Political People and their Moves

Gov. Rick Perry withdrew his nomination of Annette Raggette of Austin to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, after senators raised questions about her family and business ties to Oliver Bell, chairman of that board. He was her boss, and also her brother-in-law.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst rejiggered his communications team, adding Andrew Barlow, who wrote speeches for Gov. Rick Perry and also worked last year for the Craig James for U.S. Senate campaign and Ryan Hecker, who most recently was COO of FreedomWorks. Still on board: Travis Considine, Enrique Marquez and Lauren Thurston. And there is this tidbit, too: Hecker is in line to be campaign manager for Dewhurst’s next campaign, whether he seeks reelection or something else. 

Gov. Rick Perry appointed:

* Milton Lee III of San Antonio to the University of North Texas board of regents. Lee is an engineer and retired CEO of CPS Energy and a graduate of the University of Texas.

Michael Landrum of Houston as judge of the 113th Judicial District Court. He’s an attorney in private practice. 

• James “Richard” Barajas of Fort Worth, Leon Leach of Houston, and Thomas Wheat of Dallas to the Health and Human Services Council. Barajas is an executive at Southwest Bank. Leach is executive vice president of UT’s MD Anderson Cancer Center. Wheat is owner of Pediatric Home Healthcare LLC.

• Raleigh White IV of Temple, a retired plastic surgeon, to the board of the Brazos River Authority. Perry also reappointed six others to that board, including Richard Ball of Mineral Wells, F. LeRoy Bell of Tuscola, Peter Bennis of Fort Worth, Bill Masterson of Guthrie, George “Dave” Scott III of Richmond, and Salvatore Zaccagnino of Caldwell. 

Deaths: Demetrio Rodriguez, the defendant in a landmark school finance lawsuit in Texas — Rodriguez vs. San Antonio School District — that set the stage for later lawsuits to equalize funding from one district to another in Texas. Rodriguez, who suffered from Parkinson’s Disease, was 87.