By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator
Dallas, TX – See, look what happens. I go out of state for a couple of days and Governor Perry appoints a highly successful business lobbyist as his chief of staff, which is bad news for the consumer. Why didn't he just call me first? I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Middays.
Now, every chief of staff is different, but the core responsibilities are pretty standard. Newly appointed Mike Toomey will be in charge of what policy priorities will be pursued and what staff is hired, at the minimum. The problem here is what Toomey did before this appointment. He had a successful lobbying business with such clientele as AT&T, Philip Morris, and Texans For Lawsuit Reform.
Let's start with the last. Texans For Lawsuit Reform is a group of classic businesses that are working to make it harder for consumers to sue companies, for class-action lawsuits to be null and void, and for the little guy to have no recourse against big business. Homebuilders, tobacco and insurance companies make up the bulk of companies that are part of Texans For Lawsuit Reform. And all these companies with all their money have a right to lobby. But the fact that Toomey represented them in the legislature is troubling.
Governor Perry issued a statement that Mike Toomey would sever all previous ties with his past business. What's he gonna get? A new life? A lobbyist by sheer definition takes conviction and a solid belief in what you're doing. "To try to influence public officials for or against a specific cause." We're not talking selling used cars here. How quickly we've forgotten why former SEC chairman Harvey Pitt quit. Though the physical ties were broken, he still carried his philosophies with him and found it hard forget about his old cronies. Pitt was a former attorney for large accounting firms, another job that takes conviction. So can Toomey do that - really severe his ties? Or maybe he's not being asked to. Obviously Governor Perry chose him for a reason. The first test will be what Perry and Toomey do for the Texas Homeowner and the insurance nightmare we can't wake up from. I, for one, will be watching him like a hawk. For KERA Marketplace Middays, I'm Maxine Shapiro.
Marketplace Midday Reports air on KERA 90.1 Monday - Friday at 1:04 p.m. To contact Maxine Shapiro, please send emails to mshapiro@kera.org.