Cooke warns of 2015 military base closures

SHANNON DININNY
Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Utah's Democratic candidate for governor says the state must take proactive steps to ensure Hill Air Force Base survives any potential base closures.

Retired Maj. Gen. Peter Cooke offered up Oklahoma City as an example of a community that partnered with the Air Force to ensure its base remained open. Voters there approved a $55 million bond to buy a closed General Motors plant to lease to the adjacent Tinker Air Force Base.

Cooke says Republican Gov. Gary Herbert and other state and local officials have not done enough to ensure that Hill remains in the military's future plans, but he did not offer any specific proposals of his own.

About 150 jobs have already been moved from the Utah base to the Oklahoma base.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)