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Friday, February 21, 1997

Senator's arrest adds lore to rogue's gallery of Texas pols

By MICHAEL HOLMES Associated Press Writer

AUSTIN (AP) - The arrest of a state senator in an undercover prostitution sting is the latest in a long line of missteps that have helped give Texas politics its rogue's gallery reputation.

Those deeds ranged from resume padding to paying college football players to a legislator having himself shot.

An agriculture commissioner stuck his arm down a fire ant mound and was bitten 32 times. A gubernatorial candidate listed his occupation as "alleged racketeer."

Not even presidential hopefuls escaped. Petitions seeking places on the Texas ballot for three Republican candidates in the 1988 primary included numerous forgeries, including signatures of Democrats and the dead.

"Over the years, state officials and legislators have been indicted for bribery, perjury, promotion of prostitution, pornography, using state employees for campaign purposes, cocaine delivery and cattle rustling," says the "Political History of Texas," published by the Texas Almanac.

Sen. Drew Nixon, R-Carthage, whose official Senate biography describes him as favoring "a strong criminal justice system," was missing from the Senate Thursday and has refused to comment on his arrest and jailing this week.

Austin police say Nixon, 37, was charged with offering undercover officer Christine Shelton $35 to perform oral sex. Ms. Shelton also said Nixon had a 9-mm handgun in his car at the time.

Nixon's arrest made him the latest Texas pol to hit the headlines for something other than politicking. Newspaper archives and the Political History book are filled with stories:

- Then-Rep. Michael Martin, R-Longview, in 1981 catapulted into the national spotlight after being shot in the arm. He blamed the shooting on a Satanic cult. His cousin, Charles Goff, said Martin hired him to shoot him with a shotgun as a publicity stunt in hopes of winning a Senate seat. Martin left office.

- In 1982, Agriculture Commissioner Reagan Brown stuck his hand down a fire ant mound as TV cameras rolled. During that same losing campaign, Brown used a racial slur to describe black educator Booker T. Washington. He blamed the insult on food poisoning from a "bad turkey sandwich in Laredo."

- Former Gov. Bill Clements acknowledged after taking office a second time in 1987 that, while he was chairman of the Southern Methodist University Board of Governors, the board authorized continued payments to football players. "Ponygate" brought a few calls for impeachment, but Clements served out the term.

- Former House Speaker Gus Mutscher, an aide and another House member were found guilty of conspiring to accept a bribe in the Sharpstown stock fraud scandal. He completed four years' probation and later was elected a county judge.

- Former House Speaker Gib Lewis, who held that post for a decade, bumped into ethics laws twice. In his first term as speaker he pleaded no contest to failing to disclose holdings in a number of firms in his official financial statements. In his last term, he pleaded no contest to ethics charges and didn't seek re-election.

- Former Supreme Court Justice Don Yarbrough was indicted for lying to a grand jury, faced impeachment proceedings and resigned in 1977, about six months after taking office.

- Stanley Adams Jr., a former owner of Lamar Savings Association who faced federal charges in the thrift's failure, entered the Democratic gubernatorial primary in 1990. On filing papers, he listed his occupation as "alleged white-collar racketeer." He lost.

- Former Rep. David London was found guilty of stealing five head of cattle from a Wills Point rancher in June 1982. He said he was framed by political rivals but lost a re-election bid.

- GOP presidential hopefuls Bob Dole, Pete du Pont and Alexander Haig found themselves with forged petitions in 1988. Testimony at the trial of a Houston political consultant said teen-agers were hired, given free beer and told to sign phony names during a forgery party.

- Lena Guerrero, a former House member, resigned her Railroad Commission post in 1992 after acknowledging that she lied for 12 years about being an honors graduate of the University of Texas. She had no diploma, apologized to voters but lost her election bid.

Not all politicians saw their careers end so abruptly, however.

In 1974, Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby pleaded no contest to a drunken driving charge. "I hope the people of Texas will judge me on the basis of all my actions and not just this one instance," he said. They did. He served as lieutenant governor for another 16 years. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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