Tony Sanchez
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| Antonio R. "Tony" Sanchez, Jr | |
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| Born | 1943 Laredo, Texas |
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| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Maria Josefina "Tani" Guajardo |
Antonio R. "Tony" Sanchez, Jr. (born 1943) is a Mexican American politician and businessman who in 2002 ran an unsuccessful campaign against incumbent Rick Perry for the position of Governor of Texas. He is also known for his enormously successful oil and gas business, which is based out of Laredo, Texas.
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[edit] Education
Sanchez holds degrees in business administration and law from St. Mary's University.
[edit] Early career and scandals
Sanchez was CEO of Tesoro Savings and Loan during the 1980s. He famously admitted to $25 million of Mexican Mafia money being laundered under his watch. Sanchez was found not guilty of any wrong doing, but his bank did eventually fail in 1988, at a federal cost of $161 million.
Sanchez briefly worked as Texas Parks and Wildlife commissioner, and after his time there, that agency granted him a controversial 1993 permit to drill gas wells in Falcon State Park. Putting a positive spin on the permit, Sanchez said, “There would be no greater joy than to see a beautiful park that our children and adults can go to and learn about the oil and gas industry.”
[edit] 2002 gubernatorial campaign
In March 2002 Sanchez defeated former state attorney general Dan Morales for the Democratic party's nomination for state governor. Later, Morales endorsed Sanchez's Republican opponent Rick Perry.
During Sanchez's bid to unseat incumbent Perry, the heated topic during the 2002 state election cycle was in response to homeowner's insurance reform (in the aftermath of a multimillion dollar settlement against Farmer's Insurance regarding mold coverage involving Texas legislator Joe Nixon).
In several Texas cities, both Sanchez and the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk shared their campaign space, where both a Hispanic and African American were campaigning on the ballot.
[edit] Campaign Controversy
It has been alleged that former Tony Sanchez blockwalkers/canvassers have brought forward allegations to which campaign personnel were forcing blockwalkers/canvassers to walk the same streets twice, along with starting the canvasses as early as 3 p.m. There have been reported allegations to which some canvassers - primarily those considered 'people of color' - were escorted out of suburban neighborhoods since the campaign has employed both African American and Hispanic youth. One incident in Brazoria County where a canvasser was packing a BB gun in his backpack sparked controversy, along with an off-duty canvasser (working another campaign for then-incumbent Texas State Representative Debra Danburg) who retrieved derelict yard signs where an e-mail was intercepted - both individuals were terminated at-will (the Brazoria County incident resulted in the canvasser placed under arrest, while the 'yard sign' retriever was terminated about 12 hours apart. To date, the latter of the two canvassers (who retrieved yard signs) is a known art car artist in the Houston area and currently self-employed as a photojournalist/photographer (because of the campaign controversy - the unnamed individual, who was a then-master's degree recipient of the University of Houston Clear Lake, is unable to seek further employment in political campaigns).
[edit] Current status
Sanchez also has been a major investor in Blockbuster, Viacom and high-tech ventures. His wealth is estimated at over $600 million.
Sanchez has also contributed huge amounts of money to George W. Bush, and his first campaign. In fact, after Enron, Sanchez was the largest donor, giving an estimated half a million dollars, according to the Center for Public Integrity.
Sanchez has served as aide to Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes. Today, he is chairman and CEO of Sanchez Oil & Gas Corporation, a privately held company he built with his father, Antonio Sanchez, Sr. He and his family are also majority owners of International Bancshares Corporation, a multi-billion dollar bank holding company.
Right after the March 7, 2006 primary, Sanchez announced his support of independent gubernatorial candidate Carol Keeton Strayhorn.
