By Tom McGhee
Colorado Public Utilities
Commission chairman Gregory Sopkin said Monday that there is no conflict of
interest in his involvement in a policy group with ties to a think tank that
receives money from Qwest.
The Colorado Public Interest
Research Group sent Sopkin a letter Wednesday alleging that his membership on
the board of the Federation of Economically Rational Utility Policy violates
state conflict-of-interest rules.
The federation was formed with a $24,230 loan from the Progress and Freedom
Foundation. The foundation, headed by former Colorado PUC chairman Raymond Gifford,
is funded by Qwest, other Baby Bells, Xcel Energy and other corporations.
CoPIRG wants Sopkin to recuse himself from upcoming PUC hearings on Qwest's
request that the commission loosen rules governing most of its rates and services.
Sopkin released a written
statement Monday after receiving the letter. He didn't directly address whether
he would recuse himself from the Qwest hearings.
"I interact with a variety of organizations and individuals, both at the
state and national level, to advance the debate on regulatory policies in rapidly-changing
telecommunications and energy markets," he wrote. "Those activities
are extremely helpful in keeping me informed about major utility issues as they
evolve. By associating with these various groups, I have not made up my mind
about any pending matters before the commission. My decisions will continue
to be based entirely on the law and the facts presented in each case."
In its letter, CoPIRG said
Sopkin violated state conflict of interest statutes by accepting a leadership
position with the federation. CoPIRG also said Sopkin has engaged in phone calls
and electronic communications with Gifford during business hours and taken other
actions that indicate he is too close to the Progress and Freedom Foundation.
According to a mission statement on the foundation's website, it believes that
technological change has created opportunities that can only be realized if
governments "resist the temptation to regulate, tax and control."
Gifford on Monday said the federation has repaid the PFF loan. He and Sopkin
are friends, he said. And it shouldn't be surprising that a PUC chairman would
contact his predecessor.
CoPIRG is trying to squelch
the free exchange of ideas, he said.
"The charge would just be silly if it didn't have such McCarthyistic overtones
and suggest that you can't discuss and hear different points of view,"
Gifford said.
Peter Maysmith, the head of Colorado Common Cause, a government watchdog group,
said Gifford's remark misses the point. "I don't see how this isn't a conflict
of interest. Qwest is helping to fund this entity and (Sopkin) is going to be
ruling on these issues."
