Some concerned Wilder land addition poses conflict of interest

The residents, who are suing state and local officials over the process of preparing the site, say Wilder and his family stand to make millions if a carmaker builds on the 3,500-acre “megasite” near Interstate 40.

For that reason, they believe Wilder could have a conflict of interest because any role he might play in a key state decision could be compromised by his own financial interests.

They also wonder whether the lieutenant governor was involved in getting his more than 200 acres included in the proposal and are concerned that state officials are quietly promoting the site, though state and local officials say that’s not the case.

Gary Bullwinkel, one of the Fayette residents, told The Tennessean: “He says it’s good for the public” to attract an auto factory, “but obviously it would have a tremendous impact on the value of his family land.”

The Wilder land was not initially included in the site, but was added in a newer version of the plan submitted earlier this year. Concerned about the effects of growth and the possibility of environmental damage in their community, Bullwinkel and five other people sued officials of Fayette County and neighboring Haywood County in late July.

The lawsuit accuses officials of conducting a “stealth application process … designed to present its approval as an accomplished fact, thus log-rolling legislative and public support, to the detriment of the democratic and deliberative process.”

Wilder, who lives in nearby Mason, did not respond to numerous requests from The Tennessean for comment.

But economic development officials dismissed any talk of a conspiracy to enrich the 84-year-old Wilder, a lifelong Fayette County resident who has been lieutenant governor since 1971. They said he hasn’t had anything to do with the process, other than agreeing to have his family land included in the site proposal and to consider any offers to sell it later on.

“We did the same thing with him as we did with other landowners,” said Ed McCallum of McCallum Sweeney, a South Carolina-based consulting firm working with local officials and the Tennessee Valley Authority, which wants to develop sites in its service area that can be pitched to automakers.

He added that Wilder’s land was needed because it provides access to I-40, which would be essential for a manufacturer shipping supplies in and products out.

Haywood County Mayor Franklin Smith said “Wilder didn’t have anything to do with this site,” and that he’s looking at the economic benefits of an assembly plant.

“It’s my job to do everything I can to create opportunities for employment,” Smith said. “To land an auto assembly plant, I think, would be a home run for Haywood County.”

Four “megasites” in the TVA service area, including one in Chattanooga and another in Hopkinsville, Ky., have been approved. Three others, all in Tennessee — the Haywood-Fayette land, a site in Clarksville and one in Crockett County, which borders Haywood to the north — still have a shot, according to Heidi Smith, a TVA economic development official.

A few months ago, Matthew Kisber, the state’s commissioner of economic and community development, said that the Haywood-Fayette site was under consideration for certification.

That set off alarms with Bullwinkel and his fellow plaintiffs, who wondered whether the site they worry so much about was getting a helping hand at the Capitol.

But ECD spokeswoman Dawn Rutledge Jones said the state doesn’t get involved with a megasite until TVA has given the OK.

“We don’t make any recommendations in that process,” said Jones, adding that her department has not received any correspondence from Wilder about the megasite or automaker recruitment. “It’s driven by the local communities.”

Wilder’s business dealings have made headlines recently.

The lieutenant governor came underfire earlier this month when he changed his position on whether he talked to a fellow lawmaker about a bank loan now involved in a federal fraud trial.

Wilder said he was incorrect when he said the week before that he had talked with Sen. Jerry Cooper about getting a loan at Wilder’s bank.

Cooper, a Democrat from Smartt, is an unindicted co-conspirator in a federal indictment alleging fraud against two men involved in the sale of property owned by Cooper.