Mack: Jon Lindsay may be vulnerable
Kristen Mack sure knows how to make a girl smile:
Some think [Lindsay] may be vulnerable to a GOP primary challenge.
He didn't schedule any public appearances during a recent weekend visit to the district, and has none planned as the legislative session in Austin heats up during its final weeks. Detractors view that as a sign that constituent contact is not a priority.
One of the area's longest-tenured public servants, Lindsay has spent eight years in the Senate and spent 20 years as Harris County judge.[snip]
He fell from the political pinnacle in the mid-1990s amid corruption allegations that ended his county reign.
Lindsay was indicted in 1993 on misdemeanor charges of lying on campaign finance reports for failing to report the use of $195,000 in campaign money to buy a dive boat for his son.
Later, a federal convict claimed that he had acted as the middleman in the delivery of more than $100,000 in cash to Lindsay in 1986, in return for Lindsay raising the value of private land by rerouting a county road.
The allegations did not result in criminal charges, and Lindsay recently called the convict's claims "totally bogus and absolutely false."
Maybe the claims were bogus, but just for fun, let's visit the archives:
County officials rejected state Sen. Jon Lindsay's offer to work for the county as a consultant who would try to persuade north Harris County developers to donate land for the [Grand Parkway] project.
Lindsay, a Republican who represents much of the area where the segment would be built, has long supported the Grand Parkway.
He said he met last year with 14 developers who own land between Texas 249 and I-45. About 10 of the developers agreed to donate land to the county for the toll road, Lindsay said.
With that land, the toll road could have been built without traversing as many Spring residential areas as called for under TxDOT plans, he said.
Lindsay said he met with Eversole and other officials in the fall and tried to sell them on hiring him as a consultant.
He would have asked the county to pay him about $5,000 or $6,000 a month for his services, Lindsay said.
"I told them I was not going to do it gratis. It was too much work," he said.
County officials balked at the proposal, saying it could appear to be improper for the county to hire a state senator to lobby developers who were his business acquaintances or friends and who would benefit from the highway's construction, Lindsay said. "I did not understand where the conflict of interest was, just because I was a senator," he said.
And:
Lindsay said he is doing what it takes to get the Grand Parkway built expeditiously through the Spring area, and it may mean taking the state transportation department out of the equation. He said he is not worried it will move to Montgomery County.
"We brought the developers together to make sure everyone was on the same page," Lindsay said. "There was some discussion about different routes and how they would affect developments, but everyone there agreed we need to do the project."
You really have to hold your nose around Lindsay.
KEVIN WHITED ADDS: If he gets chased from office, he'll at least have his tree farming to fall back on. Tree farming, readers may ask? Yes, tree farming.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 04/21/05 11:37 AM | Print |
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