Perks for campaign donors?

SALT LAKE CITY — Nearly a year ago, Gov. Gary Herbert met with the head of a construction company vying for the state's largest-ever roads project, the rebuilding of I-15 through Utah County.

Less than a month later, Guy Wadsworth, president of Wadsworth Brothers Construction, contributed $50,000 to the governor's campaign. Other members of his bid team gave Herbert $15,000.

Wadsworth had another private meeting with the governor last November, even though it appears the other two bid teams had none. In December, the state awarded the $1.7 billion contract to his team, Provo River Constructors.

Herbert, who rallied with project workers in March, received another $17,500 from members of the bid team in June — a total of $82,500 from companies that were part of the winning bid.

The governor said contributors to his campaign aren't getting special treatment, but KSL-TV compared the governor's schedule with his donor list looking for similarities to a case that made news in February.

That's when Herbert's campaign deposited a $10,000 check the same day the governor met with officials of a coal mining company seeking a permit to mine in Southern Utah. State regulators apparently sped up the approval process after the meeting, but the governor's office denied any link.

The big road construction contract isn't all that turned up in the KSL analysis. Another example involves a former candidate for governor in 2004, Merit Medical CEO Fred Lampropoulos.

Lampropoulos, who appears in a new campaign ad touting the governor's efforts toward making Utah the best state for business, gave Herbert's campaign $50,000.

Half of that money came after two meetings about a week apart with the governor last October. The rest arrived in January, a little over a month after the Governor's Office of Economic Development board awarded Merit Medical a $4.36 million tax credit.

In between the meetings, Lampropoulos also gave the governor something else — an endorsement. Last fall, Herbert had only been in office a few months and was attempting to fend off any GOP challengers, an effort that included aggressive fundraising.

His first annual Governor's Gala then brought in a record $1 million. Herbert's second gala is set for Sept. 18, the last big push for cash before November's special gubernatorial election for the remaining two years of former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s term.