? Well, I think that’s exactly what we’ve emphasized as attorney general .. . So you would continue that . . .? The price of electricity in Texas is a critical issue. We have two people running for this office that don’t know much about it. We have a governor that doesn’t care about it. Education What would be some other concerns that you would emphasize if you were governor? Well, I think education is one of the primary concerns, and that it’s one of the central responsibilities of state government, education. It has been since the origin of the state. And it’s one that I think today, as we have seen, that is deteriorating to the point that we’re losing our good teachers, and we’re not attracting new teachers. We’re increasing our student population, we have declining achievement levels all of the indicators of the quality of our educational dollar seems to be on the downturn and it doesn’t have to be that way. We have a governor who apparently has declared war on the teachers, and the teaching profession. That doesn’t have to be that way. Could you talk about what you might do specifically? Parisian Charm. Omelette & Champagne Breakfast. Beautiful Crepes. Afternoon Cocktails. Gallant Waiters. Delicious Quiche. Evening Romance. Continental Steaks. Mysterious Women. Famous Pastries. Cognac & Midnight Rendezvous. In short, it’s about everything a great European style restaurant is all about. h k or e an Olg . Cafe 310 East 6th St. Austin, Texas The $10 Program We invite organizations and individuals to sell new one-year Observer subscriptions. For each subscription the selling organization or individual will receive $10 commission. Like most publications, the Observer spends almost that obtaining a new subscription by mail. We prefer, however, that the money go to hard-working groups or individuals instead of to the post office and paper companies. Organizations and individuals authorized to sell subscriptions under the program will be provided with forms and sample copies. The only requirement is that individuals who wish to try this must have their own subscription paid up at the regular $20 rate. Commissions on subscriptions to be billed will be paid on receipt of the bill payment. Neither renewals nor subscriptions for a period shorter than a year receive commissions. If you want to take part in this program, contact the Observer at 600 W. 7th St., Austin, Tx. 78701, or phone 512-477-0746. No PAC’s or campaigns, please. 14 MARCH 26, 1982