New England Coalition Fires a Shot Across the Bow [UPDATE]

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(Bumped with update – promoted by JulieWaters)

UPDATE: Sorrell’s not touching this.

Per today’s Brattleboro Reformer (piece by Bob Audette):

A regional activist group opposed to the continued operation of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant has asked Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell to investigate the relationship between a Vermont Yankee lobbyist and the state’s governor and its commissioner of the Department of Public Service.

[…]

A spokesman from O’Brien’s office referred all calls to the governor’s office.

“This is a personal attack by an organization that is desperate to ensure that Vermont Yankee is shut down,” stated Dennise Casey, spokeswoman for Douglas, in an e-mail to the Reformer. “Vermonters know that Gov. Douglas will always put Vermont first no matter what the issue.”

So… how much are taxpayers paying a paid spokesstooge to do this?

But hey, Yankee can play as well:

“We’re disappointed that Jay Thayer has been subjected to a personal attack,” said Larry Smith, director of communications for Yankee. “Jay and Entergy have fully complied with Vermont’s ethics and reporting laws.”

Look!  Matching talking points.

So… does NEC have a case?  Maybe so:

“The spectacle of the commissioner socializing with the key lobbyist of a business that he has a duty to regulate; and worse, arranging the soirée to include members of the Legislature and utility representatives, underscores a growing public perception that both the department and the governor are tainted by partiality favoring the fortunes of Entergy Nuclear,” according to the letter filed with the attorney general.

This actually does sound kind of serious.  I hope Sorrell treats it as such.

8 thoughts on “New England Coalition Fires a Shot Across the Bow [UPDATE]”

  1.   PR Casey’s statements are notably a long distance from even touching on the allegations of impropriety.Cozy little world they have …The attorney general should also investigate whether O’Brien knew that Thayer and his wife made contributions to the governor’s campaign coffers of at least $2,000.

    How is that code of ethics working for you Governor ?

    The Executive Code of Ethics, which was approved by Douglas in 2003, warns government appointees they need to be aware of the “appearance of a conflict of interest … the impression that a reasonable person might have, after full disclosure of the facts, that an appointee’s judgment might be significantly influenced by outside interests, even though there is no actual conflict of interest.” Appointees “must conduct the affairs of his or her office in such a manner as to instill public trust and confidence,” according to the code. Appointees need to “take all reasonable steps” to avoid undermining his or her independence or impartiality or affecting adversely the confidence of the public in the integrity of state government, according to the code.

  2. Report Holds Good News for Vt. Yankee,

    WCAX Montpelier, Vermont – December 23, 2008

    Vermont Yankee is getting good news from the Vermont Public Service Department.A new report by the Department of Public Service says the plant can operate safely for another 40 years. “So these issues they are struggling with and having difficulty with the public and regulators– they can be corrected and it’s fundamentally up to Entergy to make that decision and to make things right it seems to me,” said David O’Brien, Vt. Public Service Dept. Commissioner.

    http://www.wcax.com/Global/sto…

  3. that allows the Governor to trump every game with his own appointed commissioners and judges. Since Douglas re-wrote his own ethics policy in such a way as to allow him to appoint persons with conflicts of interest to serve in positions of power, he has essentially taken the regulator out of regulation.  Now, we have developers and interested property owners serving as District Commissioners, sitting in judgment on projects that affect their own pocketbooks; and our only recourse is to judges whom Douglas also appoints to reflect his own business bias.  Until we confront the issue of conflicts of interest squarely AND CONSEQUENTIALLY, we might as well forget about any kind of meaningful review and regulation in Vermont.

  5. Sorrell said he has no purview over the governor’s executive code. The group had suggested Sorrell look at whether Commissioner David O’Brien’s Christmas party invitation to Jay Thayer, vice president for operations of Entergy Nuclear, violated the code. “This office does not have any authority or jurisdiction in this regard,” Sorrell wrote.

    The group had also asked Sorrell to see if there were other indications that O’Brien’s was overly close to Vermont Yankee. Sorrell said his office is not in the practice of going on fishing expeditions.

    http://www.burlingtonfreepress…

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