Over the last several days, in his capacity as Tom Craddick’s appointed Chair of the House Committee on Administration, Tony Goolsby has been sending threatening letters to State House Members scolding them for allowing some low paid employees to enroll in the Texas House health insurance plan. (Source: Goolsby Letter, May 2, 2008) Also, in just the last five years, Tony Goolsby has voted with Tom Craddick to leave more than 200,000 Texas children without access to basic health insurance. (Source: The Houston Chronicle, January 12, 2007)
Before Tony Goolsby sends any more letters to colleagues or does Tom Craddick’s bidding to deny Texas children health care, he may want to come clean on his own employment record. In 2004, Tony Goolsby arranged for a long-time Austin lobbyist and campaign donor to be listed on his payroll just long enough to become eligible for the taxpayer funded Texas State health insurance plan.
Goolsby apparently thinks there is something wrong with providing access to health care for underpaid, but hard working, state employees, but it is okay to give the same benefits to a highly paid lobbyist and donor. The non-partisan, highly-respected Quorum Report detailed Goolsby’s hypocrisy and asked, “If their [Craddick opponent’s] cases are to be referred to the General Investigating Committee and the Travis County District Attorney, then so should Goolsby and other names that are surfacing as this story is being written.” (Read the Quorum Report Here)
Goolsby’s Crony Coverage Plan
Jennifer Shelley Rodriguez is a highly paid Austin lobbyist who has represented deep-pocket special interests such as Eli Lilly, American Resort Development Association, and Crow Realty Investors, L.P. During 2005, the Dallas Morning News reported her earning, “between $500,000 and $1 million.”( Source: Dallas Morning News, May 5, 2005) Jennifer Shelley Rodriguez was registered as a lobbyist from 1998 – 2003. Her forms expired on December 31, 2003. She reregistered as a lobbyist beginning April 6, 2004. (Source: Texas Ethics Commission Lobby filings) She maintained virtually all of the same clients from 2003 to 2004 and was paid similar amounts. During the three months her lobby registration was expired in 2004, Shelley Rodriguez was listed as a “Permanent Fulltime” employee for Tony Goolsby. When Goolsby put Jennifer Shelley Rodriguez on the books as a full time staffer, he made her eligible to receive government funded health care.
Payments to Jennifer Shelley Rodriguez from Tony Goolsby’s Official Office Account
| Date | Amount |
| 1/07/2004 | $500.00 |
| 1/22/2004 | $500.00 |
| 2/19/2004 | $500.00 |
| 3/23/2004 | $326.09 |
| Total | $1,826.09 |
(Source Goolsby Monthly Financial Statement 2004)
Shelley Rodriguez, her clients and lobbyist relatives are Goolsby contributors
Rodriguez, her husband and her father, who are all lobbyists, are also special friends to Republican Representative Tony Goolsby. Since 2001, Jennifer Shelley Rodriguez, her family members and her lobby clients have contributed at least eight times to Tony Goolsby’s re-election campaign.
Jennifer Shelley Rodriguez and Family Donations to Goolsby
| Donor | Amount | Date |
| Rodriguez, Jennifer Shelley | $100.00 | 11/25/02 |
| Rodriguez, Jennifer Shelley | $250.00 | 10/15/04 |
| Rodriguez, Jennifer Shelley | $250.00 | 11/02/05 |
| Rodriguez, Marc A. | $100.00 | 12/10/01 |
| Shelley, Dan | $250.00 | 8/23/06 |
Jennifer Shelley Rodriguez Clients Donations to Goolsby
| Donor | Amount | Date |
| Eli Lilly and Company Political Action Committee | $250.00 | 11/01/04 |
| American Resort Devewlopemtn Assn Resort Owners’ Coalition PAC | $500.00 | 12/19/03 |
| American Resort Development Assn Resort Owners’ Coalition PAC | $1,000.00 | 12/27/05 |
Tony Goolsby
Craddick’s Pocket Pal
Goolsby Goolsby is a long serving but low profile back bench Member who has few legislative accomplishments. After years in the House, Craddick appointed him as Chair of the Committee on House Administration. In return, Goolsby has been Craddick’s key ally in lashing out against opponents of the Speaker. While Goolsby writes letters to his colleagues and forwards them to the press, he neglects to acknowledge that he was responsible for reviewing and approving Member payroll. He further fails to mention his employment of a lobbyist during 2004 for the very same reason as those he criticizes.
Doing Craddick’s Dirty Work
Numerous press reports have noted that the criticism of Members who allow access to health care for low paid employees is coming from embattled Republican Speaker Tom Craddick. This speculation is reinforced by the fact that the House Members singled out are all recognized opponents of Craddick. (Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 7, 2008) Rather than stand up to Craddick and defend his colleagues, Goolsby collapsed to the Craddick agenda and now finds himself accurately portrayed as a hypocrite doing favors for special interests.
Not the First Time as Craddick’s Lackey
Few Republican’s played a more prominent role in protecting controversial State House Speaker Tom Craddick than Goolsby. In addition to supporting Craddick for speaker, Goolsby was put in charge of “bringing in the muscle.” After Craddick declared his “absolute” authority to rule the Texas State House, Goolsby brought in, “uniformed Department of Public Safety officers [who] guarded entrances at the front and rear of the chamber.” It was an “unusual show of force,” (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 27, 2007) and clearly intended to intimidate members of the legislature.
