Gov. candidates attack each other on equal pay, financial history concerns

By Matthew Waller

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas governor candidates lashed out at each other Monday with accusations against the Republican of dodging equal pay for women concerns, and claims against the Democrat of muddling financial ties between work and public service.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Wendy Davis, of Fort Worth, said Republican candidate Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott had dodged the question of whether he would’ve done as Gov. Rick Perry and vetoed a bill aimed to strengthen equal pay for women.

“Greg Abbott needs to stop dodging and give a straight answer about his opposition to the Texas Equal Pay Act,” Davis said in a statement. “Hardworking Texans deserve to know if he believes in this simple principle: a full day’s work is worth a full day’s pay no matter what your gender. With more families than ever before relying on two incomes, they can’t afford to have one of their paychecks unfairly reduced just because one of them is a woman.”

Abbott appeared on WFAA, a Dallas-Fort Worth news channel, and he answered a question about whether he would’ve vetoed the Texas Equal Pay Act. The bill, HB 950 from state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, and sponsored by Davis, would’ve allowed people to use state courts for gender discrimination claim lawsuits by having the state law mirror the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

In 2011 the Texas Supreme Court said part of the Ledbetter act didn’t apply to the state of Texas in the case of a lawsuit from a Prairie View A&M University professor who alleged race and nationality-based discrimination. Because the act did not apply, the initial suit had been filed too late, the judges ruled. Abbott’s office had defended the university against the discrimination claim.

Perry vetoed the Texas Equal Pay Act that mirrored the federal law, saying: “Texas’ commitment to smart regulations and fair courts is a large part of why we continue to lead the nation in job creation. House Bill 950 duplicates federal law, which already allows employees who feel they have been discriminated against through compensation to file a claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.”

Asked if he would veto, Abbott said the state has protections already in place for women.

“I fully expect women to be paid what men are paid,” Abbott said. “There shouldn’t be any differential in payment because of sex. I’m proud to say that Texas is one of the few states in the nation that actually has a constitutional protection against sexual discrimination of any type. And under the current labor code in the state of Texas, there is a specific statutory prohibition … that prevents discrimination on the basis of sex in any type of employment, and I will ensure that women will not be discriminated in any way on pay because of their sex.”

Abbott’s campaign, meanwhile, said Davis hasn’t been forthright in revealing her clients while working with the Newby Davis law firm.

Davis had released a list of law firm clients in the public sector she has represented, but she didn’t reveal all the public sector clients of the firm. She works with Brian Newby, a former chief of staff of Perry.

Clients she revealed to the San Antonio Express-News included the North Texas Tollway Authority and the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. She made $154,000 in 2012 from the firm, according to tax releases she has made available to the public.

“Sen. Davis has abused the public trust by profiting from taxpayer-funded contracts while she worked in the state Senate,” Abbott Communications Director Matt Hirsch said in a statement. “Her actions as a legislator are typical of the Washington way, and her behavior erodes confidence in government. If Sen. Davis truly has nothing to hide — as she claims — then she should release the contracts of all Newby Davis clients.”

Davis campaign spokesman Bo Delp fired back in an email:

“This political attack is an attempt to distract from Greg Abbott’s abysmal record of special political favors and insider deal that he is associated with in Austin. He knows that Wendy Davis has acted with transparency, voluntarily releasing all of her public clients even though she wasn’t required by law to do so.”

Abbott’s campaign highlighted Abbott’s ethics planks, including requiring disclosure between certain public officials and paid relationships with public entities.

Reprinted with permission from the San Angelo Standard-Times