Zinke Fever Runs Amok

Hope Mark weighs in on this one

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RobG said:

I'm not sure which dots you are referring to... but was this contract put up for bid? And why would Zinke have a say in this compared to the government of Peurto Rico?

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jryoung said:

Does this firm have extensive knowledge, experience, expertise, and resources to complete the job?

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Ben Lamb said:

They ad 2 employees at the time of the contract being awarded to them. They are subbing the work out to other utilities w/the manpower & expertise, but at very high rates ($300 - $400 per day per employee, etc). It's a high profit margin business model with low overhead, which I totally get. The questions of knowledge, experience & expertise are still outstanding, as is the manner in which they secured the contract, especially when there are cheaper alternatives using similar sub-contractors.

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Ben Lamb said:

No bid contract awarded by PREPA, which is being called in to question by the Gov of Puerto Rico. The Zinke connection isn't just issue related (they lived close to each other in Whitefish, Zinke's son worked for these guys). It's campaign finance related. If these guys are donors to his campaign, his PAC's, or direct funds where he or his staff have asked, then it becomes pay-to-play. The twitter interaction between this company and the Mayor of San Juan is pretty interesting. Not sure I'd run my business in a manner that seems to threaten my clients.

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RobG said:

I totally get the Whitefish Energy and Zinke connection, but even if it is deep-rooted why would Zinke have any influence? I don't see the Zinke/Puerto Rico tie. The DOI doesn't operate there.

https://www.doi.gov/oia/islands/puertorico
The United States Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Office of Insular Affairs (OIA), Division of Policy occasionally receives inquiries about the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a United States insular area. The Office of Insular Affairs, however, does not exercise any responsibilities vis-a-vis Puerto Rico.

I'm not saying there isn't a tie, but nobody has exposed it. (Sounds like a job for Kat )

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WASHINGTON — A Democratic congressman on Tuesday called for an investigation into a $300 million contract awarded to a small company based in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s hometown of Whitefish, Montana.

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority awarded the contract to Whitefish Energy Holdings to help crews restore transmission and distribution lines damaged or destroyed during Hurricane Maria.

Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, senior Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, said Congress “needs to understand why the Whitefish contract was awarded and whether other, more cost-effective options were available.”

The Interior Department denied that Zinke, a former Montana congressman, played any role in the contract award. Zinke’s son had a summer job at a Whitefish construction site.

“Neither the secretary nor anyone in his office have taken any meetings or action on behalf of this company,” the department said in a statement.

Zinke knows Whitefish CEO Andy Techmanskis “because they both live in a small town where everyone knows everyone,” the statement said.

Ricardo Ramos, director of Puerto Rico’s power authority, said the government has a $300 million contract with Whitefish and a separate $200 million contract with Oklahoma-based Cobra Acquisitions after evaluating up to six companies for the job.

Whitefish was one of two companies on the government’s shortlist, Ramos said. The other company was requiring a $25 million down payment, given the power authority’s troubled finances. PREPA filed for bankruptcy in July and has put off badly needed maintenance for years. It just finished dealing with outages from Hurricane Irma in early September.

Whitefish is providing hotel rooms for it workers and brought its own materials, Ramos said. “They’re doing an excellent job,” he said.

Whitefish CEO Techmanski visited Puerto Rico in late summer while on vacation and established contact with PREPA and discussed potential future work, company spokesman Chris Chiames said. When Maria hit Sept. 20, Whitefish was one of the companies that power authority officials were able to reach by satellite phone.

“We got here quicker than anybody else and we built a plan that PREPA had confidence in,” Chiames said in telephone interview.

Grijalva said lawmakers also need to know why the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers and public sector utilities “failed in Puerto Rico to conduct the disaster-response planning they carried out ahead of other disasters this year” in Texas, Florida and other states.

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Ben Lamb said:

Don't think in a linear fashion for the circular world of influence.

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Ben Lamb said:

Don't think in a linear fashion for the circular world of influence.

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noharleyyet said:

Ben, with all the power transmission mechanics and equipment I'd be afraid the island would capsize.

....oops, wrong jersey.

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Ben Lamb said:

This nation is blessed with politicians that it truly deserves.

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