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Democratic congressman Mark Udall
Democratic congressman Mark Udall
U.S. Senate Candidate Accused of Conflict of Interest
July 23, 2008 09:50 AM
A financial disclosure shows that Colorado’s Democratic senatorial candidate Mark Udall could profit from the energy policies he is promoting in his campaign.
30-Second Summary
In a May 22 disclosure to the Senate Ethics Committee, Colorado’s Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mark Udall revealed that he has at least $31,000 devoted to mutual funds and IRAs supported by clean energy investments.
“These investments could benefit from policies Udall has announced his support for both on the campaign trail and during his time in the U.S. House of Representatives,” according to Grand Junction, Colo. paper The Daily Sentinel.
Udall has been a vocal supporter of renewable energy. “America’s future as a great nation is at peril unless we rapidly achieve energy independence,” Udall says on his Web site. “To meet this challenge, we need a more diverse portfolio of energy resources, including renewable energy.”
Tara Trujillo, a spokeswoman for Udall, said he “supports that vision in every way possible, including with his own investments,” Trujillo stated.
Udall has stated that he will pursue a renewable energy standard if he is elected to the Senate.
Dick Wadhams, campaign manager for Udall’s opponent, says Udall “should hold himself to the same standards that his campaign seems to be applying to Bob Schaffer, which is any involvement with any business entity is inherently a conflict of interest.”
During their campaigns, both Udall and Schaffer have touted energy independence for the United States.
J. Robinson West, chairman of the oil and gas consulting firm PFC Energy, says some people aren’t looking at the issue the right way.
“Many politicians and commentators offer long-term visions for a problem that needs immediate practical solutions requiring difficult choices and compromises. Breezy generalities about the future that ignore harsh economics and science are useless.”
“These investments could benefit from policies Udall has announced his support for both on the campaign trail and during his time in the U.S. House of Representatives,” according to Grand Junction, Colo. paper The Daily Sentinel.
Udall has been a vocal supporter of renewable energy. “America’s future as a great nation is at peril unless we rapidly achieve energy independence,” Udall says on his Web site. “To meet this challenge, we need a more diverse portfolio of energy resources, including renewable energy.”
Tara Trujillo, a spokeswoman for Udall, said he “supports that vision in every way possible, including with his own investments,” Trujillo stated.
Udall has stated that he will pursue a renewable energy standard if he is elected to the Senate.
Dick Wadhams, campaign manager for Udall’s opponent, says Udall “should hold himself to the same standards that his campaign seems to be applying to Bob Schaffer, which is any involvement with any business entity is inherently a conflict of interest.”
During their campaigns, both Udall and Schaffer have touted energy independence for the United States.
J. Robinson West, chairman of the oil and gas consulting firm PFC Energy, says some people aren’t looking at the issue the right way.
“Many politicians and commentators offer long-term visions for a problem that needs immediate practical solutions requiring difficult choices and compromises. Breezy generalities about the future that ignore harsh economics and science are useless.”
Headline Link: ‘Candidate Investments Could Earn Windfalls from Public Proposals’
Mark Udall’s opponent Bob Schaffer also has some investments people may consider “inappropriate,” according to The Daily Sentinel. Schaffer’s May 14 Senate Ethics Committee financial disclosure indicated that he has at least five IRAs and funds invested in companies that conduct business with the government of Sudan. “Sudan’s government has done nothing to halt a genocide occurring in the country’s Darfur region,” the paper explained.
Source: The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colo.)
Background: Debating energy issues
Udall and Schaffer recently completed their first debate in the Senate race, and energy issues were a prominent part of their discussion. While Schaffer emphasized the potential of oil shale in Colorado, Udall acknowledged that the United States needed to “take another look” at nuclear power and some offshore drilling. Udall also referenced Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens and his push for additional wind power.
Source: Durango Herald
Reactions: Mark Udall and Bob Schaffer on energy independence
“I have long been an advocate of renewable energy going back to my early efforts at the state legislature to pass Colorado’s first renewable energy efficiency standard,” Mark Udall writes on his Web site. Udall says he advocates a balance of renewable energy practices, along with continued use of natural gas, coal and nuclear power.
Source: Mark Udall for Colorado
On his Web site, Bob Schaffer says he also supports renewable energy development, along with the building of new refineries and the expansion of old ones. “Coloradans have made it clear they want to help lead America to a future of energy independence,” he claims, and that goal “can be achieved by taking a long-range, comprehensive approach.”
Source: Bob Schaffer for United States Senate
Related Topics: Energy independence; oilman wants more wind power
J. Robinson West, chairman of PFC Energy, an oil and gas consulting firm, says energy independence is “a rarely defined goal trotted out for energy crises but not achieved. A sensible definition: a condition in which foreign powers can neither interrupt our energy supplies nor affect prices.”
Source: U.S. News & World Report
Billionaire oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens is hoping to steer the United States away from fossil fuels and toward wind power. Many states are already on the way.
Source: findingDulcinea
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