Leveraging a Buyout:

August 14, 2007

TXU's Takeover Lobby
Cost About $17 Million

TXU and its suitors spent approximately $17 million in early 2007 to convince state officials not to impose significant consumer or environmental restrictions on the giant utility or its pending takeover by the Texas Pacific Group and Kolberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

This is about twice what TXU officials expected to spend on the session before the buyout plan became public in late February.1 TXU’s lobby push occurred as powerful legislators promised a major crack down on the company for exploiting the legislature’s disastrous 1999 deregulation of Texas electricity markets.

TXU Corp. and its buyout partners—calling themselves Texas Energy Future Capital Holdings (TEF)—ranked as the top lobby powers in Texas after AT&T.2 TXU Corp. spent up to $3.8 million on 65 Texas lobbyists during the 2007 legislative session. Its suitors spent up to $2 million on 21 additional lobby contracts.

TXU’s lobby effort did not stop there. During the session, its swarm of lobbyists reported spending almost $11 million on advertising and more than $200,000 on gifts to state officials.

Although lobbyists rarely specify which client benefited from such expenditures, half of the TXU-takeover lobbyists had no other client. The $10.9 million that Clifford Angelo of Public Strategies reported spending on ads accounted for the vast majority of all the spending by TXU lobbyists. Angelo’s sole client was Texas Energy Future Capital Holdings, the TXU-suitor group that ran a saturation ad campaign promoting the buyout.

Two exclusive TXU lobbyists—ex-lawmaker Curtis Seidlits, Jr. and Rudy Garza—reported almost $4,000 more in media expenditures.

TXU-Related Lobbyist Expenditures
( 2007 Session)

 Expenditure Type
Amount
 Media
$10,937,336
 Food & Beverages
$146,851
 Entertainment
$15,193
 Gifts
$18,401
TOTAL:
$11,117,781

 

The TXU -Takeover Lobby, June 2007

 
 Takeover Interest
No. of Lobbyists
Min. Value
of Contracts
Max. Value
of Contracts
 TXU Corp.
65
$1,970,000
$3,790,001
 TX Energy Future (TEF)
21
$1,500,000
$2,020,004
TOTALS:
86
$3,470,000
$5,810,005

 

Wining & dining

TXU lobbyists spent $146,851 wining and dining state officials and their staff. This may include the reported $6,000 that TXU spent to provide legislators and their aides with 2,400 breakfast tacos on the session’s opening day.3 Conveniently, the legislature rarely requires lobbyists to disclose what they bought for which officials. No such accountability is required, for example, unless a lobbyist spent more than $83 at one time wining, dining or entertaining an official.

TXU's Top Wine-Dine Lobbyists

 
 TXU-Tied Lobbyist
Lobby-Related
Food & Drink
Expenditures
 Total
No.
of Clients
 Mark Malone
$20,176
2
 Rudy Garza
$18,419
1
 Sabrina Thomas Brown
$13,100
21
 Stan Schlueter
$11,274
10
 Eddie Cavazos
$8,662
6
 Robert A. Floyd
$7,252
24
 *Kraege Polan
$6,098
19
 Paul M. Blanton
$5,822
1
 Christopher S. Shields
$5,253
24
*Lobbied for TEF and TXU (all others represented TXU)

Just two lobbyists itemized food and drink expenditures. TXU lobbyist Chris Shields reported spending up to $150 apiece to take Senators John Carona (R-Dallas), Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) and three aides to Sullivan’s Steakhouse in April. TXU lobbyist Kelli A. Rod reported spending up to $100 apiece at Sullivan’s on Reps. Chuck Hopson (D-Jacksonville) and Tommy Merritt (R-Longview) in February. That same day Rod spent up to $100 apiece more on the same two lawmakers at the Doubletree Guest Suites.

 

Lawmaker’s night out

TXU lobbyists Rudy Garza and Michael MacDougall reported spending up to $1,000 apiece to give San Antonio Spurs tickets to Rep. Rene Oliveira and Chief of Staff J.J. Garza. The tickets were for May 2, the night that the Spurs took an NBA semi-finals spot from the Denver Nuggets at AT&T Center.

TXU lobbyist Travis Jernigan reported spending up to $150 apiece on tickets to the Music Hall of Fair Park in Dallas for Rep. Wayne Christian (R-Center) and his wife. On the reported April ticket date this venue hosted a performance of the musical Wicked.

