Saturday, October 27, 2007

Most people driving along Lake Austin Boulevard take little notice of a sign poking from a large oak grove announcing the entrance to the LCRA. Yet vast political power is quartered in the five buildings clustered there.

The Lower Colorado River Authority is a creature of the Depression. Lyndon Johnson, who represented the Hill Country in the U.S. House from 1937 through 1948, saw the LCRA as a way to help bring electricity to his struggling constituents.

Today, the LCRA's services include wholesale electric, water utilities, flood control, parks and environmental regulation. The agency is a complex administrative and engineering organization that now mostly benefits suburbanites along the growth corridor of Interstate 35.

Where once there were struggling poor in the Hill Country, today there is a struggle going on inside the LCRA over the selection of the next general manager.

Will Gov. Rick Perry intervene to select a political ally? Or will the choice be made — as expressly stated under Texas law — by the 15-member board?

Clearly Perry is involved in who will succeed Joe Beal, expected to retire in early 2008 after eight years as general manager. The governor held up the process until he could fill five board vacancies on Oct. 19, thus loading any vote with his loyal recruits.

Obviously, the LCRA and politics are not strangers, but if the governor puts in a political hack it would be a reckless move. The general manager's job requires technical knowledge and the ability to say "no" to the variety of interests competing for the LCRA's services.

When I probed last week, most board members declined to comment or said that Perry was being kept informed merely as a matter of courtesy.

Connie Granberg, owner of Blanco Auto Parts in Blanco, who just ended a six-year term on the LCRA board, put a little edge on the situation. She said her understanding was that Perry had stated an intention to meet with candidates.

"The way I see it, the governor was out of town and he did ask us not to appoint a new GM until he could talk to the lead candidates. As far as I understand, he won't make the decision and just wants to be informed and aware." She said she was comfortable with that.

Ray Wilkerson, the LCRA board chairman, said he had not had a discussion with Perry about the general manager's job. "He has certainly not indicated his preference. His office has indicated that he might want to talk to the candidate or some of the candidates. The board will definitely make the decision," said the Austin commercial real estate developer.

Ken Anderson, the governor's appointments director, said the board would make the decision. Perry "has no candidate. But he wants someone who is going to do the best job and work for all the stakeholders."

Robert Black, Perry's press secretary, said the governor "does not have a dog in that hunt," and the board would make the choice. He confirmed that Perry had asked for the decision to be held until all old and new appointees "had buy-in." Second, Perry "asked that whoever they chose, if he didn't already know them, he wanted to meet them."

Was that a demand or a request? "A request," said Black.

The general manager's job is one of the choicest in Texas government. Beal, 62, earns $320,000 and, earlier this year, got a bonus of $175,000 from the board. That compares with the $577,500 paid University of Texas President William Powers Jr.

It is easy to understand why a governor, especially one who might seek reelection, would want to control the choice of the LCRA chief.

The LCRA's clout comes from its relationships with hundreds of elected officials, including county judges and mayors. Often the LCRA is the only organization capable of helping rural communities with infrastructure needs.

LCRA's budget is $1.1 billion, and it employs 2,250 people.

In Austin, the typical resident is touched by the LCRA every day. Austin and the LCRA co-own a massive coal-fired power plant in Fayette County. Lake Travis and Lake Austin are within LCRA's river management system. Life and work in downtown Austin is possible because the LCRA's dams stopped the destructive river flooding that occurred there before 1938.

Among GM candidates being considered are LCRA legal counsel Tom Mason, assistant general managers Rick Bluntzer and Marcus Pridgeon, and former LCRA executives Bill Freeman and Dudley Piland.

It would be a shame if one day we faced catastrophic power losses or flooding and we find ourselves seeing Perry turn to his political appointee and say, effectively, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."