It's been the conventional wisdom that Thomas Kean, Jr.'s famous father - former NJ Governor and 9/11 Commissioner Thomas, Sr. - has a hugely positive effect on his campaign for the US Senate vacated by Jon Corzine when he was elected Governor and now held by Robert Menendez. The name recognition, the doors opened . . . and the wallets of big donors. But all that glitters may not be gold.

After shareholders sued United Health over their option-compensation packages for the CEO and Directors, some of Kean, Sr.'s influence may be back to bite Jr. on the backside. James Bandler and Charles Forelle report for the Wall Street Journal in this story also run by the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

The board of UnitedHealth Group Inc. met May 1 to deal with questions about unusually well-timed stock-option grants to top executives such as Chief Executive William McGuire. The gathering heard a briefing from a lawyer who was running UnitedHealth's internal probe of how the options were dated.

One director whose recollections would be important to the investigation was Thomas H. Kean, a former New Jersey governor who had served on the compensation committee that approved options grants.

The same day as the board meeting, some UnitedHealth directors and executives were supporting a campaign by Kean's son for a U.S. Senate seat from New Jersey. Some of them attended a fundraiser for Tom Kean Jr. that day, in UnitedHealth's home state of Minnesota.

It isn't clear whether McGuire and his wife attended but each donated $2,000 to the cause. So did Richard T. Burke, who sits on a special board committee that is overseeing the options investigation. All told, UnitedHealth-affiliated donors have contributed $25,000 to the campaign.

Read the whole story at the link above.

The Menendez campaign is all over this, naturally, and it certainly raises questions. Kean, Sr. will be testifying on the details of a lawsuit with a potential to cost billions, not to mention possible SEC violations. The people he will be testifying about give money to his son's campaign.

In itself, of course, that doesn't prove there was any intended wrongdoing in the donations - or even if there were, that Kean Jr. was involved. BUT it does raise questions that must be answered, at a time when Kean is behind in the Senate race and struggling to catch up.