Presentation of Resolution on Taxes,"
November 9, 1991
Patricia Smith, Joe McCord, James Stewart, Bob Bullock,
Cynthia Gray, and Sam Stone
TLA Archives, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
We had the honor and privilege of knowing a truly great man and a great Texan. In 10 years of correspondence and a few meetings, Bob Bullock always said what he thought, meant what he said, and never made a commitment he did not keep. Bob Bullock was a friend to librarians, a benefactor to libraries, and an extremely skilled teacher about how political business is done.
McCord: Bob Bullock announced his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor early in 1988, more than two years before the election in 1990. In March 1988, I received a routine request for a campaign contribution from the TL-PAC. Following normal procedure for unsolicited requests, I wrote back explaining that ours is a small PAC and was practically broke at the time. Normally, such responses from the PAC go unanswered, but we learned then that Bob Bullock was not a "normal" politician. Not only did he respond, his response caught our attention. "I would love to have simply your confidence in my candidacy and a good word on my behalf and that's something money can't buy. I also appreciated your pointing out that Governor Hobby has always been supportive of both public and academic libraries. I would like to say that I share his attitude. In my books, excellence in education and libraries go hand in hand. Texas can ill afford to fall short on either." A few weeks later, Wayne Sellers was surprised to receive an equally personal response to a letter in which Gov. Bullock wrote, "As to state aid for libraries, I think it goes hand-in-hand with our education system. They more than complement each other - they are mutual necessities."
Stewart: Sam Stone, TLA legal counsel, knew Bob Bullock and encouraged our support of him. Sam told us Bullock never forgot a friend, or an enemy. In April 1988, the PAC board approved a small contribution to the Bullock campaign. Although the PAC contributions over the years were quite small (an average of about $1,200 per year), he never forgot that we were among his earliest supporters.
Stewart: The first time we met Bob Bullock was at a fundraiser in the fall of 1988. Joe and I were no longer novices at such
events, having gone through a Gib Lewis affair under Sam Stone's direction. When we had looked longingly at the steaks, Sam had instructed
us to mingle since we had made a contribution not to eat, but to mix with the senators and representatives and to shake hands with
the Speaker. When the Bullock event occurred we were seasoned pros, but we were still unprepared. It was a Bullock crowd, and we
were privileged to see several more over the years. There was big hair and pot bellies, silk and satin, denim and diamonds. There was
whooping and how yews and the tinkle of ice in hundreds of glasses. We dutifully greeted everyone in sight, showed our name badges, which
said TL-PAC, and hoped for the best. Our encounter with Bullock was brief. It was just a few words of introduction and a handshake
accompanied by a friendly pat on the shoulder. Joe figured out later and explained to me that the friendly left hand on the shoulder was actually
to keep the greeting line moving, but it was done so gently and smoothly that neither of us noticed it at the time.
Among others we saw Ann Richards, who once told me that Bob Bullock knew
everybody. Bullock had arranged a sit down dinner,
a slick slide presentation, and a little speechifying. In his remarks he spoke of the people who had helped him. He spoke of Ann
Richards meeting his plane when he came back from Betty Ford's clinic. He introduced his family. The man loved people, and he conveyed that.
I believe it was that evening that he first concluded, "God Bless Texas!" Joe and I walked out and knew we had witnessed
something phenomenal.
McCord: The 1991 legislature was the first session in which Bob Bullock presided over the Texas Senate, and it was the first session in which the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board requested funding for TexShare. In very tough economic times, the legislature was preoccupied in the regular and two special sessions with the necessity of cutting spending. New programs had no chance of funding. That was also the session in which Gov. Bullock proposed scrapping the entire state tax system and instituting a personal income tax. Since TLA was probably the only organization in Texas which supported the proposal, Bob Bullock suffered a rare political defeat.
Stewart: We had a meeting with Bullock during that session and it was to prove very instructive. We walked in six or eight strong but had not designated a spokesman nor had we written a script. Bullock quickly greeted us; joked with Sam Stone and Wayne Sellers and all of a sudden our time was up without an issue being raised successfully.
McCord: After those bruising sessions, TLA approved a resolution commending Gov. Bullock for his courage in proposing a solution to the antiquated state tax structure. Governor Bullock met with a TLA delegation delivering the resolution. This time we had selected a speaker and we had an agenda in case he would listen a bit after we presented the resolution. In fact he walked in the door saying he thought he knew where he could get us a million. He listened intently to our presentation of library issues and reiterated his support of libraries. At one point in the conversation, he again remarked that it should be possible to find a million or so for libraries, if that would be enough to help. We assured him that it would and that we would provide a detailed proposal shortly.
The unfunded TexShare proposal had been for $3 million. The proposal was modified to indicate what parts could be accomplished with $1 million. One of the Lt. Gov.'s talented staff, Andrea Morgan, was assigned to work with us and succeeded in short order in boiling 20 pages of academic verbiage down to a three page document which justified a budget transfer of $800,000 to $1 million for TexShare. It should be noted that the recommended action, i.e., funding a new program by budget transfer between sessions of the legislature, would have been a rare, perhaps unique, event. The Legislative Budget Board, co-chaired by the Lt. Gov. and Speaker, has the authority - only when the legislature is not in session - to transfer funds between state agencies, but the authority is rarely exercised except in response to emergencies.
