Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY -- Gov. Gary Herbert defended himself Monday against what he called "below the belt" allegations connecting his campaign contributions to the award of state contracts and tax incentives.
During a 1 1/2-hour long meeting with the Deseret News editorial board, the governor acknowledged a $13 million settlement quietly negotiated with a losing bidder for a roads project could have been handled better.
"The public deserves to have confidence that the system has integrity. And I get it. I understand it," Herbert said. "So where we are having some mistakes and some flaws, we will work to correct those issues."
He did not take issue with any of the details reported about meetings he had with campaign contributors later awarded state contracts, including the contract for the disputed roads project, the $1.7 billion reconstruction of I-15 through Utah County.
KSL-TV and the Deseret News first reported more than a week ago that Herbert was given more than $82,500 in campaign contributions by members of the winning bid team, Provo River Constructors, including $50,000 from a company head who also had two private meetings with the governor.
"We don't dispute the facts, like a donation, like I met with people, like I met with many people who have given me no donations," Herbert said. "I dispute the conclusion."
The governor, who had not addressed the questions being raised about the influence of contributions to his campaign since a contentious news conference a week ago, said if he had attempted to sway the award, the outcome would have been different.
"I can tell you, one of my best friends is Wilford Clyde," Herbert said. "If I was going to tilt it anywhere, I would tilt it for my buddy. He's supported us since 2004 for governor and they came in third."
Clyde, the mayor of Springville, is the CEO of W.W. Clyde & Co., a Utah County company that was part of the other losing bid team for the I-15 project. He and his company, which has won other UDOT contracts, have contributed $37,500 to the governor's campaign.
Herbert said he was most concerned about being "blindsided" by the news that the Utah Department of Transportation had settled earlier this year with the second-place bid team for the I-15 project.
The $13 million payout to the Flatiron/Skanska/Zachry bid team did not become public until the governor's news conference a week ago. The governor, legislative leaders and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff have all said they knew nothing about the settlement.
The governor said the settlement was legal and helped avoid a costly delay on the project, suggesting the concerns raised by Flatiron about whether the state favored the Provo River bid team amounted to a "nuisance."
"We've got the right outcome," Herbert said. "But the fact we didn't know is troubling to me and I think we need to take a look at this. I expect we will in the next legislative session."
He said he had no specific proposals for improving the settlement process. UDOT is currently exempted from having to get approval from the governor and lawmakers for large payouts.
"When you didn't know, then you should have known. You should have been more involved there. If I'm more involved, they say, ‘yeah, you helped tip the scales,'" the governor said. "I'm not sure what the answer is, but I do believe there should have been better communication."
Herbert said he could raise the same issues about campaign contributions to his Democratic opponent, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon.
"I choose not to do that," the governor said.
Last week, however, his campaign released information it had collected on Corroon's contributions that showed he received more than $20,000 from donors connected to companies that do business with the county.
Herbert and Corroon disagree on limiting campaign contributions. The governor opposes any limit while Corroon wants contributions capped at $10,000, or banned if they're from companies that do business with the state.
"If I thought it would make elections better, I'm certainly willing to listen to the arguments and come at it with an open mind," Herbert said. But he said he prefers instant disclosures of contributions, as both candidates are doing on their campaign websites.
"You think if I was a little bit shady, I'd be a little smarter about disclosures," the governor said. "We're not playing any shady games here. … I've been pretty straight and open about this thing. I'm not trying to game anything."
E-mail: lisa@desnews.com
