Corker saw to interests in 'blind' trust, records show
2006-10-11
Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal
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rss feedA blind trust set up to shield businessman Bob Corker from conflicts when he was Chattanooga's mayor may not have been all that blind, record show.
Corker met often with employees from his private companies while mayor from 2001 to 2005, and he shared business tips with others. Corker also got help organizing his 2001 mayoral campaign from City Hall, where a government secretary passed on voting lists and set up meetings for the millionaire commercial real estate developer.
These details appear among thousands of Chattanooga city e-mails documenting Corker's tenure as mayor. City officials reported this summer that Corker's e-mails had disappeared, yet many of his electronic notes survived in e-mail files of his executive assistant, Shirley Pond.
Asked about those e-mails, obtained by The Commercial Appeal, Corker said he's convinced his blind trust "worked very well.'' Yet to avoid any appearance of conflict if elected to the Senate, Corker said he's since sold most of his business holdings, including office buildings that leased to federal agencies.
"All I have now is two pieces of property (and) my home. ... I've got a pickup truck and the personal vehicles that our family has,'' Corker said. "I want for people to know: I've read about all these conflicts at the national level, and have bent over backwards.''
A spokesman for a public watchdog agency said some aspects of Corker's blind trust while mayor seem dubious
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