Hutchison, part of group that runs Alamo, says state needs bigger role in shrine’s finances

By MARJORIE KORN / The Dallas Morning News

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a member of the volunteer group that runs the Alamo, says the governor’s office should take a more active role in reviewing the state-owned shrine’s finances.

Hutchison, a Republican trying to unseat GOP Gov. Rick Perry, admonished his office for not examining the independent audits it receives annually from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the Alamo’s custodians since 1905.

“The governor’s office, for sure, should be looking at the audits, instead of throwing them away and saying, ‘We don’t need to look at this,’ ” Hutchison said last week.

Perry countered, saying that instead of having his office or the Legislature intercede, the city of San Antonio and the Daughters should work together to ensure proper scrutiny. He said he favors more transparency, but stopped short of intervention.

“The state has no direct oversight or authority. And frankly, us trying to force ourselves into that without the appropriate legislative oversight and the appropriate legislative debate might be a little presumptuous,” Perry said.

The Alamo’s former director and a few group members have complained that the Daughters squelched efforts to boost on-site revenue. The Daughters’ leaders say the Alamo is financially secure and well-run.

For at least the past decade, the governor’s office has never examined the financial reports from the Daughters – and in recent years, it has thrown away most of the records. That means no Texas agency oversees the Daughters’ finances.

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