Re: WP story and hat tip to researchers

Major trophy! On May 9, 2008, at 7:41 AM, "Tara McGuinness" <tmcguinness@progressivemediausa.org > wrote: > Christina Reynolds single handedly convinced Mosk to put 3 > researchers on this and to go to Arizona himself. Chris Harris found > a whole lot on Cindy’s board and land swaps that set them on the tr > ail to this info. > > > > > > McCain Pushed Land Swap That Benefits Backer > > By Matthew Mosk > Washington Post Staff Writer > Friday, May 9, 2008; A01 > > PRESCOTT, Ariz. -- Sen. John McCain championed legislation that will > let an Arizona rancher trade remote grassland and ponderosa pine > forest here for acres of valuable federally owned property that is > ready for development, a land swap that now stands to directly > benefit one of his top presidential campaign fundraisers. > > Initially reluctant to support the swap, the Arizona Republican > became a key figure in pushing the deal through Congress after the > rancher and his partners hired lobbyists that included McCain's 1992 > Senate campaign manager, two of his former Senate staff members (one > of whom has returned as his chief of staff), and an Arizona insider > who was a major McCain donor and is now bundling campaign checks. > > When McCain's legislation passed in November 2005, the ranch owner > gave the job of building as many as 12,000 homes to SunCor > Development, a firm in Tempe, Ariz., run by Steven A. Betts, a > longtime McCain supporter who has raised more than $100,000 for the > presumptive Republican nominee. Betts said he and McCain never > discussed the deal. > > The Audubon Society described the exchange as the largest in Arizona > history. The swap involved more than 55,000 acres of land in all, > including rare expanses of desert woodland and pronghorn antelope > habitat. The deal had support from many local officials and the > Arizona Republic newspaper for its expansion of the Prescott > National Forest. But it brought an outcry from some Arizona > environmentalists when it was proposed in 2002, partly because it > went through Congress rather than a process that allowed more > citizen input. > > Although the bill called for the two parcels to be of equal value, a > federal forestry official told a congressional committee that he was > concerned that "the public would not receive fair value" for its > land. A formal appraisal has not yet begun. A town official opposed > to the swap said other Yavapai Ranch land sold nine years ago for > about $2,000 per acre, while some of the prime commercial land near > a parcel that the developers will get has brought as much as > $120,000 per acre. > > In an interview, Betts said there is "absolutely no" connection > between his contributions to McCain's presidential bids and the deal > involving rancher Fred Ruskin and the Yavapai Ranch Limited > Partnership. While his company's possible involvement was discussed > casually before the bill's passage, Betts said SunCor did not sign > on to the project until afterward. "At no time during the > consideration of this legislation was there any involvement by > officials of SunCor," McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said in a > written response to questions. > > Betts is among a string of donors who have benefited from McCain- > engineered land swaps. In 1994, the senator helped a lobbyist for > land developer Del Webb Corp. pursue an exchange in the Las Vegas > area, according to the Center for Public Integrity. McCain sponsored > two bills, in 1991 and 1994, sought by donor Donald R. Diamond that > yielded the developer thousands of acres in trade for national > parkland. > > In the late 1990s, McCain promoted a deal in Arizona's Tonto > National Forest involving property part-owned by Great American Life > Insurance, a company run by billionaire Carl H. Lindner Jr., a > prolific contributor to national political parties and presidential > candidates. > > With the federal government owning vast stretches of Arizona land, > and with pressure to meet increasing housing demands, McCain now > views land swaps as beneficial, Rogers said. "He certainly > recognizes that there have been well-documented abuses of > legislative land exchanges, but every land exchange bill introduced > by Senator McCain has been written with the highest regard for the > public interest." > > As McCain positions himself as a champion of environmental causes, > observers of the Yavapai Ranch swap say it shows a paradox in the > senator's positions. At times, he has fought to protect the delicate > desert ecosystem. But when wildlife concerns have thwarted > development, his loyalties have shifted. > > "When the public trust intersects with private interests, basically, > he has favored land development . . . in every case," said Rob > Smith, director of the Sierra Club's Arizona affiliate. > > McCain also has been critical of government's "revolving door," > which allows former government officials to position themselves as > influential lobbyists. Rogers said that McCain does not recall being > lobbied by his former staff members on the land swap and that "no > lobbyist influenced Senator McCain on this issue." > > The Yavapai exchange idea surfaced a decade ago as area land values > soared. Ruskin and his siblings for years have used the inherited > property as a cattle operation. > > Development was complicated, because the land was intertwined with > federally owned forest, creating what land management officials call > "the checkerboard." Ruskin's ranch and the federal property comprise > alternating square-mile plots across swaths of northern Arizona. > > For the U.S. Forest Service, the tangle of public and private > property posed a management headache. For