Perry has a problem with public relations
February 15, 2007
The appearance of a conflict of interest in enough to raise questions about the governor's judgment.
Written by the Editorial Board, San Antonio News-Express
Whoever is handling Gov. Rick Perry's public relations these days ought to get a refresher course in Conflicts of Interest 101. One fact taught in that field is that perception matters as much as reality. Even if something is innocent enough, it may not appear that way to the public. Politicians must walk that line carefully. Perry has hopscotched right over it. First, Perry mandated the controversial vaccine Gardasil, which is aimed at curbing cervical cancer, for young girls. That's a worthy goal, but amid an uproar about the governor's unorthodox use of executive power, it turned out Perry's former chief of staff, Mike Toomey, is a high-placed lobbyist for Merck, the company that manufactures the drug. Nothing wrong here, the governor says. Now we find out that Perry's 23-year-old son, Griffin, starts work today at UBS, one of the investment firms the governor is consulting on a proposed multibillion-dollar lottery sale. If the sale goes through and UBS is involved, the firm could take in millions in consulting fees. Gubernatorial spokesman Robert Black said the employment of Perry's son has nothing to do with the governor's proposal. "Trying to connect them is a myth," Black said. That may be. But it's no myth that elected officials often get embroiled in conflicts of interest. And it's no myth that constituents have a legitimate reason for concern when public officials have personal ties to firms that could be doing business with the government. Citizens have a right to expect full disclosure from their elected officials. (Did we mention that the vice chairman of UBS is former U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm, a staunch supporter of Perry in the past?) At the very least, Perry has demonstrated a remarkable lack of political acumen in both instances. Enter Conflicts of Interest 101. For instance, in issuing the vaccine order, Perry should have acknowledged early on that Toomey is a lobbyist for Merck. On the lottery plan, Perry could have gotten in front of the criticism by saying his son was getting at job at UBS, but that Griffin Perry would be working in a department that has no connection to the proposal. He did neither of those things. And now he is paying for it. Failure to address potential conflicts of interest interferes with debate on the merits of a proposal and will hamper the governor's agenda. It's time to go back to school.
Fair Use Notice
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond "fair use", you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.