Clements says he's eager to get on with it' By ANNE MARIE KILDAY Houston Chronicle DALLAS — Gov.-elect Bill Clements says he is looking forward to just one thing. "Being sworn in. So I can go to work. Let's get on with it," Clements said. Clements was at work in his office in the Old Cumberland School building Thursday, busy making plans for a sec- ond four-year term. The old school building is the head- quarters of Sedco Inc., the worldwide oil-drilling company Clements founded and sold to Schlumberger Ltd. in 1984. The renovated school houses Clements' office and his 8,000-volume collection of books about Texas history. Clements has named Hilary Doran, a Del Rio rancher and beer distributor, to head his transition team. Doran, a former four-term Democratic state representative turned Republican, headed Clements' staff during the last two years of the governor-elect's first administration. Clements also was considering candi- dates to serve on a 40- to 50-member task force on revitalizing the Texas economy. Eight years ago, when Clements pul- led off a stunning" upset victory over Democrat John L. Hill, he was handi- capped going into the legislative ses- sion. Lawmakers had been in session for a week before Clements, a novice to state government, took office. After Hill, now the chief justice of the state Supreme Court, swears him in on Jan. 20, Clements said, "We'll hit the ground running." "There doesn't have to be a learning period for us: It took us quite a while last time," Clements recalled. "We had a lot of people to meet and rela- tionships to es- tablish. That was a big hand- icap." Working with the Legislature, Clements said, "is the best part" of being governor. "I think I en- Clements joyed working with the Legislature more than any- thing. I had an excellent relationship with (former House Speaker) Bill Clay- ton and (Lt. Gov.) Bill Hobby. We worked well together. I anticipate ex- actly the same kind of relationship," Clements said. "I know of no reason why it would be any different." Clements also predicted "full cooper- ation" between himself and the Demo- cratic state officials elected Tuesday. Anybody who thinks he will clash with Democratic Attorney General Jim Mattox "has just been talking to the jousting fairy," Clements said. Clements predicted that his relation- ships with the Legislature and other state officials will be even smoother than they were during his first term in office, because he will not be seeking re-election in 1990. Even if Democratic Gov. Mark White, unseated by Clem- ents Tuesday, should try for a come- Sack. "I will take an oath in blood that I will not run for governor again," Clem- ents said. "You can count on it, you can bank it. "And the fact that everybody down there (in Austin) knows that I am there for four years, that I'm not after any other political office, and that I don't have to make any compromises will make it much easier to solve some of our problems," Clements said. "I don't have to accommodate. We're going to do what's right for Texas." Clements said. "I'm not concerned one whit about the political consequences." Clements said he will reward Repub- lican supporters with appointments to state boards and commissions. But his only criterion for appointment, Clem- ents said, "is quality.' "I am an absolute nut on surrounding myself with highly capable, highly qualified, the-best-I-can-find people. I want no clucks," Clements said. "Now if I have two people who are equally qualified, and one's a Republi- can and one's a supporter of Mr. White's, I'm going to appoint the Re- publican. What's so strange about that?" Clements asked. Clements said his task forces on revi- talizing the economy and restructuring the state's criminal justice system are his top priorities. The task force on the economy, Clements said, will be directed to con- centrate on short-term solutions. "It's all well and good to have some high-falutin', high-sounding prestigious committee talking about recruiting in- dustry to the state of Texas. But that's long-term," Clements said. Stimulating the creation of small businesses might be an immediate way to revitalize the . economy, Clements said. The governor-elect also wants the task force on the economy to study the state's tax base and to consider the issue of tort reform and liability insur- ance. "But I am not going to pre-empt any of their recommendations," Clements said. Clements has already endorsed the idea of creating a new state agency to foster economic development. "I've already started talking to some of the leadership in the Legislature about this. I really want to see us con- solidate some of these efforts that are scattered around in five or six different departments and put them into one. We will achieve some economy in this re- gard. Right now, our effort is frac- tured, and it's expensive," Clements said. Legislation to restructure the crimi- nal justice system "will be ready to be dropped into the hopper" when the Leg- islature convenes, Clements said. Dur- ing his campaign. Clements named a task force headed by Charles Terrell of Dallas to make recommendations on criminal justice reforms. The governor-elect also predicted that a minority report would be issued from members of the Select Commit- tee on Higher Education, a task force named by White. Hobby and House Speaker Gib Lewis. "I wouldn't be at all surprised. I ex- pect that to happen," Clements said. Clements said he has some reserva- tions about White's proposal to create a Texas Research Endowment fund, a separate trust fund to finance research projects at the state's colleges and uni- versities. "It depends on the amount (of the fund), the source, and how it is to be used. Other than that," Clements said, chuckling. "I don't have any reserva- tions about it." Clements again steadfastly refused to discuss his plans for dealing with the state's budgetary problems. Although the Legislative Budget Board has pre- dicted a budget deficit as high as $5.3 billion when he takes office, Clements maintains that the budget can be trimmed. Although the state's tax base should be restructured, Clements said that effort should be "revenue-neutral." Clements points to his record as gov- ernor from 1979 to 1982, claiming that state government was cut 5 percent, even in the face of record population growth and inflation. "I think there's a real strong mes- sage there — these kinds of things can be done. You can reverse the flow, in other words. And every bit of that, we did with the full cooperation of the state Legislature and the state bureau- cracy," Clements said. If there is a down-side to being gov- ernor, Clements said, "it has to do with living in a fishbowl, and the loss of one's privacy." "Living under the microscope. It doesn't really change anything that do. It just is a little uncomfortable to know that everybody is looking at you all of the time
