Is the Texas Enterprise Fund just tool to spark economic development or is it a wheel-greaser between elected officials and the business interests that help finance their campaigns? The Houston Chronicle examines one curious exchange of cash for cash.

The Fund is administered by the Governor, Lt. Governor, and House Speaker and after they gave a $22 million grant to Rackspace Managed Hosting, two officials presiding over the awarding of the grant received generous contributions from the head of Rackspace, Graham Weston. Coincidence?

The donations are modest drops in Perry's and Craddick's fundraising pools. But the contribution to the governor is the largest yet reported by the Rackspace PAC, a newcomer to the political donor game. It made only a handful of contributions to state officials last year.

Weston, a real estate investor, also has been an infrequent contributor to state officeholders. His Craddick donation is one of his largest.

One state Representative, Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, has some ideas about the true nature of the Fund.

"It (the enterprise fund) is a political friend-builder, whether it's rewarding friends they (officials) already had or creating new friends," he said. "And they're doing it with the public's money."