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Saturday, January 10, 2004The charitable checks and pledges were delivered to Dean and his aides in the mid-1990s by a lobbyist for the insurers. In one letter on his official stationery, Dean wrote lobbyist John L. Primmer to tell him about the status of a state tax break for the industry and to simultaneously thank him for a personal gift. 'Both of these bills have the potential to help further opportunities in this area and bring high quality economically beneficial jobs to Vermont,' Dean wrote on April 27, 1993 to Primmer, whose clients over the years included a coalition for reinsurers and the Vermont Captive Insurance Association. 'Thanks for the gift and your support. Please be in touch with further questions or comments,' the then-governor added. ....But in a 1993 letter to Dean, Primmer wrote that two insurers were sending a gift to the governor, described only as a 'package,' after Dean met with them to discuss the bill that would provide new tax breaks. Dean signed that bill into law later that year. In 1994, Primmer donated $250 to Dean's re-election campaign. And in a series of 1995 letters, Primmer passed along a $7,500 check to Dean's school fund from insurer Commercial Reinsurance Company, and pledges for an additional $55,000 from that company and another insurer named MEDMARC. 'We greatly appreciate the flexibility your administration and it predecessors have promoted in the regulation of insurance companies,' a MEDMARC executive wrote in a 'Dear Gov. Dean' letter around the time of the donations. " The money in question went to a Dean-sponsored charity to provide Vermont schools with computers, not to the governor's pocket. Even so, his willingness to trade favors with lobbyists speaks ill of his scruples. In the matter of pharmaceutical company honoraria, however, Dean is more doctor than politician: The largest sum of speaking fees -- $9,000 -- was paid to Dean for two speeches he made in spring 1998 and spring 1999 to Astra USA, now known as AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical giant that makes the popular ulcer drug Prilosec. ....Dean was paid $4,000 for the 1998 speech, and received $5,000 more in 1999 to speak again to Astra, according to the information Dean provided to the AP. ...The new information shows Dean also received speaking fees in 1998 of $1,000 from the University of Texas Science Center, $1,000 from the American Academy of Pediatrics and $2,633 from the University of Arizona Foundation. In all, Dean earned $13,633 in speaking fees while governor and another $5,000 after stepping down. The article points out that other governors decline honoraria while they're still politically active. One has to wonder whether Dean has any scruples at all. (also via Upper Left) And, when it comes to tort reform it's impossible to tell where Dean stands. Caveat emptor. posted by Sydney on 1/10/2004 09:29:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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