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To: isopatch who wrote (79825)	11/22/2000 11:04:04 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

Lay of the land: Pundits see Enron CEO as top contender for Bush energy czar Houston Business Journal, this week's issue 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. bizjournals.com