Friedman files a complaint against Strayhorn

[Blake]

AUSTIN — Independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman on Thursday asked Travis County prosecutors to investigate Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, accusing her of possibly misusing state employees to help her campaign.

Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle responded by distributing to reporters his office's policy manual, which states that criminal complaints filed by one candidate against another will not be investigated until after the election.

"It's typical mudslinging politics. So much for Kinky not being a typical mudslinging politician," Strayhorn spokesman Mark Sanders said, referring to the complaint.

Friedman filed his complaint based on reports in the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News that Strayhorn's state staff was preparing briefing papers for her to use even when she was making political appearances.

Strayhorn's campaign has defended the use of state employees, saying she is frequently engaged to discuss state business no matter where she is.

Under fire previously
But Friedman campaign manager Dean Barkley said he could not imagine why Strayhorn would use state employees to do her research when her campaign has $8 million in the bank.

"She could have avoided these questions by simply paying her campaign staff to do this work," Barkley said.

A letter to Earle, written by Friedman campaign general counsel Blake Rocap, said that depending on the amount of state time used, "the comptroller could face first-degree felony charges carrying with them criminal punishment of a fine not exceeding $10,000 and life in prison."

"We urge you to investigate this matter and take proper steps to ensure that no candidate misuses a public office for their personal political benefit," Rocap told Earle.

Earle's policy said such complaints can wait until after the election unless there is some compelling reason to believe time is of the essence.

"This policy is intended to avoid the appearance of the criminal justice system being used for political purposes," the policy said.

Strayhorn's use of state resources also came under fire from the Republican re-election campaign of Gov. Rick Perry. The campaign posted video of Strayhorn using her state vehicle to attend a rally of opponents to the Trans-Texas Corridor in Waller County.

'Some smoke'
Perry personally declined to say whether he believed Earle should investigate Strayhorn, but he backed up his Internet attack on her ethics.

"There appears to be some smoke," Perry said.

He said his staff is supposed to make personal determinations for when an event is connected to his official duties or is political in nature.

"Our staff makes clear delineation of what's comp time, when they are on state time or they are doing something that's not on state time," he said after speaking to the Texas Association of Broadcasters.

Strayhorn, Friedman and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Chris Bell are scheduled to talk to the group today.

Bell spokesman Jason Stanford said Friedman's complaint against Strayhorn just made a weird governor's race weirder.

"The statement that Kinky Friedman filed an ethics complaint against Carole Strayhorn, just that sentence, conveys levels of absurdity heretofore not known in Texas politics," he said.

The Libertarian nominee is James Werner.


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...n/4109734.html