Published: October 22, 2009 04:58 pm      

Perry OK with TABC chief soliciting campaign funds

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Gov. Rick Perry says he's OK with his re-election campaign getting help from the head of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

Perry said Thursday in San Antonio that agency chairman Jose Cuevas has been a supporter for 12 to 15 years and that he doesn't "have a problem in the world" with his appointee soliciting restaurants for donations.

The Dallas Morning News reports that Cuevas asked hundreds of restaurants to donate upward of $5,000 for a Perry fundraiser next month. The solicitation violates no laws, since Cuevas was not acting under the auspices of the commission.

Speaking to the San Antonio Board of Realtors, Perry said he imagined there were also members of the Texas Real Estate Commission soliciting campaign contributions for him "for no other reason than they think I'm the best person for the job."

Perry is up against U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Her campaign called the solicitation a "shakedown" for cash.