Stewart: Since Joe mentioned Andrea Morgan, I have to tell you all of our most embarrassing moment during the Bullock years. We wanted to express our gratitude to Andrea for her invaluable assistance in creating a document that would be read. We remembered the advice that Ann Richards had offered at a TLA conference program, and we decided to send flowers to Andrea. We called Pat Smith who then ordered up a humdinger batch of roses. Shortly afterwards Andrea called us, thanked us for the flowers. Several days later she called and asked about the cost of the flowers. In the interim she had attended a workshop on the new "Ethics Law," and we had run afoul of it. She could not accept the gift and was required to reimburse us for a rather expensive bouquet. Despite our best efforts, we never could contrive a method to right the situation.
McCord: Gov. Bullock had intended to effect the budget transfer at the LBB meeting in January, 1992, but that was not possible because the legislature was called into a special session to deal with the ongoing budget crisis. As a result of the special session, when the LBB next met in March, it had the onerous charge of finding $100 million in budget cuts. Under those circumstances, funding a new program became politically and practically impossible. However, Bob Bullock kept his word as soon as it did become possible. Even though the fiscal climate in 1993 was similar to that of 1991, the budget recommended by the LBB included funding for TexShare, which was the only request for new money from the Higher Education Coordinating Board granted that session. When a TLA delegation visited Gov. Bullock on Legislative Day 1993, we presented the idea of a school library project including networking and a union catalog at a cost of $1.3 million. Turning to an aide, Gov. Bullock asked whether the money could be found for the project. The response was immediate and positive. Beyond a doubt, the creation and funding of TexShare and the Texas Library Connection (TLC) by the 1993 Legislature would simply not have happened without the interest and support of Bob Bullock.
Stewart: Bob Bullock enjoyed a good laugh as well as any other good ol' boy. During the 1993 session he flew to Beaumont for a ceremony at Lamar University. Lamar had requested a major budget increase, and when Bullock greeted the President he without preamble told him, " Dr. So- and-So, you can forget your request, things are tight." Looking down the reception line Bullock spied Joe McCord, then Library Director at Lamar, and bellowed, "Don't worry Joe, we'll get your million for you!"
McCord: In 1994, TLA recognized the contributions of Gov. Bullock with the Outstanding Services to Libraries Award. Since he could not attend the conference in Corpus Christi, the award was accepted on his behalf by his chief of staff, Wardaleen Belvin. In her remarks, Ms. Belvin stated that Gov. Bullock supported libraries and that "support" meant "money." The veracity of that statement became apparent at the 1995 Legislative Day. It was after Bullock had undergone major surgery, and we were told Bullock was still recovering and could not join us. The TLA delegation meeting with Ms. Belvin was informed that Gov. Bullock looked over the recommendations of the Senate Finance committee, and stated in a staff meeting, "We need to do something for my libraries." The 'something' turned out to be the $2.5 million which funded Project Link, connecting many public libraries to the Internet two or three years before TIF funds materialized.
Stewart: In that meeting of 1995, when Ms Blevin was trying to tell us just how unusual it was for any changes to be made after the Senate Finance committee had reported, the door suddenly opened and in walked Bullock himself. He shook every hand in the room, did a drive-by blessing of us - and our institutions - and walked out. We were pleased; of course, his staff was in a state of shock. Bullock was simply not seeing anyone, but he made time for us.
McCord: If, as happened on occasion, Bob Bullock did not agree with a request or recommendation, he did not hesitate to let us know. For example, in preparing for the expansion of TexShare in the 1997 Legislature, we requested interim House and Senate committees to study library cooperation. Although the House Committee, chaired by Bob Hunter, was appointed, there was no counterpart in the Senate. Gov. Bullock's response to the request concluded: "In the last interim period, we had a number of interim committees, and the attendance by Senators was miserable. I will take a look at an interim committee on library projects, but that is the best I can promise in light of the attendance last interim. It is getting to be ridiculous." In fact, the House committee was sufficient. Although the bill expanding TexShare to all academic libraries originated in the House, the support of the Lt. Gov. assured its passage in the Senate.
Stewart: Bullock's handshake on a deal was his bond. He was the epitome of a classic Texan, bold, loud, and steadfast in his support of the best interests of Texas and its citizens. While many have remarked on his quick temper, we never saw it. In receiving lines he would greet us with "Here's my librarians." We never doubted his sincerity; he never gave us any reason for doubt.
McCord: I know of no individual who did more, or even nearly as much, for Texas Libraries -and for Texas - than did Bob Bullock.
Stewart: Amen.
James Stewart is director of the Victoria Public Library. Joe McCord is executive director of the Neumann Library, University of Houston at Clear Lake.
