Loudoun officials defuse crisis
Pat Lopes and Mark Hilpert Staff Reporters
Virginia's attorney general almost cost Loudoun County one of its biggest economic development
prizes.
Mark Earley's remarks at a March 12 press conference regarding the proposed $37 billion merger
of WorldCom Inc. and MCI Communications Corp. rankled officials of both companies -- and
jeopardized WorldCom's plans to build a massive office complex near Dulles International Airport.
"WorldCom put everything on hold and made it clear that if this was going to be a state that wasn't
going to be supportive, then they weren't sure if they were going to come here," said Dale Polen
Myers, Loudoun's top elected official.
" 'If this isn't the place, just tell us now,' " Myers said she was told by officials at WorldCom, which
is based in Jackson, Miss. " 'We can really go anywhere.' "
WorldCom's response set off a mad scramble to save the project, which is expected to bring at least
3,000 jobs to the county. Earley has since clarified his position to WorldCom's satisfaction, Myers
said, and the project is back on.
WorldCom officials did not return calls seeking comment.
Here's a look at the chain of events:
On March 12, at a press conference in D.C., Earley called for the Department of Justice to
scrutinize the proposed WorldCom-MCI merger.
"The attorney general does not oppose the merger and supports the economic development project,
but he is obligated by statute as the state's consumer counsel to protect consumers," said Earley's
spokesman, David Botkins.
MCI spokesman Jim Monroe said the press conference was organized by GTE Corp. "as part of a
hidden agenda to disrupt a merger that creates a strong competitor for them."
GTE is opposing the merger after its own failed $28 billion cash bid for District-based MCI.
A GTE official confirmed the company reserved the room at the Mayflower Hotel where the press
conference was held, but said GTE did not have representatives at the meeting.
Upon learning of Earley's comments, WorldCom officials contacted Myers and state officials to
express their concern.
"We are perplexed that the state attorney general would take part in the conference without giving us
a chance to discuss with him the many benefits this merger would bring to the state of Virginia,"
MCI's Monroe said.
Myers and other Loudoun officials spent March 14-18 in Richmond briefing Earley, Gov. Jim
Gilmore and other state officials on the proposed WorldCom project. Myers said Earley and
Gilmore, who took office in January, were unfamiliar with the details.
The Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce fired off a strongly worded letter dated March 18 to
Earley. Chamber Chairman Terrie Spiro wrote that the attorney general's intervention in the
WorldCom-MCI deal could have "a chilling effect" on Northern Virginia's reputation as a high-tech
hotbed.
Earley sent a letter dated March 18 to Myers stating that his office is "closely monitoring" the Justice
Department's review of the merger but that "this office has not opposed the proposed merger."
Myers forwarded the letter to WorldCom.
The past two weeks mark the first time Myers has discussed publicly WorldCom's plans for 700
acres it owns near Dulles.
Myers confirmed WorldCom plans to build 900,000 square feet of office space for 3,000 workers.
She said UUNet Technologies Inc., the Fairfax-based Internet subsidiary of WorldCom, will move
2,000 workers: the rest will be new hires.
Myers said WorldCom would start construction in May.
A spokesman for the attorney general denied campaign contributions played any part in Earley's
remarks.
Earley received $7,530 from GTE's political action committee, a total of $1,000 from MCI and
nothing from either WorldCom or UUNet between January 1996 and January 1998.
The contributions were "irrelevant to this decision or any other the attorney general makes," Botkins
said.
Fairfax County Supervisor Michael Frey, R-Centreville, who knows Earley personally, agreed
Earley would not be swayed by campaign contributions.
"He is a principled person and a man of integrity in every way," Frey said.
Frey added MCI officials have told him their proposed project in his district is going forward. MCI
plans to build a 1 million-square-foot office park in Chantilly that's expected to employ 3,500, he
said.
Dan Bannister, chairman of Reston-based systems integrator DynCorp, had strong words for Earley.
"I can't imagine what he had in his mind when he made those comments," Bannister said. "He acts
and sounds like he's disconnected from Northern Virginia and the technology industry."
c 1998, Washington Business Journal |
