With the political activities of its chief executive again in the spotlight, a Massey Energy Co. shareholder is pushing for greater disclosure of the coal producer's spending in that arena.
With the political activities of its chief executive again in the spotlight, a Massey Energy Co. shareholder is pushing for greater disclosure of the coal producer's spending in that arena.
Massey's board opposes the proposed resolution, up for a vote at the company's May 13 stockholders' meeting. It would request semiannual reports offering, among other details, an accounting of contributed funds and the names of those "who participated in making the decisions" to spend the money.
"Our board of directors is confident that our political contributions align with our long-term interests and thus does not believe a special report detailing those decisions is either necessary or an efficient use of our resources," the company said in a Tuesday message to shareholders.
The stockholder is not identified in the statement, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The resolution request cites a November 2006 news report on political spending that year by Massey President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Don Blankenship.
Blankenship sought to sweep Democrats from the majority in the West Virginia House of Delegates that year, through a statewide independent advertising campaign. The Democrats ended up gaining seats in that election, with at least some Republicans blaming Blankenship for their losses.
Blankenship had plowed $2.1 million into his legislative campaign, the proposed resolution said, citing the news report. Disclosures in a federal lawsuit later revealed that Blankenship's spending topped $3.8 million during that election cycle.
Citing other SEC filings, the proposed stockholder resolution links his spending to Blankenship's 2006 executive compensation.
"We feel that this level of compensation has created a public perception that Massey Energy resources are being utilized for political campaigns," the resolution statement said. "According to a February 2006 Wall Street Journal article, Mr. Blankenship often briefs Massey's Board of Directors on his political activities and has its support."
With the political activities of its chief executive again in the spotlight, a Massey Energy Co. shareholder is pushing for greater disclosure of the coal producer's spending in that arena.
Massey's board opposes the proposed resolution, up for a vote at the company's May 13 stockholders' meeting. It would request semiannual reports offering, among other details, an accounting of contributed funds and the names of those "who participated in making the decisions" to spend the money.
"Our board of directors is confident that our political contributions align with our long-term interests and thus does not believe a special report detailing those decisions is either necessary or an efficient use of our resources," the company said in a Tuesday message to shareholders.
The stockholder is not identified in the statement, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The resolution request cites a November 2006 news report on political spending that year by Massey President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Don Blankenship.
Blankenship sought to sweep Democrats from the majority in the West Virginia House of Delegates that year, through a statewide independent advertising campaign. The Democrats ended up gaining seats in that election, with at least some Republicans blaming Blankenship for their losses.
Blankenship had plowed $2.1 million into his legislative campaign, the proposed resolution said, citing the news report. Disclosures in a federal lawsuit later revealed that Blankenship's spending topped $3.8 million during that election cycle.
Citing other SEC filings, the proposed stockholder resolution links his spending to Blankenship's 2006 executive compensation.
"We feel that this level of compensation has created a public perception that Massey Energy resources are being utilized for political campaigns," the resolution statement said. "According to a February 2006 Wall Street Journal article, Mr. Blankenship often briefs Massey's Board of Directors on his political activities and has its support."
Blankenship's compensation totaled more than $17.5 million in 2006. A Tuesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows he received nearly $23.7 million in compensation in 2007, when Massey's profit more than doubled and its stock price rose 63 percent.
The Associated Press calculates executive compensation using salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. The AP does not include changes in the present value of pension benefits. As a result, AP figures may differ from totals listed in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the SEC.
Massey, for instance, says Blankenship realized compensation of about $8.87 million in 2007.
Blankenship has grabbed national headlines this year with the unearthing of 2006 vacation photos showing him in Monaco with West Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard.
Massey had cases pending before the court at the time. The two men have acknowledged a decades-long friendship, and said they met up in the Riviera while traveling separately. Maynard has recused himself from several Massey-related cases since the photos became public, while denying any wrongdoing.
Blankenship also spent an estimated $3.5 million to help challenger Brent Benjamin defeat an incumbent state Supreme Court justice in the 2004 election. Benjamin has since rejected several requests that he recuse himself from Massey cases. His defenders have noted that he has ruled against the coal producer in several cases, including two involving millions in owed severance taxes.
Massey's response to the proposed stockholder resolution said it made no political contributions in 2006, while giving only $10,000 last year. It donated that amount to the committee created by former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore, a U.S. Senate candidate there, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
