Perry’s system of patronage and cronyism

I spoke on the phone to TPJ’s Andrew Wheat, who went through a number of the cases documented in the report. He told me that Perry “very much” runs a system built on cronyism. In a separate report titled “Governor Perry’s Patronage” TPJ found “Texas Governor Rick Perry tapped 3,995 appointees 5,662 times to serve on hundreds of state agencies, boards and commissions between January 2001 and February 23, 2010 (some appointees were appointed multiple times). From 2001 through June 2010 Perry’s campaign received $17,115,865 from 921 of these appointees or their spouses. Gubernatorial appointees accounted for an impressive 21 percent of the $83.2 million that Perry’s campaign has raised since 2001.” Wheat says he was shocked to learn that “one in five dollars came from people he appointed to office. It’s clearly a patronage system.”

Perry is not unique among Texas governors, but Wheat says, “Nobody has ever appointed this many people as this governor.” By virtue of his longevity in office, Perry therefore has appointed more donors to posts than any predecessor. Wheat tells me, “There is also a clear pattern of retribution.”