Little White Lies....

Bill White has been running a TV ad up in North Texas, where he is relatively unknown in an effort to introduce himself to the electorate. Most of the ad is typical politicial pablum except for the bit where he calls himself a successful businessman. At that point WFAA reporter Brad Watson's ears twitched. He knew that Bill White was not quite as successful as he is painting himself to be. Frontera Resources, which he founded in 1996 is a failure and is only worth pennies (six of them per share to be exact.) on the dollar today. He also noted that Bill White claimed to have lowered taxes six times as mayor of Houston, which is technically correct, but he also notes that since property values were on a steep incline at the time, the actual tax bills were skyrocketing, even while the tax RATE was declining. Way to mince words there Bill! And of course there is the vague promises about doing something about improving education and job training without any specifics as to what exactly he would do, and more importantly how to pay for it all.

Then there is the story filed by AP's Jay Root. It would seem that Bill White not only profited handily from recommending BTEC, a subsidiary of The Wedge Group (which he was on the board of directors of until he was elected mayor and in which he purchased a hefty amount of stock afterwards.) to the Coastal Water Authority (which the Mayor of Houston appoints the majority of the board members) for a no-bid emergency contract to supply gas turbine generators to keep the pumps running after Hurricane Ike. It would seem that not only did he use undue influence to direct a no-bid contract to a company he shortly thereafter purchased a large financial stake in, but he then used his position as mayor to intervene in a nasty billing dispute that arose as a result of the contract. Then shortly after the dispute was settled, he invested a million dollars in BTEC, and got half a million in profits back shortly thereafter. Nice work if you can get it if you ask me. But don't tell me this was all on the up and up here. I was born at night but not LAST night. Apparently neither was Jay Root. It isn't gambling if the game is rigged and you know what the result will be.

Why does this song come to mind I wonder?

Hat Tips: Kevin Whited, and an anonymous media insider who wishes to remain employed.