• • • MEMORANDUM TO: Karl Rove FROM: Jack M. Rains DATE: November 5, 1985 SUBJECT: Billboards I briefly discussed with Governor Clements the desirability of eliminating all billboards from the campaign. I believe this would have several distinct advantages to the campaign. 1. Billboards principally buy name identification and we are at saturation; and 2. recent polls show an overwhelming number of Texans favor billboard control. It is a very hot issue, particularly in Houston, Fort Worth, Dallas, Lubbock and the Austin area; 3. In the last legislative session Mark White signed a state billboard ordinance which abbrogated local ordinances; this was virgously opposed by Houston as well as other cities. Cities were forced to compromise because Mark White would not commit to vetoing Representative Bill Messers' bill; By putting controls on yard signs and shunning all billboards in our campaign we can develop a strong environmental issue. By publicly calling on other candidates in the campaign to make the same pledge, I believe we can turn this issue to our advantage. cc: Governor Clements, Rita Clements, Executive Policy Committee