After back-and-forth criticism between the two leading gubernatorial candidates over their finances, Gov. Rick Perry's campaign said the Republican doesn't know how the bulk of his finances are invested because they are in a blind trust.
Ray Sullivan, a spokesman for Perry, said much of the governor's wealth comes from Perry and his wife, Anita Perry's, salaries and past real estate ventures.
But in 1996, most of his money was placed in a blind trust to prevent any perception of conflicts of interest. The governor opened the trust to take himself out of his investment decisions, Sullivan said.
"It is, we believe, in the best interest of the public to make sure that a high elected official does not buy himself stocks or buy himself investments in his own benefits," Sullivan said.
The trust is worth less than about $750,000, said Craig Hester, who has managed the trust since 1999. Hester has sole authority as to where the money is invested and does not inform Perry of any decisions.
"I'm under no direction to provide any level of income," Hester said. "I have sole discretion to manage the portfolio under what I believe would be in the best interest of the governor and Mrs. Perry."
Perry receives a report during tax season regarding taxable income that must be reported on his tax return, but the source of that income is not revealed. Perry can end the trust at any time, but the trust will remain blind.
Some of Perry's most successful investments include a $500,000 profit made when he sold his home near Mount Bonnell last year and $330,000 the governor made in the sale of a 9.3 acre parcel of land, which went to Michael Dell, in the Davenport Ranch area of Austin in 1995.
Sullivan once again challenged Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tony Sanchez to disclose details about his finances and say what he will do with his assets if elected governor.
"We encourage Mr. Sanchez to be forthcoming, to release his tax returns and to answer questions about the more than 50 anonymous partnerships and business arrangements he has," Sullivan said. "It's his turn to answer the question he posed to us."
Mark Sanders, a spokesman for Sanchez, said Perry is hiding behind his trust.
"He has placed assets in this trust and will not release them to the public, so we have no idea what conflicts may exist," Sanders said.
Sanders said Perry should explain how he has amassed $2 million on a public servant's salary since he was elected to state office in 1991.
If elected, Sanders said Sanchez may place his assets in a managed trust so his business partners will remain public. Sanchez has only released the first two pages of the last 10 years of his federal income taxes, Sanders said, because they contain how much the Laredo business man has paid the federal government.
He also said Sanchez filed a personal finance report, which includes information about his business arrangements with the Texas Ethics Commission.
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