A Republican National Convention press release
1 detailing Harriet Miers' qualifications for monitoring ethical standards at the event highlights two achievement awards:
To ensure that the 2000 Republican National Convention meets the highest ethical standards, Convention General Co-Chairman Andy Card today named three distinguished members of the Bar to advise him on any ethical issues that may arise during the convention.
"I am pleased that these highly respected individuals will assist me in running this convention under the high standards upon which Governor Bush has insisted," Card said.
Ms. Miers, the former president of both the State Bar of Texas and the Dallas Bar Association, specializes in litigation. She has received numerous awards recognizing her accomplishments, including the 1997 Woman of the Year by Today's Dallas Woman and the Women of Excellence Award given by Women's Enterprise Magazine. [Emphasis added]
Were the two awards given exclusively on the basis of merit or did nepotism and/or cronyism play any significant role?
Woman of the Year
Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers' Marquis Who's Who biography states that she was named Woman of the Year by Today's Dallas Woman in 1997. The resume of Clare Miers Wall, a former editor for the publication, raises questions regarding the objectivity of the decision making behind the selection of Miers for the annual award.
More than six years after it was created, Wall's resume was recently removed from AOL Hometown. It currently remains available in a Google cached version dated July 24, 2005. The original date of the resume may be estimated by the April 21, 1999 Last Modified Dates on the photos included in the resume.
The resume states that Wall's work experience included:
Dallas Woman Magazine (May 1995 to Present)
Postion: Freelance Writer and Rotation Home & Garden Editor
Harriet Miers is first on the list of Wall's Personal and Professional References. Today's Dallas Woman Editor Lindsey Townsend also appears on Wall's brief list of references.
Wall's other work experience included:
Legal Settlement Video Writer- Various Houston law firms
A public records search reveals that Clare E. Miers is associated with both Harris W. Miers and Wanda W. Miers at multiple Dallas residential addresses. Harris W. Miers is Harriet's older brother and Wanda was his first wife. Clare Miers Wall appears to be the couple's daughter.
Did Wall have any knowledge or involvement in the periodical's award selection process? When announcing the Women of the Year, did Today's Dallas Woman include a disclaimer indicating that the award recipient was related to one of its writers and editors?
[Photograph of Clare Miers Wall from Wall's GracefulHome.com Web site]
Women of Excellence
Many of Harriet Miers' biographies list her receipt of the Women of Excellence award from Women's Enterprise magazine. However, the brief descriptions of the award do not tell the full story. A news article at a consulting company Web site clarifies that the awards are given jointly by the periodical and the YWCA:
Each year, Women's Enterprise and the YWCA of Greater Dallas have to answer this question anew when the nominations begin rolling in for the annual Women of Excellence Awards. A careful look at the qualifications and achievements of these women make it clear that they are all women deserving of tremendous respect and admiration. And while this wealth of talent is incredibly inspiring, it also makes selecting only a handful of winners incredibly difficult. [Emphasis added]
Both Harriet Miers and her sister-in-law Elizabeth Lang-Miers served on the Board of Directors for the YWCA. And both women received a Women of Excellence Award. Harriet received her award in 1997 and Elizabeth received one the following year.
What years did the two women serve on the YWCA Board of Directors? Lang-Miers involvement with the organization can be easily traced back as early as 1995 when she was the recipient of the Volunteer with a Heart Award. Did the YWCA board make the decision to select its current or past members as Women of Excellence?
Miers v. Lang-Miers
Elizabeth Lang-Miers, a justice for the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas is married to Harriet Miers' brother Jeb. Over the years, Miers and her sister-in-law have held many of the same leadership positions and have been recipients of the same achievement awards including:
American Bar Foundation - Fellow
American Bar Association - House of Delegates
Dallas Bar Association - Director
Dallas Bar Association - Secretary
Dallas Bar Association - Vice President - Activities
Dallas Bar Association - Vice President - Administration
Dallas Bar Association - Vice Chairman
Dallas Bar Association - Chairman
Dallas Bar Association - President
Dallas Bar Foundation - Trustee
Louise Raggio Award (Harriet - 1996, Elizabeth - 1998)
Locke Liddell & Sapp, LLP - Partner
State Bar of Texas - Director
Texas Bar Foundation - Life Fellow
Young Women's Christian Association - Director
Women of Excellence (Harriet - 1997, Elizabeth 1998)
Did one of these women help blaze the trail for her sister-in-law and colleague? Or, is the fact that the two women both held all of these leadership positions coincidental?
[Photograph of Harriet Miers, Elizabeth Lang-Miers and Dr. Jeb Miers from DallasNews.com]
End Notes:
1 "Card Names Convention Ethics Advisors.", PR Newswire, July 18,2000:1
Cross-posted at ePluribus Media.