BP holdings spark campaign bickering - JSOnline

The campaigns of U.S. Senate candidates Russ Feingold and Ron Johnson sparred Friday over ownership of stock in BP, the British company behind the Gulf Coast oil spill.

Johnson reported owning individual BP stock valued at $116,000 to $315,000. Feingold, the Johnson campaign noted, is a member of the Wisconsin Retirement System, which has invested in BP.

The fuel was a financial disclosure report Johnson filed with the Senate and tax returns he voluntarily made public - reports that confirmed Johnson's personal wealth and also highlighted his history of major charitable donations.

The Republican business executive from Oshkosh has reported taxable income averaging about $1 million a year for the past five years and $400,000 in charitable donations he deducted on his taxes.

Johnson owns millions in stock, while Feingold, the Democrat seeking a fourth term, has just one mutual fund valued at $50,000 to $100,000. Johnson listed 153 stock and bond holdings, including 19 valued at more than $100,000.

Johnson last month was critical of President Barack Obama's move to pressure BP into setting up a claims fund for victims of the spill. The company already has paid out millions of dollars from that fund. Johnson said BP acted negligently but argued that Obama should have let the courts decide on damages.

Aides to Johnson said he had no plans to sell the stock and shouldn't be criticized for owning such a popular and common stock.

"The spill in the Gulf is an economic and economic disaster, and Ron is just as angry about that as anybody else," Johnson campaign manager Juston Johnson said. He said Ron Johnson thought it was inappropriate to focus first on BP's negligence before the spill was capped and a cleanup was under way.

Feingold aides said it wasn't fair to compare Johnson's ownership of BP stock to Feingold's retirement account, which is directed by the state investment board on behalf of government employees. Feingold was a state legislator before his election to the Senate.

Feingold senior strategist John Kraus said Johnson's BP stock ownership proves "without any doubt that he would put big oil profits and his own financial interests ahead of Wisconsin."

Johnson will place his investments in a blind trust if elected, to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, his campaign said.

Dave Westlake, Johnson's opponent in the GOP primary, did not file an updated financial disclosure. Senate officials say it is required by Senate ethics rule.

Westlake said he understood that the form he filed last year when he started his campaign was the only one he needed to file before the election.

That form reported that Westlake had minimal investment assets. He said he would file an updated form if he had misunderstood the requirement. » BP holdings spark campaign bickering - JSOnline