MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Morgantown businessman John Raese accused West Virginia University of subsidizing policy attacks on private businesses.
Raese, in an open letter to WVU President E. Gordon Gee published in the Morgantown Dominion Post, wrote, “Despite the undeniably positive impact of our free market economy, WVU seems to be intent on attacking companies engaging in this economic system, including particularly, those companies in which my family has invested.”
In particular, Raese cites examples where WVU Law School professor Bob Bastress lent his legal expertise to the City of Morgantown when it tried to ban hydraulic fracking of natural gas wells in and near the city and when it attempted to block trucks from using state Route 7 that passes through the city.
Raese is president and CEO of Greer Industries, whose company’s limestone trucks use Route 7.
Morgantown council members passed the fracking ban and the truck prohibition, though both ultimately were thrown out by the courts.
“WVU pays Mr. Bastress a salary and apparently permits him to use WVU resources to engineer unlawful attacks on local businesses on the city’s behalf,” Raese said. “Is it okay for you (Gee) that these employees use WVU resources to engage in this conduct?”
Bastress, in a response emailed to MetroNews, defended his actions on behalf of Morgantown:
“Suffice to say that my representation of Morgantown in the two cases that Raese mentioned are part of my public service obligations as a WVU faculty member.”
“I lent my expertise in Con (Constitutional) Law and State & Local Government Law to a public entity to help it achieve legitimate, important, and democratically identified goals,” Bastress said. “In both cases, the City had substantial legal arguments to back its actions.”
“My representation of Morgantown in the two cases that Raese mentioned are part of my public service obligations as a WVU faculty member. I lent my expertise in Con (Constitutional) Law and State & Local Government Law to a public entity to help it achieve legitimate, important, and democratically identified goals.” — WVU law professor Bob Bastress
But Raese said Bastress’ actions do not constitute public service and instead are tantamount to WVU “subsidizing unconscionable and spurious litigation against local businesses and employers in an effort to spend them into oblivion.”
Bastress said he is preparing a longer response he hopes will be published in the Dominion Post.
Raese owns West Virginia Radio Corporation, the parent company of MetroNews.
A 1973 graduate of WVU, Raese has challenged his alma mater previously.
In 2013 he sued the university, former athletics director Oliver Luck and West Virginia Media amid claims Luck rigged the bidding on WVU’s third-tier media rights contract. The school’s board of governors subsequently paid West Virginia Radio Corporation $937,500 while settlement payments from other defendants including the WVU Foundation, IMG College and West Virginia Media were not publicly disclosed.