TXU's Top Entertainment Lobbyists

  TXU-Tied Lobbyist
Lobby-Related
Entertainment
Expenditures
 Total
No.
of Clients
 Rudy Garza
$4,669
1
 Mark Malone
$3,024
2
 *Michael G. MacDougall
$1,900
1
 Robert A. Floyd
$1,850
24
 Christopher S. Shields
$1,453
24
 Travis E. Jernigan
$1,035
1
*Lobbied for TEF (all others represented TXU).

 

Hunting other gifts

TXU lobbyist Dianne Yanaway generously spent $11,320 on political gifts. The only ones that she itemized, however, were the “calendar bases” worth up to $100 apiece that she gave to 27 freshmen legislators at the start of their first session.

TXU lobbyist Raul Liendo paid up to $430 a pop for the “deer processing” costs of 13 politicos—all of whom were male. The House’s deer hunters were Reps. Warren Chisum, Harvey Hiderbran, Charlie Howard, Carl Isett, Tracy King, Armando Martinez, Trey Martinez-Fischer and Buddy West, joined by Speaker Craddick’s counsel Royce Poinsett. Kip Averitt and Jeff Wentworth represented the Senate, joined by Senator Leticia Van De Putte’s aide Gilbert Loredo. Governor Perry’s Business Development Director Roberto DeHoyos also joined TXU’s March hunt.

TXU lobbyist Chris Shields gave Perry Legislative Director Ken Armbrister and his son-in-law, Greg Hnath, unspecified NCAA tickets worth up to $150 apiece in March.

TXU's Top Gift Lobbyists
 
 TXU Lobbyist
Lobby-Related
Gift Expenditures
Total
No.
of Clients
 Dianne Yanaway
$11,320
1
 Raul G. Liendo
$2,431
1
 Sabrina T. Brown
$1,386
21
 Kelli A. Rod
$912
1
 David A. Marwitz
$734
29
Note: All lobbied for TXU.

Governor Rick Perry was a TXU corporate cheerleader long before the start of the 2007 legislative session. During that session, TXU lobbyists focused their gift giving on the legislature, where some members—led by Senate Business & Commerce Chair Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay)—had threatened to give the powerful utility giant its belated comeuppance. TXU’s $17 million lobby helped derail any such plans.
 
Legislators and their staff members accounted for 89 percent of all gift expenditures reported by TXU-related lobbyists. Executive-branch officials and their staff members received 2 percent of the largess. Finally family members and other guests of Texas politicos accounted for 9 percent of the gift expenditures made by TXU lobbyists.

Gifts From TXU Lobbyists Favored the Legislature

 
 Recipient Category
 Recipients of
 TXU-Lobbyist Gifts
 Amount
 Legislative-Branch (89%)  Senators
$11,514
   Representatives
$69,475
   Legislative staff
$72,352
   All-legislator events
$27,591
 Executive-Branch (2%)  Executive officials
$545
   Executive staff
$3,920
 Family & Guests (9%)  Family of above
$9,818
   Guests of above
$8,485
 
TOTAL:
$203,700

 

