President Barack Obama (pictured, left) will break bread with Dallas trial lawyer Russell Budd(pictured, right) and about 90 other Democratic supporters at a fundraiser tonight at Budd’s Highland Park home. The buffet dinner will raise money for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). “He’s coming to my house. It’s amazing,” Budd said during an Aug. 6 telephone interview. Budd, president and managing shareholder of Baron & Budd, supported Obama during the Democratic presidential primary in 2008. Bill White, a Houston lawyer who is the Democratic candidate for Texas governor, is not attending the private fundraiser, but Budd says a number of lawyers will be in the crowd, including U.S. Trade Representative and former Dallas MayorRon Kirk; American Association for Justice Vice President Mary Alice McLarty, of Dallas’ McLarty Law Firm; and Domingo Garcia of Domingo Garcia P.C.of Dallas. Possibly also in attendance will be the winner of the DSCC's "Dinner With President Obama in Dallas, TX" Sweepstakes. The rules and restrictions, likely written by a lawyer, note that one winner was to receive the prize package that includes: up to $1,000 toward two round-trip coach-class flights from an airport within the continental United States to and from Dallas (approximate retail value $1,000); one night's stay at a hotel in Dallas the night of Aug. 9 in a double-occupancy room or room of equivalent value (approximate retail value $300); and two tickets for admission to the dinner with Obama in Dallas on Aug. 9 (approximate retail value $1,000). The approximate retail value of the trip package is $2,300. With temperatures in Dallas this week topping 100 degrees, Budd said he was trying to line up some “supplemental air conditioning” for his house for tonight's fundraiser. The menu includes shaved Virginia ham on sweet potato biscuits, southern grit cake with barbecue brisket, beef tenderloin and mushrooms with bacon crumbles, says Baron & Budd marketing director Susan Knape. A spokesman for White’s campaign did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment about the fundraiser, but Deputy White House Press Secretary Bill Burton told reporters this morning that he’s not offended that White isn’t attending. Burton said, according to a pool report, that Obama “thinks that candidates should make their own decisions about how best to spend their time.”
-- Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
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