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SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah's attorney general says he had no idea the state's transportation agency had resolved a dispute over the awarding of the I-15 CORE project bid by paying one losing bidder $13 million.
Attorney general upset with way settlement was handled
Mark Shurtleff says he's upset legal questions about the settlement were never brought to him. He claims it's something that should have been run up the chain of command to him but wasn't.
Related:
Corroon's spokesman reprimanded for political e-mail
Salt Lake County's spokesman is getting a reprimand for an e-mail he sent from his county e-mail address.The settlement took place in February, after the losing bidder claimed UDOT executives showed a pattern of favoritism that tipped the scales in favor of its competitor. UDOT executive director John Njord said the state didn't do anything wrong, and would have prevailed in court, but he didn't want to slow down the project or face an expensive court battle
Shurtleff says legal questions about the settlement never made it to him.
"We have an attorney who represents UDOT. As soon as we heard about this, I inquired," Shurtleff said. My section chief over transportation and UDOT did not know, my division chief did not know, and it did not come up."
"My attorney did [know]," Shurtleff continued. "We're looking into that and we will take action on that. That's certainly something we should have been told about."
Shurtleff claims he should have been asked if UDOT could pay a costly claim without notifying the governor or lawmakers. The attorney general is not ruling out an investigation.
"If you find a direct link where a governor, for example, walks in and tells a selection committee ‘you will choose this company or you will give them extra points for this purpose,' you probably have a concern there," he said. "I haven't heard anything. In fact, the governor has been saying none of that occurred."
Settlement heats up governor's race
Meanwhile, questions about whether $87,000 in campaign contributions helped the winning bidder get the job have ignited the governor's race.
Democratic challenger Peter Corroon's campaign has suggested there could be a pay-to-play mentality in the governor's office.
You create a perception that Utah allows a system of 'pay for play.' That, Mayor Corroon, is not only absolutely false -- you know it is false!
–Gov. Gary Herbert
Corroon released a lengthy memo titled "Gary Herbert: Governor for $ale" detailing numerous instances where contributors received state benefits shortly before or after making a contribution. Corroon has also begun airing commercials that point out the same things.
Much of the pay-to-play attention has focused on the awarding of that $1.1 billion UDOT contract to a group of companies donated tens of thousands of dollars to Herbert's campaign.
Herbert said he was unaware of the $13 million settlement until Njord disclosed it at a news conference Monday, which was intended to show the executive branch isn't influenced by campaign contributions.
Herbert has repeatedly and angrily denied any wrongdoing. He considers the commercials and the memo an attack on his integrity and on the businesses that donated to his campaign and won state contracts.
Late Thursday, Herbert sent reporters and Corroon a lettertelling him to stop suggesting that he and state government are somehow corrupt.
"You create a perception that Utah allows a system of 'pay for play.' That, Mayor Corroon, is not only absolutely false -- you know it is false!," Herbert wrote.
He had the meetings. He took the money. And, his donors got the contracts, tax credits and incentives, and favors. A review of public documents and the campaigns finance reports demonstrate a pattern, with numerous unique cases, which at a minimum warrant public review.
–Donald Dunn
Corroon's campaign manager, Donald Dunn, responded late Thursday with a letter to Herbert's campaign saying Corroon welcomes a discussion about campaign finance laws.
"He had the meetings. He took the money. And, his donors got the contracts, tax credits and incentives, and favors. A review of public documents and the campaigns finance reports demonstrate a pattern, with numerous unique cases, which at a minimum warrant public review," Dunn wrote. "Issues involving the public trust and public purse are of grave importance, and on the minds of voters."
Herbert campaign spokesman Don Olsen said if Corroon wanted to discuss campaign finance and ethics laws, there could have been a better way to broach the topic.
"If that is what Mr. Corroon really intend to do, he could've done it in a way that showed at least a modicum of class and a modicum of civility," Olsen said. "Instead, he used all of these falsehoods, all of this salacious attack language to make a point."
In addition, the governor's campaign says Corroon needs to answer questions about donors to the mayor linked to firms that do business with Salt Lake County.
A search of Corroon's website shows companies identified by Herbert's campaign gave more than $20,000, including just over $9,000 from Jerry Seiner Chevrolet and one of its executives. The county has a contract with Seiner through October of 2011.
Corroon's camp says there was no special treatment.
The materials also address $50,000 given to the Corroon campaign from high-profile developer Kem Garder.
"Kem Gardner has no business before the county," Corroon says. "I don't know that I've met with Kem Gardner in my office in the last six years."
All of this takes place against the backdrop of a major fundraising gala for the governor Saturday evening. The governor's campaign manager insists the latest controversy hasn't altered fundraising totals or plans for the event.
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Story compiled with contributions from KSL's John Daley and Brock Vergakis of The Associated Press.
