PRESS CLIPS 718 WEST 5th ST. AUSTIN, TEXAS 78701 4717;5 Standard San Angelo, Texas MN 7 1979 Press enjoys Clements' honesty AUSTIN — Gov. Bill Clements frowned, whether from the question or from the glare of TV lights is debatable. Sounding like a stern father lecturing children, he leaned against a microphone-cluttered lectern and said: "It serves no purpose for us to do our negotiating with respect to solutions for Brother Roloff out here with the media. You know you people can't decide anything." It was blunt, but that's the way Clements deals with the press — and apparently everyone else. Reporters had been grilling him about negotia- tions over regulation of evangelist Lester Roloff's homes for children. Clements answered as best he could and then made clear what was obvious — that he couldn't tell everything about on-going negotiations. During other news conferences, Clements has shown exasperation when reporters asked ques- tions he thought already had been answered. When he doesn't like the way things are going, the governor makes clear his feelings. Capitol reporters don't mind at all. They generally give Clements high marks for his deal- ings with the press. He holds weekly news conferences — a big im- provement after six years of reporter-dodging Dolph Briscoe as governor. Clements' major plus, however, is that he seems to enjoy the give and take of news con- ferences or interviews. He doesn't talk around subjects he doesn't want to discuss or doesn't know about. He isn't afraid to say: "I don't know." The governor's press relations may seem of no importance to anyone but the governor and reporters, but most Texans will know Clements only through what they read or see on television. Briscoe felt uneasy with reporters and pro- jected an air of aloofness through them to the voters, who told him last year he could have all the privacy he wanted back in Uvalde. The late-session crunch of legislation this year may be the worst is history. The appropriations process is running late, major legislation is backed up and lawmakers have numerous pet bills they want to pass. May will be an interesting month for legislature-watching, but also a disturbing one. Bills will go flying through both houses like bats through a cave. That is certain. The only question is how much guano they will leave behind. During debate in the Senate last week, Sen. A.R. "Babe" Schwartz of Galveston and Sen. Carl Parker of Port Arthur argued about defini- tions of "center" and ''branch" in relation to senior colleges. Parker told Schwartz — the legislature's only Jew — "I could call you a Baptist, but that wouldn't make you one." Schwartz replied: "You could call most of the Baptists in here Baptists, and it wouldn't make them so."
