Reader comments
Bob Bernick Jr.: Despite what rules say, conflict of interest clear

At this point we need to have an ethics committee hearing. It won't amount to anything but it is all we can ask for.

Is it true that Tilton won't name his silent partner? Who is he hiding? And why? And how does this relate to the conflict of interest?

Let's piece this together. We have an un-named somebody that wants to fund the licensing process for a nuc plant. The licensing process runs roughly $100 million. Tilton drives a flashy BMW though he doesn't have $100 million, let alone $100k a year. Tilton is a front man, pure and simple.

Why Tilton? Tilton is nice enough, college drop out after one semester. He is noted as not particularly smart, or dumb. Quite average. He is not a physicist, successful business CEO. He has none of the normal qualifications that one would associate with a $3 billion investment. What does Tilton have?

He is a legislator in the very State, Vice Chairing the very committee that is needed to get the nuc plant and license going.

Tilton is a front man with nothing to offer but his legislative influence.

With a silent partner my tune changes. Tilton needs to resign.

Replace Noel and Tilton with teachers. They are the only ones in the Legislature without a conflict of interest.

Tilton should resign, and then the legislature needs to fix the "conflict of interest" language.

Way to go Bob! I couldn't be more proud of you. As a reporter, you broke the original story, and now you are stepping out with an editorial after you saw how brazenly they tried to brush the original article off. As you and I both know, our legislature is rampant with this kind of special interest activity. It is amazing to me to watch how many legislators quickly migrate to holdings of new property and land and list their new occupation as a "real estate" something or other. Speaker Curtis is leading the way with the Geneva road story. Until we have real and effective statutory rules, these guys will be unable to help themselves to the graft. Unfortunately, as long as our Legislature is effectively run by 2 or 3 people (tops), there is no chance for reform. Keep up the heat on this...you are serving the state very well.

thanks,
cliff

Hey Not Conflicted, glad you take government serious.

Every legislator will have a conflict of interest. Not every legislator lies about it, and goes out of their way to benefit from it. When you first heard about the nuc in Utah issue did you hear about Noel and Tilton? No? That didn't take place until the media dug up the connection, they we get these ridiculous denials.

I have watched votes in committees and the floor where legislators get up and state their conflict before they even talk about a subject. They do every thing they can to let every one know about it. Tilton lies about it because he wasn't ready to discuss it yet. What crud is that?!

His denial based on not being a regulated utility is almost identical to Al Gore's defense when demonstrated that he had illegally raised money that "there was no legal controlling authority."

Tilton needs to resign from the legislature, and go try to build him a power plant. Once he is out and loses his behind the scenes access to power see how quick his funding source private partner dries up.

This is about access via a front man.

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely. It's time for the One Party State to add some Competition to keep these clowns honest.

Right on Bob. This isn't the only conflict of interest you have reported. Readers should refer back to your story regarding "pressure to building a July 4 Float", and what it cost the Technical School's president. Will this one die a quite death, like the first one?

Nelson

Most states would have brought these folks up on charges of corruption...most states. Like the UTOPIA project the board has elected officials on the payroll...who do they serve? They need to write a law that has some moral as well as legal principles in it....second thought they need to know what morals are. Have a good day!

A lot to do about nothing. Those of you that think it is a Republican problem need to take a closer look. The only reason republicans have more conflict of interest is because there are more of them. In a part time legislature, which is far better than a full time legislature, every member will be in conflict of interest at some point, why else would they make the effort to be a member of the legislature.

We have the same situation brewing in Sevier County. There, a 270Mw coal-fired power plant is proposed to be constructed within 1 1/2 miles of 135 homes. The land has been put in trust by a company called TDA, but no one knows who these people are (other than the orig. declarants) and we're pretty certain that some local office-holders are involved, too.

In the past three years of living in the Six County region which incl. Sanpete and Sevier, I've witnessed more than one maneuver that's been "actionable," and the local media has been complicit. Utah: the home of amateur politics and graft disguised as benevolent oversight.

Thanks Bob.

A free, unfettered press with good, honest reporters is our best hope for good government.

I'm impressed with what you are doing, and it doesn't seem that Joe Cannon is standing in your way. That's good.

This is clearly a conflict of interest, I do not know the process or how to do it but these two need to be fired and an example made of them, I clearly think they should be criminally prosecuted and made examples of then watch the rest of them squirm, I bet if we could do these things the honesty and morality levels in our legeslature would rise to the occasion.