ustxtxb_obs_1987_01_09_50_00016-00000_000.pdf

POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE Mayor Worship v The cult of Henry-ismo is alive and well in San Antonio. After giving Mayor Henry Cisneros the only really criticial look he has ever received locally, however slight, during his recent battles with C.A. Stubbs over fluoridation and a spending cap and during his tiff with City Manager Lou Fox, the San Antonio press corps apparently decided to prostrate itself before its favorite son while it had a national audience in town. During the convention of the National League of Cities, held in San Antonio during the last two days of November and the first week of December, the San Antonio Light, in particular, made sure that city officials from around the country would return home envious of the cozy relationship the mayor, outgoing League of Cities president, and the press enjoy. The Light ran a front-page story in its November 30 Sunday edition, head lined: “Oh, Henry! First he wowed his city; now, the nation.” The piece begins: “The star of Henry Gabriel Cisneros burns bright not only deep in the heart of Texas but also across the face of America.” The paean to Cisneros includes the Mayor’s life story, complete with photographs. It ends with a discussion of the change in recent months of Cisneros’s “relationship with the city.” “Cisneros’ problem,” it reads, “is that San Antonians placed him on a pedestal when he first won the mayor’s office. And, while citizens revere their popular, persuasive mayor and bask in the reflected glory his national reputaion brings to the city, they also have made him a prime target for just about any complaint. . . . Some of the anxiety over Cisneros’ leadership, however, could be the peculiar jealousy of knowing that he someday will leave the city for which he has done so much. San Antonians seem unwilling to accept that others might want to elect Cisneros to another office as much as this city wants to keep him in the mayor’s chair. Maybe the city, in the words of pop psychology, should learn to let go of their favorite son. Or, like others in his life, it could learn to share his political dream wherever it leads.” Then, in a subsequent story, the Light assessed Cisneros’s fortunes at the end of the convention. The piece begins: “After a whirlwind, star-studded five days when National League of Cities conferees and Washington reporters alike hung on his every word, Mayor Henry Cisneros was back at City Hall Thursday. . . . ” The piece cites the “widespread publicity” Cisneros received, “all the exposure and all the adoration.” It highlights a quote from an unnamed “source,” who says of Cisneros, “His political presence lent more to that meeting than anyone would have ever hoped.” V The Consumer Federation of America reports that 13 new Senators are significantly more pro-consumer than their predecessors and that new House members include several proconsumer leaders. Several key Senate committees will be led by pro-consumer chairs. Lloyd Bentsen, however, incoming chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is not listed as a representative of consumer interests. Just Say “Defense” V An Austin woman has brought the first lawsuit against a private corporation in Texas over the issue of employee drug testing, according to Jim Harrington, legal director of the Texas Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the woman. Brenda L. Jennings said that Minco Technology Labs, Inc., violates her right to privacy by its program of randomly testing employees for drug use. A representative from Minco, which tests and distributes computer chips and other semiconductor devices for military and space contractors, said her company feels “very strongly, because of the defense of our country, that we have to implement this type of program.” Harrington said Jennings has a strong suit because it is based on the same legal principles as earlier suits that invalidated companies’ random use of polygraph tests on employees. On Her Knees V Women have an “inferiority complex” and should not be hired if they have “executive potential” or are “attractive,” according to Ortho Pharmaceutical, Inc., hiring guidelines. Ortho, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, specializes in developing and manufacturing prescription contraceptives. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission seeks to join a lawsuit against the company, claiming that Ortho’s Dallas division wrongly fired a sales representative because she became pregnant and because the company’s hiring directives stereotype women as inferior and discriminate against them in employment. In excerpts from Ortho’s letter to divisional managers, titled “Recruiting and Selection Standards,” July 1980, the company offers the following: ON UNDERSTANDING WOMEN “Women are more sensitive than men. They shame easier. They cry more often.” “Women have more social problems that create business problems.” PROFILE OF A FEMALE WORKER “She’s not ‘pretty,’ she’s not sexy, she should be neat, clean and without frills. She should have the look of someone who might clean her bathroom or kitchen on her hands and knees.” “She went to a state college, not a private university, and not recently.” SUMMARY “Women are a disadvantaged group in our society; it is in the corporate best interest to support and help them with as little attention drawn to this special assistance as possible.” V While the U.S. continues to provide funding for Star Wars and contra aid, we are not providing enough housing for our people. The House Select Committee on Hunger says that cities with large numbers of homeless people have waiting lists for public housing. It gives as examples: Houston, 7,000; New York City, 200,000; Chicago, 40,000; Boston, 12,500; Los Angeles, 27,000; Philadelphia, 10,000; San Francisco, 12,000; Washington, D.C., 12,000. Two for the Gipper V Sen. Phil Gramm declares he will not “get involved” in who should be the GOP presidential nominee in 1988. This means, in effect, that he will not support George Bush, his fellow Texan leading candidate in the polls. Craig Hines reported from the Washington bureau of the Houston Chronicle that Gramm irritated Bush in 1985 when he said: “I genuinely like Bush. I think he’s been a great vice president, probably the best we’ve ever had. The question is whether a great No. 2 guy is going to be a great No. 1 guy. Whether he would be the right candidate will depend on what the circumstances are. . . .” Gramm, by the way, voted for Reagan’s position on 100 percent of the 16 JANUARY 9,