
Lobbyists Again
May 17, 2008According to McCain:
I’ve never done any favors for anybody — lobbyist or special interest group — that’s a clear, 24-year record. - John McCain
According to Reuters:
Presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain secured millions in federal funds for a land acquisition program that provided a windfall for an Arizona developer whose executives were major campaign donors, according to a USA Today report.
McCain, an Arizona senator, inserted $14.3 million in a 2003 defense bill to buy land around Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona, in a provision sought by SunCor Development, the largest of 50 landowners near the base, the newspaper reported on its Web site Thursday, citing public records.
Upset with a state law that restricted development around the base, SunCor representatives met with McCain’s staff to lobby for funding, USA Today reported, citing the company’s president at the time, John Ogden.
The Air Force later paid SunCor $3 million for 122 acres near the base — three times its assessed value and twice the military’s estimated value, the newspaper said.
USA Today said its analysis of campaign finance data compiled by the nonpartisan CQ MoneyLine shows that McCain’s campaigns have received $224,000 since 1998 from donors connected to SunCor’s parent company Pinnacle West, including $104,100 for his current presidential run.
Two current and one retired Pinnacle executives are fundraisers for McCain’s presidential campaign.