Conflict of interest: Beshear official shouldn’t sully Ford deal with nearby land ownership.
If you want to know why so many people hate and distrust their government, look no further than the good old Commonwealth of Kentucky.
It doesn’t matter which political party; there’s always someone looking to profit from public service. Take Terry Gill. He was secretary of the economic development cabinet under former Gov. Matt Bevin, and helped set up the very unusual incentive of a $15 million investment to a company named Braidy Industries, which was going to build an aluminum plant in Ashland.
We all know how that went; state lawmakers said last week they were “played for fools” by an investment in a company that now has a new name, a new CEO, but no aluminum plant. And guess who the CEO is? You got it, Terry Gill, who became a contractor for Unity Aluminum in April 2020 before he was promoted, according to reporter Liz Moomey. Nate Haney, senior vice president of global affairs and commercial operations for Unity, was also a member of the Bevin administration.
Now consider the conduct of Larry Hayes, Gill’s predecessor and successor as economic development secretary under Daddy and Son Beshear. (Technically, he’s interim right now.) The Beshear administration is patting itself on the back for what could be a truly remarkable, Toyota-level investment announced earlier this week. Yes, the $5.8 billion investment and 5,000 new, full-time jobs promised by Ford Motor Company at two new electric battery plants in Hardin County could transform much of that part of the world with high-tech, high-paying employment and a boom to the sleepy area of Glendale.
And guess who stands to profit from that boom? Larry Hayes, who co-owns 8.5 acres of land in Glendale just a short distance from the state’s property, according to his most recent financial disclosure report. Hayes also is an owner and partner in an Elizabethtown warehouse business about seven miles up the road, writes John Cheves.
Hayes was already warned about the potential conflict of interest over this property, when he was secretary the first time and the state was trying to get a lithium-ion car battery plant to the Glendale site.
The Executive Branch Ethics Commission issued a statement in 2009.
“In light of your ownership interest in the properties located near the Hardin County industrial site which could, if not directly, certainly indirectly benefit from the successful development of the site as long as you remain interim secretary of economic development, you should abstain from any involvement in matters relating thereto,” the commission wrote to Hayes.
Hayes had failed to put his ownership of the property on his annual financial disclosure report until Cheves asked it about it in 2009.
As he reported back then: “Hayes and a longtime friend, former state Transportation Secretary Joe Prather, acquired land around Glendale from 1999 through 2006, before both men joined the first Beshear administration, land records show. Separately, Prather and his family also purchased land just north of that area and developed it into housing.”
It’s the same way that members of Congress just magically get richer while in office. They hear things, and know things, and act accordingly. Government officials have to work harder to make sure their dealings don’t even look like a conflict of interest.
State officials have assured us that Hayes will keep his personal and private interests separate, and that he does not have a vote on the board that will approve the Ford incentives. Eight acres is not much to profit off of, which begs the question why he didn’t sell it earlier. As many point out, he’s a successful businessman already. He doesn’t need to make more money. But Then why does he need to hold onto this land? You don’t get to have it both ways, even though public officials of every stripe seem to think they do.
The Governor’s office referred a request for comment to Jack Mazurak, spokesman for economic development, who repeated that Hayes and has been transparent about his investments and that he’s taken no official action on the Ford project.
That may be. But the the perception of conflict of interest, as recognized by the Ethics Commission, can be just as damaging. Gov. Beshear is seen as an upright politician, and even irritates his critics with his Dudley Do Right demeanor. But this is when we need it. Beshear should force Hayes into some kind of action so that Ford investment is not sullied by the perception of corruption. Otherwise, it’s just another reason to by cynical about government.
This story was originally published October 4, 2021 at 7:13 AM.
