Monday, January 11, 2016

US Nitrogen Forms Political Action Committee


By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A new political fundraising committee has been formed by US Nitrogen officials, according to filings with the Tennessee Ethics Commission.
Papers filed last month with the ethics panel state that the US Nitrogen Political Action Committee was formed to support state and local candidates. The filing lists Robert "Robbie" Helton as the chairman and Mark Mueller as the treasurer.
According to an ethics commission official the newly created political fundraising committee won't have to file an initial report until Feb. 1.
Public available records indicate that Helton is a senior manager for business logistics operations for US Nitrogen.
The address listed for the committee is the same as the company at 471 Pottertown Road in Midway.
US Nitrogen officials did not respond to a request for comment on which political candidates the committee is likely to support.
Federal records show that US Nitrogen's parent Austin Powder, based in Ohio, has had a political action committee for several years, but it has not been active recently.
Records at the Federal Election Commission show that on Oct. 19, 2009, the Austin Powder committee donated $3,500 to the Institute of the Makers of Explosives. Austin is listed as a founding member of the Washington, D.C. based group.
In 2012 the Austin committee donated $1,000 to the campaign of U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs, an Ohio Republican.
Donors to the committee were Austin employees, including then executive vice president Michael Gleason who donated $1,500.
The current filing for the Austin committee lists a balance of $1,094.

1 comment:

  1. "US Nitrogen officials did not respond to a request for comment on which political candidates the committee is likely to support." Does it matter in Tennessee since they are all red.

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