UnManaged News

	Editorial: Cornyn best bet for Texas values Senate race vital for party power September 27, 2002
To paraphrase a popular Texas hymn: The eyes of the nation will be upon the Lone Star State on Election Day, Nov. 5. The power in the U.S. Senate hangs in the balance. . . . The major parties have nominated two sparkling candidates: Republican state Attorney General John Cornyn and Democratic former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk. One of them, though, is the better fit for Texas and for a nation engaged in an international war against terror. That person is John Cornyn. Cornyn has built a sparkling career in public service. He is a former state district judge in San Antonio, who later served on the Texas Supreme Court. He stayed on the court until he decided to run four years ago for state attorney general. He won that seat in 1998 and has served with distinction as the state's top lawyer. . . . Ron Kirk also is an impressive candidate. The former Dallas mayor and one-time Texas secretary of state possesses a considerable intellect and personal charisma, according to those who know him best. . . . The state's attorney general has earned his spurs in Texas and is poised to represent Texans' interest in the U.S. Senate.
	Sept. 21, 2002, 1:48PM Democrats to keep businessman in ad By JOHN WILLIAMS Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Political Writer
State Democratic party officials decided Friday to keep a Dallas businessman in an ad endorsing Ron Kirk for U.S. Senate, despite the man's acknowledgment of financial problems a decade ago.\| . . . ? Earlier this week, Kirk said he regretted his prior comment suggesting that Republican opponent John Cornyn might be more comfortable supporting war in Iraq because minority soldiers would do a disproportionate amount of the fighting. Kirk is black and Cornyn is white. Both support action to remove Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. ? He had to relocate a Boston fund-raiser after discovering that the lawyer hosting it has represented Swiss banks accused of hiding assets of Holocaust victims. ? He apologized to the Combined Law Enforcement Agencies of Texas after he accused Cornyn of playing politics for wanting juries to have more freedom in giving the death penalty to those who kill police officers. . . . The Democratic Party ad is an attempt to counter Cornyn's portrayal of Kirk as a liberal. In the commercial, called "Common Sense," Potashnik is one of several Dallas-area people who endorses Kirk and praises the job he did as mayor of that city. . . . In 1989, the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency sued Potashnik and another businessman to recover a $250,000 loan they received for a downtown nightclub called the Stock Exchange. . . .

	Sept. 23, 2002, 6:10AM Kirk's mayoral record both maligned, praised in Dallas by CLAY ROBISON Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau
AUSTIN -- The city charter may have intended Dallas' top office to be weak in terms of formal powers, but Ron Kirk was a strong mayor through the force of his personality and his well-heeled political connections. He also left behind strong opinions, pro and con, about his record at City Hall. . . . Detractors fault him for the priorities that he pushed -- big-budget items that appealed to businesspeople but, critics contend, came at the expense of some everyday, neighborhood needs. . . . Jesse Diaz, a Democrat and president of the Dallas chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens, was less impressed with Kirk's mayoral record and is supporting Republican senatorial nominee John Cornyn. "He (Kirk) totally ignored Hispanics who were elected to office and who were involved daily with issues," Diaz said. "The poor people never had a voice with Ron Kirk." . . . Kirk insists that he didn't ignore the neighborhoods because all the city's taxpayers benefited from his big-ticket priorities. . . . Now the Dallas economy is in a slump, sales tax revenue is down and budgetary shortfalls are threatened. . . . Donna Blumer, a former council member who was one of Kirk's harshest critics while he presided over City Hall, said the city's economic plight is made worse by the arena and Kirk's other commitments for which the council still must pay. Kirk's successor, Mayor Laura Miller, doesn't blame Kirk for the financial troubles and has declined to comment on the Senate race. But, first as a writer for the weekly Dallas Observer and later as a city councilwoman, Miller was almost constantly on Kirk's case while he was mayor. . . . In the article, in which she declared she would run for a vacant council seat, Miller called Kirk "our greatest natural resource -- the one man who, through the sheer force of his charm and personality, could move mountains, inspire greatness and generally improve the quality of life in Dallas for everyone." But, she added: "Too bad he is not free to be his own man. Too bad he is so incredibly flattered by all this newfound attention from the monied and powerful." A related controversy erupted when it became known that Kirk's wife, Matrice Ellis Kirk, had accepted a lucrative corporate board appointment from Tom Hicks, a Dallas businessman who was soon to purchase the Dallas Stars hockey team, shortly before Hicks began negotiating with the city for the new arena. Matrice Kirk resigned from the board of Chancellor Broadcasting Co. in February 1997 after negotiations began. But she kept her stock options and cashed in more than $275,000 worth through a successor company last year, according to income tax information released by Kirk's senatorial campaign. Blumer, a Republican who is supporting Cornyn for the Senate, said Matrice Kirk's appointment apparently was intended "to get Kirk on board for the arena deal," which includes $125 million in taxpayer subsidies. But the Kirks have denied any impropriety. . . . the Dallas Police Association has endorsed Cornyn. The Dallas Firefighters Association . . . U.S. Rep. Ken Bentsen, D-Houston, over Kirk in the Democratic primary. Blumer said that, . . . "He was hand-picked (for mayor) by the Dallas business community, the people who generally like to come to the city for funding for their big projects," she said. "Any big-ticket item was front and center on our agenda," she added. "Now, our streets are crumbling. Our basic services are lacking." To supplement his nominal city salary while he was mayor, Kirk drew a $200,000-plus annual salary from a major Dallas law firm, which he still collects even as he campaigns full time. . . . "Much to my dismay, Ron Kirk was a very effective lobbyist," said Tom "Smitty" Smith, director of the Texas office of Public Citizen, who was on the other side of the clean air fight. "Good lobbyists frequently change sides," Smith added. "However, there is a question. In a clutch vote in the Senate, who would he vote for?"