Cape bank president to speak on 'Hannity & Colmes'

An area banker will be spotlighted on a national news talk show this evening for taking a stand against the use of eminent domain powers for redevelopment.

Troy Wilson, president of Montgomery Bank, said he's been invited to be a guest on "Hannity & Colmes," a Fox News evening talk show. Wilson will speak on the show, hosted by Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes, because of a new bank policy on lending for redevelopment.

The show airs at 8 p.m. and is repeated at 1 a.m.

The bank won't provide any money when government steps in to help a private developer take land from other private interests, Wilson said. The policy is a response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that upheld the legality of such moves.

In the June ruling, the high court voted 5-4 against homeowners from New London, Conn., who didn't want to sell their houses to pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, who wanted the land to build a research facility.

Eminent domain is the process by which government forces even unwilling sellers to part with their land, with values set by court processes. The traditional use is to take land for roads, schools or other public facilities. The Supreme Court ruling made it possible for governments to force private owners to sell the land so it could then be sold in turn to another private interest.

"We don't think that is right," Wilson said in an interview Wednesday. "Our stand is, being an independent community bank that is privately owned and operated, that we will only lend money to people who acquire property through voluntary means."

The ruling has touched off debate in many states, Missouri included, on how to restrict the use of eminent domain. Wilson said his bank issued a news release last week announcing the new policy and that it caught the eye of producers for the Fox News show.

Roughly half the business of Montgomery Bank is commercial accounts, Wilson said. "We think the majority of our customers support our view. We believe in private property rights and the protection thereof. The small business owner doesn't have much of a voice anymore."

In addition to his bank duties, Wilson is a member of the Missouri Development Finance Board, a state economic development agency. He didn't promise to vote against any proposal that used eminent domain as part of the development scheme, but acknowledged that it is difficult to leave philosophical beliefs at the door.

"Protection of property rights is universal," he said. "All of us should be up in arms to protect these rights."

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126