AUSTIN – On Sunday, the Dallas Morning News published a blockbuster story about the Democrats’ nominee for governor, Bill White. The story’s title is very straightforward: “Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White profited from failing oil and gas company.”

As usual, there’s more to the story. For years, White has claimed that Frontera was a money-losing venture for him. But as the Morning News reports, that wasn’t true, not by a long shot:

“White’s business record has always contained one large blemish, one wrong turn, one investment that his political opponents have bludgeoned him with as a case study in failure. This was Frontera Resources, an oil and gas exploration company he founded in 1996.

White had sunk more than a million dollars of his own money into it. And then, by his own statements, he had lost it to political intrigue and trouble finding oil. Frontera, it seemed, was the rare White failure.

But as it turns out, that isn’t true.

In response to questions from The Dallas Morning News, White now says that, based on his sales of Frontera stock since 2006, he actually made a $1.1 million net profit on his investment.”

Notably, while White made money on Frontera, his fellow investors lost money. But that’s not the heart of this story, and neither is the fact that White made money. The heart of this story is Bill White’s credibility, and it can be summed up in three points.

  1. Bill White claimed for years that he lost money on Frontera Resources.
  2. Bill White’s claim to have lost money on Frontera Resources was not true.
  3. Bill White only acknowledged the truth when he was forced to do so.

We’ve seen this pattern with Bill White repeated over and over during the course of the campaign. He tells one story, then changes his story when the actual facts come out. This is why Bill White should release all of his tax returns from all of his years in public service, and it may explain why he hasn’t done so even after more than 130 days of delays: Bill White still has something to hide.

Please consider the following as the Republican Party of Texas response to the Dallas Morning News’ explosive story:

“Bill White needs to stop the double talk and shoot straight with Texans,” said Republican Party of Texas spokesman Bryan Preston. “He certainly hasn’t done that on Frontera, and it fits what we’re learning about White’s character overall. Bill White builds these narratives about himself that all collapse once the facts come out. From the Wedge Group payments to hiring BTEC for hurricane relief when he had an interest in that company, to his tall tales about Frontera, all of which only came to light after Bill White couldn’t sustain his falsehoods anymore, Texans are tired of these huge White lies.”

Link: “Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White profited from failing oil and gas company,” Dallas Morning News, June 18, 2010: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/071810dntexwhitefrontera.1ee182a.html