Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Give the Money Back AG Shurtleff!


JEAN WELCH HILL QUESTIONS SHURTLEFF'S ABILITY TO VIGOROUSLY DEFEND UTAH AGAINST ITALIAN NUCLEAR WASTE PLAN

Hill Says Shurtleff Should Return $26,400 In Campaign Contributions

SALT LAKE CITY – With campaign finance reports revealing that EnergySolutions is one of Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's largest campaign contributors, Shurtleff's opponent today questioned whether Utahns can be confident that Shurtleff will vigorously defend them against EnergySolutions' controversial plan to dump Italian nuclear waste in Tooele County.

"If we are going to avoid becoming the world's nuclear dumping ground, Utah needs the strongest legal representation," said Jean Welch Hill, the Democratic nominee for Utah Attorney General. "With $26,400 of EnergySolutions' money invested in his campaign, it is not clear that Mark Shurtleff can provide the kind of independent leadership in court that Utah needs."

EnergySolutions filed suit on Monday against the Northwest Interstate Compact on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management, of which Utah is a part. The Compact meets on Thursday to consider whether to approve EnergySolutions' plan to import radioactive waste from Italy for disposal at the company's Tooele facility. Gov. John Huntsman, Jr. has indicated that Utah will vote to block the waste. EnergySolutions questions the Compact's authority over its operations.

Campaign disclosures reveal that Mr. Shurtleff has received $26,400 in contributions from EnergySolutions and its corporate predecessor, Envirocare. Hill said that these contributions pose serious ethical concerns.

"Every law student knows that attorneys should avoid representing a client if the lawyer's personal interests, including financial interests, might affect his representation," Hill said. "At the very least, Shurtleff's huge campaign contributions from EnergySolutions create the appearance of a conflict of interest, with Mr. Shurtleff's important campaign donor on one side, and the citizens of Utah on the other."

"Conflict between EnergySolutions and the State is inevitable," Hill said. "Mr. Shurtleff never should have taken EnergySolutions' money, and at a minimum, he should return it now."


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hill is right on the money. Shurtleff has proved several times that he can be easily paid off.