TXU - Takeover Lobbyists, June 2007

 
 Takeover Lobbyist
Takeover
Client
Max. Value
of Contracts
Min. Value
of Contracts
Total No.
of Contracts
 Ronald Kirk
Both
*$351,001
$300,000
4
 Dennis L. Thomas
Both
$350,000
$250,000
6
 Frederick M. Goltz
TEF
*$200,001
$200,000
1
 Marc Lipschultz
TEF
*$200,001
$200,000
1
 Michael G. MacDougall
TEF
*$200,001
$200,000
1
 Curtis L. Seidlits, Jr.
TXU
*$200,001
$200,000
1
 Randall H. Erben
TEF
$200,000
$150,000
32
 Michael Kelly
TEF
$150,000
$100,000
1
 Mark Malone
TXU
$150,000
$100,000
2
 Paul M. Blanton
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
1
 Marc H. Burns
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
1
 David H. Cain
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
7
 Jan Caldwell
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
1
 Eddie Cavazos
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
6
 Keith R. Fullenweider
TEF
$100,000
$50,000
1
 Lisa A. Garcia
TEF
$100,000
$50,000
4
 Rudy Garza
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
1
 Leigh Ing
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
12
 Nick James
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
5
 Travis E. Jernigan
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
1
 Elizabeth B. Jones
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
1
 James K. Keller
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
1
 Raul G. Liendo
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
1
 Daniel F. McClung
TEF
$100,000
$50,000
2
 Mignon McGarry
TEF
$100,000
$50,000
22
 Paul T. McKaig
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
1
 William A. Moore
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
1
 Kraege Polan
Both
$100,000
$50,000
19
 Jack Roberts
TEF
$100,000
$50,000
24
 Stan Schlueter
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
10
 John W. Self
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
1
 Barry A. Williamson
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
7
 Dianne Yanaway
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
1
 Mance Zachary
TXU
$100,000
$50,000
1
 Eric Blakey
TXU
$50,000
$25,000
1
 Robert D. Culley
TXU
$50,000
$25,000
17
 Pamela Shawn Glacken
TXU
$50,000
$25,000
1
 Christie L. Goodman
TXU
$50,000
$25,000
7
 Toby Goodman
TXU
$50,000
$25,000
7
 Suzanne Hogan
TXU
$50,000
$25,000
1
 Walter E. Jordan
TXU
$50,000
$25,000
1
 Andrew Kever
TEF
$50,000
$25,000
2
 Michael T. McCall
TXU
$50,000
$25,000
1
 William K. Oakley
TXU
$50,000
$25,000
7
 Thomas W. Rose
TXU
$50,000
$25,000
1
 Paul L. Sadler
TXU
$50,000
$25,000
3
 Christopher S. Shields
TXU
$50,000
$25,000
24
 Loran Wade Stansell
TXU
$50,000
$25,000
1
 Stephanie M. Strother
TXU
$50,000
$25,000
1
 Courtney S. Walker
TXU
$50,000
$25,000
1
 Sabrina Thomas Brown
TXU
$25,000
$10,000
21
 James A. Burke
TXU
$25,000
$10,000
1
 Bryan P. Eppstein
TXU
$25,000
$10,000
29
 Robert A. Floyd
TXU
$25,000
$10,000
24
 John Michael Grimes
TXU
$25,000
$10,000
29
 Ron Hinkle
TXU
$25,000
$10,000
9
 David A. Marwitz
TXU
$25,000
$10,000
29
 Paul W. Plunket III
TXU
$25,000
$10,000
1
 Timothy J. Reeves
TXU
$25,000
$10,000
27
 John T. Shults
TXU
$25,000
$10,000
26
 Jay B. Stewart
TXU
$25,000
$10,000
17
 Julie Williams
TXU
$25,000
$10,000
12
 Debra L. Anderson
TXU
$10,000
$0
1
 Clifford Angelo
TEF
$10,000
$0
1
 Luke Bellsnyder
TXU
$10,000
$0
17
 David P. Duncan
TXU
$10,000
$0
1
 Ella M. Ellis
TXU
$10,000
$0
9
 David Gill
TXU
$10,000
$0
1
 Charles H. Girard
TEF
$10,000
$0
22
 Eric Glenn
TXU
$10,000
$0
22
 James W. Haley
TXU
$10,000
$0
16
 Peggy Hamric
TXU
$10,000
$0
13
 John Hildreth
TEF
$10,000
$0
1
 John L. Howard, Jr.
TEF
$10,000
$0
5
 C. L. Matthews
TEF
$10,000
$0
6
 Kelli A. Rod
TXU
$10,000
$0
1
 Bernard Rothschild
TXU
$10,000
$0
19
 Gwyn C. Shea
TXU
$10,000
$0
15
 Jon Michael Sherburne
TXU
$10,000
$0
1
 Usha-Maria Turner
TXU
$10,000
$0
1
 Kwame Walker
TEF
$10,000
$0
11
 Autry L. Warren
TXU
$10,000
$0
1
 Brian G. Yarbrough
TEF
$10,000
$0
32
 
TOTALS:
$5,811,005
$3,470,000
678
*This contract value is unknown since it includes a contract worth “$200,000 or more.”
Note: 83 lobbyists worked 86 contracts, with three lobbyists representing TXU and TEF.

 


1 See “TXU fights for 11 new coal plants,” Houston Chronicle, February 11, 2007.
2 AT&T spent up to $9.6 million on 127 lobby contracts during the 2007 legislative session.
3 “TXU fights for 11 new coal plants,” Houston Chronicle, February 11, 2007.