Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290
Blunt's Chief Calls on Ameren President to Come Clean on Nixon Pressure and Taum Sauk
JEFFERSON CITY–Gov. Matt Blunt's Chief of Staff Ed Martin in a letter today urged Tom Voss, Ameren President, to come clean regarding Attorney General Jay Nixon’s solicitation for contributions from the company during negotiations on Taum Sauk.
"Your company has been put under intense and inappropriate pressure by the criminal prosecutor in the Taum Sauk matter, Attorney General Jay Nixon," Martin wrote. "Regarding your comments that the Missouri Ethics Commission has dealt definitively with the matter of the Attorney General’s inappropriate request for funneled campaign contributions from Ameren, I must politely disagree. Until Steve Sullivan testifies, the matter cannot be said to be definitively resolved."
The Public Service Commission is currently hearing Ameren's request for a rate increase for Missouri customers, while at the same time the state is working to settle the Taum Sauk issue with the company so that the state and Missouri communities affected by the collapse of the Taum Sauk reservoir are adequately compensated.
"Please understand that Ameren cannot adequately plead its case for a rate increase without first coming clean regarding what has happened: 1) with Jay Nixon; 2) with the Taum Sauk settlement and an initial attempt to charge ratepayers $10 million for the disaster; 3) regarding the funneled contributions that may or may not have come from Ameren general funds (at ratepayer costs); and 4) other credibility issues surrounding Steve Sullivan," Martin wrote.
Reference: Letter to Ameren President [PDF]
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