Ruskin and his family, it > became an opportunity. > > Ruskin said he spent months researching federal land exchanges, and > decided the regular process used by the Forest Service would be too > complicated to ever get done. The trade he wanted would involve > three cities, three national forests, two counties and 15 land > parcels. He persuaded then-Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) to draft a > bill proposing the exchange of 35,000 acres of ranch property for > 21,000 acres of federally owned Arizona land. > > Ruskin set his sights on prime development property astride a major > interstate, land adjacent to the Flagstaff airport and a contiguous > stretch of the ranch that would allow housing development. He > estimated that the ranch land, if subdivided and developed, would > easily sell for more than $250 million -- and that had to be > calculated into any swap. > > At first, the trade appeared to have broad support, but opposition > soon developed. Clarkdale Mayor Doug Von Gausig, whose house > overlooks the Verde River, said he feared that development would > overtax an already fragile water source. > > Other critics included a national taxpayer group that questioned the > land values. "It was just a bad deal -- a rip-off to the public," > said Janine Blaeloch, who heads the Western Lands Project, another > opponent of the legislation. > > McCain initially withheld support for Hayworth's bill, which failed > in 2002. Ruskin saw McCain's restraint as an obstacle. He said > Senate staff members warned him that the senator was wary of a swap > because "he spent some political capital and got some bricks thrown > at him" over the Tonto National Forest deal. > > Ruskin, who is a pediatrician by training, said he realized he > needed to hire lobbyists "to open communications with McCain's > office." > > He turned to some of McCain's closest former advisers. In 2002, he > sought out Mark Buse, McCain's former staff director at the Senate > commerce committee, which the senator chaired. > > "I had gone to him to see if he had any advice as to how to deal > with McCain," Ruskin said. "We had a couple of meetings and I paid > him a little bit." Buse's federal lobbying records do not list the > ranch as a client. > > That year, lobbying records show, Ruskin also paid $60,000 to > Michael Jimenez, another former McCain aide. Wes Gullett, who had > worked in McCain's Senate office, managed his 1992 reelection bid, > and served as deputy campaign manager for his 2000 presidential run, > also lobbied on the bill, documents show. The watchdog group Public > Citizen lists Gullett and his wife, Deborah, as bundlers who have > raised more than $100,000 for McCain's White House bid. Ruskin also > hired Gullett's partner, Kurt R. Davis, another McCain bundler and > member of the senator's Arizona leadership team, to work with local > officials and "to help with McCain if we needed help." Buse, Jimenez > and Gullett did not return calls seeking comment. > > Davis said that he and Gullett were not hired just to win over > McCain. "Each member has issues that are more important to them. You > have to be able to address their individual concerns. We had > familiarity with the issues important to McCain." In this case, > Davis said, "Senator McCain was very, very engaged and concerned > about water issues." > > In April 2003, McCain introduced his version of a land-swap bill. > But he remained reluctant about the exchange, speaking to opponents > and organizing meetings in towns that would be most affected. > > Flagstaff Mayor Joseph C. Donaldson, a supporter of the swap, said > McCain's hesitation stemmed from his "insistence that the > environment be protected." But opponents were baffled by the > senator's seemingly contradictory positions. Said Blaeloch: "The > bizarre thing to me regarding McCain is, we spent a lot of time with > his staff, and we all seemed to be on the same page about the > problems with this swap. But somehow, John McCain kept pushing it > forward." > > Ruskin said a "crucial meeting" occurred on Aug. 4, 2004, when > McCain added a provision aimed at appeasing many opponents. It > created a management group that would monitor water reserves and > document any danger to the Verde River. > > The legislation also was revised to mandate that the parcels in the > exchange be of "equal value." Forest Service officials say they can > adjust the amount of property given to Ruskin to ensure that each > side gets an equal share of land. Blaeloch and some other opponents > remained concerned that appraisals could still be manipulated. The > language helped win Senate passage on July 16, 2005. > > Ruskin said he first engaged in confidential discussions with SunCor > in 2003. Betts said the company was not "really interested in > spending a lot of time on it until we knew if the legislation would > pass." > > Ruskin said SunCor officials formally expressed interest in October > 2005, a month before President Bush signed the bill into law. > > In Arizona, SunCor is a subsidiary of Pinnacle West, the state's > largest power company. Betts, as Ruskin described him, "politically > is a very powerful guy in the state." > > Officials from the company and its subsidiaries have accounted for > $100,000 in contributions to McCain's political campaigns over the > years, records show. > > SunCor is now working directly with the Forest Service to complete > the swap, which has been delayed by administrative glitches. > > As for McCain, some in the Verde Valley say they counted on him to > broker a deal that would protect their precious river. Von Gausig > now heads the water management commission that McCain added to the > bill to gain community support. The