Wonder if 'One Tough Grandma' opened the mail
Bruce Tomaso, reporter/editor extraordinaire in our metro dept., just had an unusual encounter with a statewide elected official. He reports:
Just before lunch, I called the Comptroller's Office, seeking a piece of information I need for a story I'm working on. I dialed the number listed in the Texas State Directory.
"Hello," a woman said.
Is this the state comptroller's office? I asked, fairly sure I'd dialed a wrong number.
"Yes it is. This is Susan Combs," the woman said.
Ii told her that in 23 years at The Dallas Morning News, I had never dialed the office of a statewide official during business hours and had that person answer his or her own phone.
Ms. Combs said she just doesn't like to hear a ringing phone go unanswered in her office, and will usually answer them if no one else does. An old habit, she said.
And when I told her why I was calling, she took my name and number, and the person with the information that I needed called me back within minutes.
Comments
Carole Strayhorn was a great Comptroller. But even more importantly, she continues to be a great leader and a great person. I can personally attest that she did a lot more than open the mail. She has shown Texans that there are still some political leaders who are led by a moral compass as opposed to personal gain or special interests.
Posted by: Justin Rosales | April 27, 2007 1:13 PM
Justin, the post clearly was not meant to be at all demeaning to Carole Strayhorn. It was more a "wow, if Susan Combs answers the phones, maybe Carole Strayhorn opened and sorted her own mail. Those crazy, do-it-themselves comptrollers."
Posted by: anon | April 27, 2007 2:41 PM