-Caveat Lector-
"Rev. Tony Evans is a prominent speaker in Promise Keepers, a national
evangelical men's group. He and Bush are friends who sometimes pray
together."
Bush Skips Gov.'s Border Gathering
By SCOTT LINDLAW
.c The Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - When the governors of U.S.-Mexico border states
gather for their annual conference this month, there will be one very
conspicuous absence: Texas Gov. George W. Bush.
He will be the only invited governor on either side of the border to skip the
event. Last year, Bush was host to the gathering when it took place in Texas.
Bush has cultivated warm trade and cultural relations with Mexico that for
years have been the envy of other border states, particularly California. The
front-running Republican presidential candidate has made his state's strong
ties to Mexico part of his overtures to Hispanic voters.
But when the border governors convene Sept. 9 in Tijuana, Mexico, Bush will
be addressing an anniversary celebration for a church in the Dallas area,
said Bush spokeswoman Mindy Tucker.
``He would have gone, but he had already agreed to attend the event for his
friend Tony Evans,'' Tucker said.
The Rev. Tony Evans is co-founder and pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship
Church in Dallas and a prominent speaker in Promise Keepers, a national
evangelical men's group. He and Bush are friends who sometimes pray together.
The Sept. 9 celebration, marking both Evans' 50th birthday and the 30th
anniversary of his ministry, is taking place so late that Bush won't be able
to attend day two of the border conference either, Tucker said.
The 17th annual border conference will focus on cross-border infrastructure,
bolstering the image of the border region, protecting the environment and
preparing for natural disasters.
``I think it will be a good time for them to come so we can expand all the
relationships between the states, and fortify them,'' said Patricia Sahragui,
a spokeswoman for Alejandro Gonzalez Alcocer, governor of the Mexican state
of Baja California.
But she understood Bush's decision. ``This event has been scheduled for a lot
of months, but we can understand things that can be in their way, so they
can't attend,'' Sahragui said.
In July, Bush decided not to appear at a national conference of minority
journalists in Seattle, even though he already was in town. Stung by
criticism from conference attendees and from the news media, he reversed
himself and showed up.
A few weeks later, he angered some Hispanics by declining to speak to the
National Council of La Raza, a Latino advocacy group. Bush was vacationing in
Maine at the time.
But Bush has made several trips to Mexico to meet with its presidents, and on
Friday, he appeared with President Ernesto Zedillo at the opening of a new
bridge on the Texas-Mexico border. On Thursday he attended a Latin Business
Association luncheon in Los Angeles.
With Bush absent, the other three U.S. governors will take on higher
profiles. Gray Davis of California, Gary Johnson of New Mexico and Jane Hull
of Arizona have said they will attend, joining six Mexican governors.
The gathering will have special significance for Davis, who has made a point
of improving California-Mexico ties after the tenure of California Gov. Pete
Wilson, whom many Mexicans distrusted for his attempts to halt illegal
immigration.
When Davis replaced Wilson this year, one of his first acts was travel to
Mexico City and Monterrey, Mexico, to bolster trade, education and cultural
links.
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