Stalwart GOP operative Hollis Rutledge helped campaign for George Herbert Walker Bush when he ran unsuccessfully for the open U.S. Senate in Texas in 1970. The Houston-based Republican was challenging Democrat Lloyd Bentsen, who, like Rutledge, was from Mission, Texas.
During Ronald Reagan's presidency, Rutledge served in the Department of Housing & Urban Development. When Bush succeeded Reagan, Rutledge was regional administrator for the General Services Administration.
Rutledge got to know Bush and his family very well. He sat down for an interview with Rio Grande Guardian editor Steve Taylor to pay tribute to 41. He said Bush does not get the credit he deserves for ushering in the North American Free Trade Agreement, which, Rutledge says, has transformed the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
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