Editor’s Note: The Observer published this feature in its March 27, 1998, edition. The prior year’s private school voucher proposal narrowly died at the Lege.
Bullock wouldn’t discuss his recent resignation from the voucher PAC Putting Children First. But his aide, Tony Proffitt—who has worked for Bullock since long before he moved from the comptroller’s to the lieutenant governor’s office—said the Lieutenant Governor still supports a “very limited voucher program,” and that he left Putting Children First because, as was first reported by the Dallas Morning News, “it was engaging in partisan activity.” The specific partisan activity was a January 19 letter from Putting Children First Chairman Jimmy Mansour to Betsy DeVoss, the founder of the Amway company [2025 Editor’s Note: Betsy DeVos married the son of the founder of Amway]. The letter refers to last session’s “tremendous momentum for our forces, as evidenced by Lt. Governor Bob Bullock joining our effort.” And it mentions plans “to gain two additional seats in the senate, where we currently hold a slim majority.” (Mansour’s “we” is, bluntly, the Republican Party, which now holds a 17-14 advantage in the Senate.) The letter focuses, however, on the House: “There are eight crucial seats which we need to win in the Texas house, to obtain a Republican majority. By winning these seats we will ensure a new speaker of the house who will not attempt to block our legislation.”
