I can't even think of a good snarky intro to this, so I'll just say it: Governor Perry's son has been hired by one of the financial consulting outfits involved in the proposed Lottery sell-off.
UBS, one of two large financial firms consulting with the governor's office over the possible sale of the Texas lottery, hired Gov. Rick Perry's son to work in its Dallas office about two weeks ago.The governor's office said that there is no relationship between the two events and that Griffin Perry, 23, is a bright young economist who is pursuing a career on his own merits.
"He stands on his own two feet. And he got this job on his own," press secretary Robert Black said Monday.
[...]
Karina Byrne, a UBS spokeswoman, said that Griffin Perry was hired for a specific program in which about a dozen entry-level employees rotate through various parts of the company. The company has 11 such programs nationwide.
"We have a vigorous interview and application process. He would have been subjected to the same criteria that would have applied to any other young person applying for the associate program," Ms. Byrne said.
She said the fact that his father is governor would not have weighed into the calculation.
Most likely, this won't amount to anything, especially given the cold shoulder that the Lottery sell-off plan has received. And for a lot of officeholders' children, this would be barely worth a passing mention, not an actual news story. But with Governor Perry's deep and abiding commitment to cronyism, how can anyone not be derisive? There is no benefit of the doubt left to be had.
Posted by Charles Kuffner on February 14, 2007 to Jackpot!At the very least, this shows how oblivious Rick Perry is to political realities. But what would we expect of a governor who received only 39% of the votes in his own state, but is being touted as vice presidential material and says he is running for re-election. What's his goal next time around? 42%?
Posted by: Dennis on February 14, 2007 7:44 AMLet's be honest, one would be hard-pressed to find a financial and consulting firm doing business in Texas that does NOT have some matter of business with the State of Texas.
I'm a Republican that didn't vote for Perry and I'm not averse to criticizing the him....when it's fair. This story reaches a bit beyond that in my estimation.
Posted by: Patrick on February 14, 2007 4:30 PM