Article about ken lay

< Ken,
<
< I recently came upon the attached article. Is it possible? I think George
< W is going to need
< the "Top Guns" in order to have a successful tenure. As always, if there
< is anything that I
< can do in support of my Chairman, I stand ready to do so.
<
< Regards,
<
< Miguel
<
< Exclusive Reports
<
< From the November 17, 2000 print edition
<
<
< Lay of the land: Pundits see Enron CEO as top contender for Bush energy
< czar
< Monica Perin
< Enron Corp. CEO Ken Lay's name is buzzing around Houston as a possible
< Secretary of Energy in a Bush Administration, if George W. Bush ultimately
< emerges victorious in the Florida brouhaha.
< Lay held a post in the Department of Energy early in his career and has
< long been a frequent flyer to the nation's capital to testify, lobby and
< consult with federal officials on energy issues.
< Lay was also considered a candidate for a cabinet position in the previous
< Bush administration. When former President George Bush named his Commerce
< Secretary, Houstonian Robert Mosbacher, as general chairman of his
< re-election campaign in December of 1991, Lay was on the list of possible
< successors to Mosbacher.
< As of last week, Lay was maintaining that no one from either presidential
< camp had talked to him about any cabinet positions.
< "He says he doesn't have any interest in going back to Washington. He's
< already been there and done that," says Enron spokesman Mark Palmer,
< although he adds that Lay has "left himself some wiggle room."
< Another Houstonian, Bill White -- CEO of Wedge International -- served as
< Deputy Secretary of Energy from 1993 to 1995 in the Clinton-Gore
< Administration. White believes that if the senior Bush had been re-elected
< in 1992, Lay would likely have been appointed to a position in that
< administration.
< "It would be a great fit for Ken," White says of the energy secretary
< role.
< Ron Oligny, a Houston oil industry consultant and author, has also heard
< the Lay rumors and finds it "difficult to see him walk away from" such an
< opportunity.
< "He has demonstrated the ability to create an atmosphere in which new and
< positive things can happen in the energy sector, so he would be a valid
< choice," Oligny says. "He certainly understands the transition that is
< going on in the energy market."
< John Sodergreen, editor and publisher of several online trade publications
< in the energy commodities trading sector also sees Lay as "a likely
< candidate."
< The Maryland-based industry watcher points out that Bush has mentioned Lay
< in several speeches, and Lay has made big contributions to Bush's
< campaign. Sodergreen believes Lay would not turn down an offer.
< "That would be very bad for Enron. He couldn't do that. Besides, he
< doesn't need more money," says Sodergreen.
< Lay and his wife, Linda, were the biggest individual Texas contributors of
< soft money in the 2000 elections, giving a total of $361,000 with 96
< percent going to Republican candidates, according to figures compiled by
< the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
< Enron Corp. also topped the list of corporate soft money donors in Texas,
< with a total of $988,000 -- $248,000 to Democrats and $740,000 to
< Republicans.
< Houston energy analyst Matthew Simmons of Simmons & Co. International
< takes a dissident view. He doesn't think Lay would take the job of energy
< secretary.
< "He would have eight or 10 years ago, but not now," he says.
< Simmons says he has "lobbied hard" for the Secretary of Energy appointee
< in a Bush administration to be a Democrat.
< "It's a key appointment, and it needs to be bipartisan," he says. "We've
< so demagogued energy in the campaign. You have to reach across the aisle."
<
< Simmons says he has proposed either Bennett Johnston, a retired senior
< senator from Louisiana and a longtime Senate Energy Committee member, or
< David Boren, retired Oklahoma senator and "the other energy giant in
< Congress." Both are Democrats.
<
<
< Copyright 2000 American City Business Journals Inc.
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