Yesterday, while sifting through a records request, we stumbled across an interesting event in the calendar of liberal Democratic State Rep. Garnet Coleman of Houston:
Calendar Event
Tuesday April 19, 2011 – Clyde Alexander inviting GC Todd Hunter Steve Mostyn and a few other dems to dinner with (coat and tie required, no cell phones allowed)
Location: Tarry House Tarrytown
POC: Clyde Alexander
What does this mean? Well, “GC” is Garnet. Clyde Alexander is a former Democratic state representative who served as Joe Straus’ first chief of staff in 2009 (when Straus was elected to Speaker of the House by Democrats and a few liberal Republicans). Steve Mostyn is a trial lawyer and liberal Democrat mega-donor.
Formerly a Democrat Rep., Todd Hunter is a Republican with liberal ties who Joe Straus has given vast power in the Texas House.
Hunter is the self-described legislation gatekeeper of the Texas House. In an interview following the session, Hunter boasted that bills made it to the floor only through him. A noteworthy bill that did not make it past Hunter: spending limits legislation, the legislation that enjoys 90%+ support in the GOP.
Speaker Straus has spoken dismissively of Rick Perry’s budget compact, including a spending limit and left the popular measure out of his interim charges.
This isn’t the first time Hunter and Mostyn have been caught hanging out. Todd Hunter mediated a lawsuit against TWIA that netted Mostyn $189 million, which he in turn funneled into Democrat campaigns in 2010. Shortly before the mediation began, Mostyn sent Hunter a $25,000 contribution.
It certainly doesn’t surprise us that Mostyn got what he asked for out of the mediation.
At the time of this April 2011 “no cell phones” meeting, legislation reforming TWIA was being pushed through both bodies of the legislature.
One can only wonder what all Mostyn is expecting from Hunter and the Straus team in 2013.
Currently, Mostyn is locked in a pitched proxy war with Texans for Lawsuit Reform, largely in Republican primaries.
By submitting a comment you grant AgendaWise a perpetual license to reproduce your words and name/web site in attribution. Inappropriate and irrelevant comments will be removed at an admin’s discretion.