(Pocatello for Accountable Government Agencies, August 12, 2026)
Bannock County–A second Bannock County Commissioner, Ken Bullock, appears to be favoring a special interest involved in an industrial solar project in southern Bannock County. In an email dated January 10, 2026, between Bullock and a private landowner (from a family seeking to lease the largest amount of acreage to the solar interest), the individual requested a meeting with Bullock and he responded, “You have me as an ally. I can’t be bullied and I have a vote. Anytime next week.”
Why is this a problem? In a previous post, we related how Commissioner Jeff Hough had shared a draft of the County’s Land Use and Development Ordinance (LUDO) with an attorney representing the solar development interests while, at the same time, the County was denying access to the public for the same document.
This draft LUDO document is a comprehensive rewrite and compilation of eight separate ordinances, including an added chapter (Ch. 7) for Alternative Energy Regulations. Chapter 7 of the document, along with the revised land use chart, proposes to reverse a 2024 ban and now allow Industrial Solar Projects (both large scale and small scale) through a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) on land zoned Commercial General, Industrial, Light Industrial, and Agricultural.
This proposed project is/was extremely divisive. Residents in the Downey area overwhelmingly expressed opposition to this effort in 2024, in large part, due to the project bordering rural residential zoned areas where people reside.
It increasingly appears that a few of our commissioners have exhibited preferential treatment and favor to outside special interests and/or a few landowners seeking to lease thousands of acres of Marsh Valley to the industrial solar projects.
Whether or not you are in favor of these projects or not, communicating favor to any specific group while in the ACTIVE process of the development of a critical Land Use and Development Ordinance destroys the publics’ trust that their elected representatives intend to make a decision with neutrality. A fair process in which all the evidence, plus the pros and cons, are weighed before making a decision is essential. This fairness ensures that a new law represents the best interests of the public as a whole and is not designed to benefit specific groups. Secretly favoring a special interest group is also disrespectful toward County staff who are tasked with working to ensure a fair and equal process.
The public needs to know if their elected officials are representing them or favoring special interest groups while performing their official duties.
P.A.G.E. will continue to investigate this issue and do all that we can to ensure that the public is informed about how their elected officials are acting when they think nobody is paying attention.
Editor’s note: A representative of P.A.G.E. informed us that as of this morning, Commissioner Bullock had not responded to repeated efforts to reach him for comment. Should he respond, this story will be updated to reflect his response.
