Former gubernatorial challenger Medina takes aim at Perry ‘cronyism’
Janet Ahmad, president of Homeowners for Better Building, said that Bob Perry’s campaign donations resulted in the formation of the now-defunct Texas Residential Construction Commission in 2003, an agency plagued by allegations that it protected homebuilders at the expense of homebuyers. “The resulting agency was so anti-consumer and industry protective that that the Texas Legislature recently abolished it,” Ahmad said. “Meanwhile Bob Perry’s political contributions have become the hallmark of influence for Texas policy.”

Former gubernatorial challenger Medina takes aim at Perry ‘cronyism’

Earlier this week, tea party groups assembled at the Texas Capitol to repeat their calls for Gov. Rick Perry to take a harder line on immigration, and call the Texas Legislature back in session to tighten restrictions.

Thursday, tea party favorite Debra Medina — a Ron Paul protégé who’s backing the congressman in his third bid for the presidency — gathered another collection of grassroots groups in the same briefing room to call out the GOP presidential frontrunner for cultivating a pay-to-play atmosphere in Texas government.

Medina, who challenged Perry in the 2010 gubernatorial race, heaped more criticism onto the governor for his executive order mandating the HPV vaccine for girls in Texas, alleging the decision was based mostly on his close ties to the pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck.

“The fact that public policy is being written to provide market advantages to political donors rather than to promote a fair and just free market climate is at the heart of the economic crisis our nation faces today,” Medina said, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

As the Texas Tribune reported, Medina was backed by a group critical of the HPV vaccine order, Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education, and Homeowners for Better Building, which was critical of the governor’s close ties to his number-one individual campaign donor, home builder Bob Perry (who is not related to the governor):

Janet Ahmad, president of Homeowners for Better Building, said that Bob Perry’s campaign donations resulted in the formation of the now-defunct Texas Residential Construction Commission in 2003, an agency plagued by allegations that it protected homebuilders at the expense of homebuyers.

“The resulting agency was so anti-consumer and industry protective that that the Texas Legislature recently abolished it,” Ahmad said. “Meanwhile Bob Perry’s political contributions have become the hallmark of influence for Texas policy.”

The TV station KXAN reported that Medina focused on Texas’ high proportion of low-paying jobs, and its highest unemployment rate in 25 years, as evidence of the struggles Perry is glossing over on the campaign trail:

“The stagnant economy is a predictable outcome of government picking winners and losers in businesses and industries that they will favor,” Medina said.

http://www.americanindependent.com/195667/former-gubernatorial-challenger-medina-takes-aim-at-perry-cronyism