POLITICS FRESH AIR AT THE CHAMBER

A recent discussion at a board meeting of the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce offered signs our conservative bidness leaders may be creeping into a more progressive age. Gathered to consider the chamber’s priorities in the next state legislative session, a group of twenty area business leaders grappled with a real untouchable in Texas politics-the issue of “set-asides,’1 reserving a percentage of state contracts for small, women- or minority-owned businesses. According to Kern Wildenthal, president of U.T. Southwestern Medical Center and head of the chamber of commerce committee on legislative priorities, the debate was one of “the most responsible, comprehensive. thoughtful, and considered discussions ever-I was proud to have been a part of it.”

A participant who asked not to be identified agrees: “The thing that astounded me was the whole tenor of the conversation. I came away more heartened than any time in a long, long time.” According to the source, a number of prominent people-Roger Staubach, Buddy Kemp (of NCNB Texas National Bank), and William Howell (of JC Penney) foremost among them-were strong proponents of ensuring that women and minorities get a fair share of the public pie. Much of the debate centered around using the “set-aside” language, which has had the negative smack of government giveaways in the past, rather than a softer alternative version that would have asked the Lege to “encourage” contracts among minority businesses. After more than an hour of discussion, former chamber chairman Bob Rogers, who reportedly spoke in opposition to the measure, called for a secret ballot vote “so that populism doesn’t get carried away,” according to the source. The stronger wording prevailed by an overwhelming margin of eighteen to two.