Tech regent Mark Griffin resigns
September 8, 2009
Texas Tech regent Mark Griffin said today he was pressured to resign his governor-appointed seat after he endorsed Gov. Rick Perry’s rival, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, in the governor’s race.
Griffin, who made a recent public appearance endorsing Hutchison, told The Associated Press that Perry’s former chief of staff, Brian Newby, called him days later with the message: “The governor expects loyalty out of his appointees.”
Griffin said he asked Newby if the governor wanted him to resign and Newby said yes. Griffin said Newby told him, “The governor’s not going to ask you himself” but Griffin says he got the impression that his resignation was in the best interest of the university.
Hutchison is challenging Perry in the March 2010 Republican primary. Perry is seeking his third full term as governor.