-4111111111111111111111iik Clements accused of meddling in prisons, but he regards it as paternal ort of duty BY GLENN SMITH H0USTONr.HReIN"--1F Chronicle Austin Bureau AUSTIN — Gov. William 1413Cilem$nt.PY recalls that he knew little about the operations of the state's prisons when he took office in January 1979. Now some state officials and prison observers are concerned that Clements, who has fought to strengthen the power of the governor's office, may have become too involved in day-to-day operations of the Texas Department of Corrections. Though Clenients eliminates the pejorative "too," he agrees that he is more involved in the operations of Texas' prisons than past governors have tx.en. As a voting, tax-paying. interested citizen I knew k.ery little about our prison system." Clements said. "After I got to be governor it became apparent to me that our prison system had been somewhat ignored by our state's chief executive officers through the years," he said. -That is not to point a finger at any particular governor. That was a normal modus operandi for gover- nors, that they more or less delegated the responsibility Ii the prison board and then forgot about it When Clements took office, the TDC faced a wealth of problems with a paucity of solotions. The prisons were overcrowded, with hundreds of prisoners forced to sleep on cell floors. Inmate violence was increasing, staff morale was sagging and the bitter federal court battle which resulted in U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice's controversial prison reform order was under way. -When it came to my attention that we had more prisoners than any other state, that we were overcrowd- ed, that our construction programs had dropped behind. that the prison board was not really exercising its policy-making charter and that we had a federal judge named Justice who was injecting himself vigorously into our prison system, I decided it was time for me to ,et very much involved:' Clements said. The extent and consequences of Clements' involvment in the operations of the TDC and the other 11 major state agencies are questions with not only political implications but constitutional ones as well. Unlike past governors, Clements meets regularly with the heads of the "Big 12" agencies. He holds special orientation sessions with his agency board appointees and calls them periodically to discuss policy. Reflecting his business background as the founder of SEDCO, the world's largest oil well drilling company, he views him- self, not as a delegator of authority whose power is limited to appointment-making, but as the head of a $13 billion company who must maintain control. -We are past the point when we can have a so-called disinterested or even a disconnected governor. That's not what our constitution said. The constitution says the governor of this state is the chief executive officer," Clements said. "Certainly un a state) with a $13 billion-plus budget. how in this world can a CEO (chief executive officer ) of an organization of that magnitude be disconnected or disinterested? That's nonsense," he declared But some think it questionable for a governor to extend his authority much beyond the doors of the capitol, much less into the steel and concrete corridors of the state's prisons. The quality of Texas prisons "has gone down distinct- in the last few years," said state Rep. W.S. "Bill" licatly. D-Paducah, the dean of the Texas House, a long- time prison observer who after 26 years in office has decided not to run for re-election. "They've all gone down and it's because somebody is meddling in it. I suspect the governor has something to do with that meddling," he said. "It it doesn't stop, it s going to bring them down even further" State Sen. Peyton McKnight, 1)-Tyler, who dropped out of the governor's race earlier this year. sounded a similar warning last year during the Senate confirma- tion hearing on a Clements' appointee to the prison board, Robert D. Gunn of Wichita Falls. McKnight said an independent board was essential He stressed to Gunn that he wanted to see the board run its business without the interference of the governor. particularly in its selection of a chairman. A 1978 Texas Researcn League study commissioned by the TDC called citizen boards such as the nine- member Board of Corrections "the forgotten fundamen- tal of Texas government. Boards "are charged with the overall responsibility for the care and management of the resources of their agency and the terms of appointment ( six years, com- pared to the governor's tour-year term) encourage board members to exercise independent judgment in making decisions," the study said. Current board members, as well as TDC Director W. J. Estelle Jr.' acknowledge that Clements' involve- ment is greater than past governors, but say he does not interfere with their authority. Nonetheless, Clements waxes paternal when he admits to a special concern for the prison agency. The 12 largest state agencies "are kind of like my children," he said. "If you had a dozen children and 11 of them were behaving and walking the straight and narrow path and one was misbehaving, which one would you give the attention to? "It's not any secret that this governor has been more actively involved in all the state agencies," said Estelle. "But different people put different connotations on that involvement." Those who criticize Clements' participation in the running of the prisons complain that he will "politicize" the agency, making its director subject to Clements' own political whims. Estelle scoffs at that suggestion. "He hasn't interfered with my operation. In fact, he's been very supportive," Estelle said. "It may seem a politic thing for an agency director to say that it (Cle- ments' involvement) is a healthy thing, but I happen to think it is." The instance mentioned most by Clements' critics which they say exemplifies the governor's "meddling" in prison policy) was his involvement in setting up tents 'at TDC units to house inmates in an effort to relieve overcrowding. Clements had a tent erected on the grounds of the Capitol and proclaimed that if tents were good enough for this country's soldiers they were good enough for Texas' prisoners. Although there were muffled objec- tions from some prison employees who complained that "tent cities" would be hard to secure, the board voted to place some inmates in tents. "That was a highly successful initiative on my part," Clements bragged. Estelle. saying the board made an independent judg- ment on the matter, doesn't give Clements all the credit. "He wasn't the sole and only person talking about tents. If we had evidence or a real feeling that it was going to be a greater liability than asset, then Gov. Clements would have listened to us," Estelle said. Harry Whittington, an Austin lawyer appointed to the prison board by Clements, agreed with Estelle that the board operates independently of the governor. "I think the involvement of the governor has been necessary and helpful," Whittington said. "He doesn't interfere with us at all. He has perhaps become more involved because of our situation. the Ruiz ( prison re- formi case, the overcrowding, the killing of (Ellis unit warden Wallace ) Pack." Another allegation leveled at Clements is that he coerced the board into hiring outside counsel on the prison reform case to embarrass Attorney General Mark White, who is running for governor. Whittington said it was his idea to hire outside coun- sel, and 11 was not done to embarrass White: "The governor did not even know we were looking into it. And we did it not because we were dissatisfied with White, but because we knew he was shorthanded and this appeal was a massive, an important undertaking." Clements believes his legacy of involvement in state agencies will be sure and positive: "I am saying without equivocation that our Texas governors in the future will be more and more involved in all aspects of state gov- ernment." He boasts of the quality of his appointments to the prison board, but leaves no doubt about what he expects of them. "It's not my hope that they'll make the right decisions. If they don't. replace them," he said.
