During each legislative session, the Speaker of the House hosts a dinner for his predecessors. This year the nine living former Speakers, Democrats all, made their way to Pete Laney’s Capitol apartment on the night of April 25, and in addition to dining on mixed grill, garlic mashed potatoes, and green beans, they chewed over warm memories and caught one another up on what they’re doing today.
Reuben Senterfitt (1951-1955) is semi-retired from his law practice and lives in San Saba, where he spends time on his family’s three-thousand-acre ranch.
Jim Lindsay (1955-1957) spends part of the year in Redwood Valley, California, where he and his wife are planting a vineyard, and the rest in Texarkana, where they run a real estate business with two of their children.
Waggoner Carr (1957-1961) is semi-retired from his Austin law practice—though he still represents the family of Jesse James, who hopes to stake its claim to unspecified loot that the outlaw allegedly buried—and is writing a book about the early days of Texas.
James Turman (1961-1963) is retired after many years as an educator and lives in Corpus Christi, though he and his wife travel in their motor home as much as possible.
Ben Barnes (1965-1969) is the CEO of Entrecorp, an Austin lobbying and consulting firm (see page 46).
Gus Mutscher (1969-1971) is the CEO and founder of Governmental Network Services, a political and policy research shop in Brenham.
Rayford Price (1971-1973) practices law in Austin and lobbies on behalf of insurance companies and other clients.
Billy Clayton (1975-1983) is the owner and president of Capital Consultants, an Austin lobbying firm whose clients range from Hewlett-Packard to the City of Mesquite.
And Gib Lewis (1983-1993) runs a graphic arts business in Fort Worth, tends to his ranches in Ellis and Williamson counties, and lobbies for the National Rifle Association, Allied Waste Industries, and other clients.
