IPL statement shows Daniels was consistent

The Indianapolis Star ^ | February 4, 2004 | Mary Beth Schneider and Chris O'Malley

[Samwise]

A newly released statement is consistent with Republican gubernatorial candidate Mitch Daniels' version of an IPALCO stock swap but also portrays him as a bottom-line businessman.

Daniels allowed The Indianapolis Star to read the statement Tuesday. He was interviewed in November by lawyers investigating the stock deal, which cost some retirees their life savings but netted utility officials millions.

Secretary of State Todd Rokita had declined to release Daniels' statement even after saying Daniels and five other board members had done nothing wrong.

The November statement reiterates what Daniels has said in interviews and in a deposition given as part of a separate federal lawsuit:

• He voted with the rest of the IPALCO board for the swap, believing it gave shareholders the best deal, after insisting the board get an independent analysis of the transaction.

• He sold his own shares after being named White House budget director by President-elect Bush but before the stock tanked. Federal ethics officials advised Daniels that selling all of his holdings was the best way to avoid conflicts of interest. He sold his 60,000 shares of IPALCO stock on Jan. 12, 2001, for $1.45 million.

The statement, however, might give fodder to Democrats eager to paint Daniels, a Republican aspirant for governor, as a man who used poor judgment in protecting the long-term interests of shareholders.

It shows Daniels and other board members focused almost exclusively on the deal's bottom line and were not concerned when the offer from AES Corp., a global utility company based in Virginia, switched from a cash offer to the riskier stock swap.

"I was focused on value to the shareholders, primarily, how much would be received, and if a company was to be sold, how to achieve the maximum possible price," Daniels said in the statement.

Over and over, he said his No. 1 concern was getting the best price for shareholders, and not what currency it came in -- cash or stock.

[Samwise]

No smoking gun, but that won't stop the Dems.

[FierceDraka]

Seems to me that the people in my state are getting sick of Dem mismanagement and deficits.

I hope I'm right. But then again, the county where I live has two parties on the ballots, and neither of them starts with a "D". (R and L only need apply!)

[Samwise]

I thought Daniels had a shot at the governorship until O'Bannon died. I'm no longer optomistic.