By Jennifer Bendery, GalleryWatch.com
Austin, TX –
Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Alpine) delivered a letter on Monday. By Wednesday, consumer group Texans for Public Justice (TPJ) had issued a press release. Now, Rep. Jim Dunnam (D-Waco) is getting in line to make the same request put forward by Gallego and TPJ: that Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) Board Member Bill Ceverha immediately resign his position in light of a judge's ruling that he broke election laws when serving as treasurer of Congressman Tom DeLay's (R-Sugar Land) political action committee.
Last May, a state district judge ruled in a civil trial that Ceverha, the former treasurer of DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee (TRMPAC), violated state campaign finance and election laws in 2002 and found him liable for $196,000.
In a letter delivered today to Ceverha, Dunnam asked how state employees in his district could have any confidence that Ceverha would protect their health benefits and retirement funds "in light of your recent litigation issues and your personal bankruptcy?" He noted that the same set of circumstances that produced the ruling against Ceverha has resulted in the criminal indictments of DeLay, three of his top lieutenants, TRMPAC and the Texas Association of Business.
"I do not believe my constituents, or the people of Texas, are best served by having someone who has violated Texas election laws serving on the board of a state agency that manages a $19.9 billion portfolio," said Dunnam.
Earlier this week, Gallego urged Ceverha to immediately step down since his credibility as a board member "has been irreparably damaged" and he has "squandered the confidence of both current and retired state employees." He went on to list the strikes against Ceverha: felony indictments against an organization in whose governance you participated, a personal judgment for violating state law taken against you in an amount nine times the average income of most Texans, and personal bankruptcy.
"These are not the mistakes of youth," wrote Gallego. "And, though one mistake might be overlooked, three strikes always makes an out." The Alpine legislator said Ceverha's behavior makes it virtually "impossible" for him to continue having a role in the governance of a $19.9 billion fund.
TPJ Director Craig McDonald went further to say that Ceverha's participation in the 2002 Texas House election scandal should disqualify him from public service altogether, particularly if it involves providing a fiduciary duty to state employees. McDonald said that during his trial, Ceverha testified that he paid scant attention to TRMPAC's campaign finance reports, which were his primary responsibility. "What state officials would entrust their retirement to a man who confessed to being asleep at the fiduciary wheel?" he asked.
On the heels of a recent personal bankruptcy filing, Ceverha denied court-ordered compensation to TRMPAC victims, said McDonald, despite the fact that the TRMPAC scandal has been "a financial windfall" for his lobbying and consulting business. He noted that Ceverha has reported an extra $200,000 a year in post-scandal consulting business from clients eager to help him pay legal fees.
"Mr. Ceverha was a participant in the white-collar crime wave against Texas voters in 2002," said the TPJ Director. "How can he and Speaker Craddick deny that state employees deserve better oversight over their retirement funds? The greatest public service Bill Ceverha can perform is to retire from public service."
As of Monday, Ceverha said he had no intention of stepping down, according to the San Antonio Express-News.