Despite charges, GOP aide to remain

By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff, June 9, 1999

A major Massachusetts Republican fund-raiser who is playing a key role in raising money here for Texas Governor George W. Bush's presidential race will continue to work on the campaign despite drunken-driving charges against him.

Alexander "Sandy" Tennant, a former executive director of the state GOP who has close ties to Governor Paul Cellucci, was arrested May 20 in Brookline after police found him asleep at 5 a.m in his car, which was running. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Police said they found Tennant, a Swampscott resident, in his white Mercedes at the intersection of St. Paul and Browne streets. The police report states that his foot was on the brake and he appeared intoxicated. Tennant refused a breathalyzer test and his license was immediately suspended.

Reached yesterday, Tennant said his lawyer had advised him not to talk about the details of the case. Sources close to Tennant say he is embarrassed over the charges, but is telling friends he will go through the court process and will be found innocent.

GOP sources who are involved in the Bush effort in Massachusetts said yesterday that there are no plans to dismiss Tennant, a longtime party activist. Instead most feel he should be given a chance to clear his name. "I think this is just a blip on the screen," said one GOP official.

Cellucci, who is Bush's leading supporter in Massachusetts, also offered his support for Tennant, saying he should be given a chance to prove his innocence in court.

In the early 1990s, Tennant, now a business consultant, chaired then-lieutenant governor Cellucci's fund-raising operations.

"Sandy Tennant has been a Republican Party activist for many years and I expect he'll continue to be a Republican Party activist," Cellucci told reporters. "Let's give the man his day in court first. He has the right to go to court. Let's find out whether he's guilty or not."

Still, the charges create some conflict for the governor. As lieutenant governor and as governor, Cellucci has been a strong advocate for toughening the state's drunken-driving laws.

In 1993, another Bush family political operative and close Cellucci associate, Ronald Kaufman, was arrested for drunken-driving after leaving then-Governor William F. Weld's home after a late-night poker game. Kaufman, who served as White House political director under President George Bush, pleaded guilty to the charge.

Bush, the front-running GOP presidential candidate, is scheduled to come to Boston Tuesday for his first major New England fund-raiser -- the same day as Tennant's next court date in the case.

In March, Tennant was part of a delegation of Massachusetts Republicans who went to Austin, Texas, to meet with Bush to pledge their support to raise funds for his presidential candidacy.

Tennant stirred up some controversy during the visit when he pressed Bush about reports of his "youthful indiscretions" that included excessive use of alcohol.