Post by Fed Up on Aug 18, 2006 10:19:06 GMT -5
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Republicans demand Menendez apologize
Campaign questions role of ex-governor
Friday, August 18, 2006
BY JOE DONOHUE
Star-Ledger Staff
Two top Republicans yesterday demanded an apology from Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) after his campaign questioned whether former Gov. Tom Kean improperly used his corporate connections to help raise money for his son's Senate campaign.
A Menendez campaign spokesman responded that, "We're not going to apologize for stating the facts."
The latest campaign clash re volves around contributions to Tom Kean Jr.'s Republican campaign from executives of United Health Group, a Minnesota health insurance company. The elder Kean is a board member of the company who served on its executive compensation committee.
Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance held a news conference to denounce the Menendez campaign for suggesting Kean Sr. might have pressured fellow board members or UnitedHealth executives to donate to his son's campaign.
"This isn't just simply wrong or even out of bounds. It is outrageous, it is offensive and it is despicable," said Lance (R-Hunterdon), who served as an aide to then-Gov. Kean in the 1980s. "This is an at tempt to impugn the integrity of Governor Kean and Senator Kean. This will not work."
Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Morris) later issued a statement saying Menendez "has some difficulty judging character" and that "the people of New Jersey will likely not react well to the trashing of one of the state's most popular public servants."
The Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 11 that UnitedHealth executives attended and contributed to a Kean campaign fund- raiser held in Minnesota on the same day as a company board meeting about an internal investigation of possible irregularities in executive compensation at the firm. Kean Sr. had served on the company's compensation commit tee that had approved the stock- options grants at issue.
Jill Hazelbacker, Kean Jr.'s spokeswoman, said it was a "total coincidence" the events took place on the same day, May 5. She said the fundraiser was organized by Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) and that it was Coleman who solicited the donations, not either of the Keans.
Hazelbacker said the Democratic campaign attack "smacks of desperation and a flailing campaign. Anyone who knows the Kean family knows they stand for honesty and integrity in government."
Menendez campaign spokesman Matthew Miller said no apology is forthcoming because several UnitedHealth officials definitely do nated to Kean Jr.'s campaign, and Kean Sr. conceivably had influence over some or all of their fates in his role on the company board.
"You have to wonder what these executives thought they were getting for their money," Miller said.
Kean Sr. could not be reached for comment, nor did UnitedHealth return a telephone call seeking reaction.
According to PoliticalMoney Line, a Washington, D.C., group that tracks political donations, UnitedHealth officials or their spouses have given at least $21,000 to Kean Jr.'s Senate campaign, mostly at the May 5 fundraiser. Several UnitedHealth executives or board members also have made donations to Coleman's campaigns. Some have given this year to Democratic candidates nationally.
The Wall Street Journal story said the board of UnitedHealth has been conducting an internal probe of executive compensation since at least April. It said the firm is under "both criminal and civil investiga tion at the federal level," and oth ers have reported that the company was subpoenaed May 17 by the U.S. Justice Department. Question have arisen about whether company officials received improper windfalls through the timing of stock options they received as part of their compensa tion.
The younger Kean's campaign has received $4,000 from William McGuire, chairman of United Health Group, and his wife Nadine. McGuire's potential $1.8 billion stock-option gains, along with oth ers at the company, has prompted a dozen shareholder lawsuits, including California's public employee pension fund.
© 2006 The Star Ledger
Republicans demand Menendez apologize
Campaign questions role of ex-governor
Friday, August 18, 2006
BY JOE DONOHUE
Star-Ledger Staff
Two top Republicans yesterday demanded an apology from Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) after his campaign questioned whether former Gov. Tom Kean improperly used his corporate connections to help raise money for his son's Senate campaign.
A Menendez campaign spokesman responded that, "We're not going to apologize for stating the facts."
The latest campaign clash re volves around contributions to Tom Kean Jr.'s Republican campaign from executives of United Health Group, a Minnesota health insurance company. The elder Kean is a board member of the company who served on its executive compensation committee.
Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance held a news conference to denounce the Menendez campaign for suggesting Kean Sr. might have pressured fellow board members or UnitedHealth executives to donate to his son's campaign.
"This isn't just simply wrong or even out of bounds. It is outrageous, it is offensive and it is despicable," said Lance (R-Hunterdon), who served as an aide to then-Gov. Kean in the 1980s. "This is an at tempt to impugn the integrity of Governor Kean and Senator Kean. This will not work."
Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Morris) later issued a statement saying Menendez "has some difficulty judging character" and that "the people of New Jersey will likely not react well to the trashing of one of the state's most popular public servants."
The Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 11 that UnitedHealth executives attended and contributed to a Kean campaign fund- raiser held in Minnesota on the same day as a company board meeting about an internal investigation of possible irregularities in executive compensation at the firm. Kean Sr. had served on the company's compensation commit tee that had approved the stock- options grants at issue.
Jill Hazelbacker, Kean Jr.'s spokeswoman, said it was a "total coincidence" the events took place on the same day, May 5. She said the fundraiser was organized by Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) and that it was Coleman who solicited the donations, not either of the Keans.
Hazelbacker said the Democratic campaign attack "smacks of desperation and a flailing campaign. Anyone who knows the Kean family knows they stand for honesty and integrity in government."
Menendez campaign spokesman Matthew Miller said no apology is forthcoming because several UnitedHealth officials definitely do nated to Kean Jr.'s campaign, and Kean Sr. conceivably had influence over some or all of their fates in his role on the company board.
"You have to wonder what these executives thought they were getting for their money," Miller said.
Kean Sr. could not be reached for comment, nor did UnitedHealth return a telephone call seeking reaction.
According to PoliticalMoney Line, a Washington, D.C., group that tracks political donations, UnitedHealth officials or their spouses have given at least $21,000 to Kean Jr.'s Senate campaign, mostly at the May 5 fundraiser. Several UnitedHealth executives or board members also have made donations to Coleman's campaigns. Some have given this year to Democratic candidates nationally.
The Wall Street Journal story said the board of UnitedHealth has been conducting an internal probe of executive compensation since at least April. It said the firm is under "both criminal and civil investiga tion at the federal level," and oth ers have reported that the company was subpoenaed May 17 by the U.S. Justice Department. Question have arisen about whether company officials received improper windfalls through the timing of stock options they received as part of their compensa tion.
The younger Kean's campaign has received $4,000 from William McGuire, chairman of United Health Group, and his wife Nadine. McGuire's potential $1.8 billion stock-option gains, along with oth ers at the company, has prompted a dozen shareholder lawsuits, including California's public employee pension fund.
© 2006 The Star Ledger
