Politics And Money In The Old Dominion, Revisited

“I’m constantly in the business of raising funds. It takes funds to be in elected office. We’re going to be raising funds all the time.”
Dwight C. Jones, Mayor, City of Richmond

According to today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch, the planned fund-raiser for Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones by the lobbying firm Capital Results, originally scheduled for last night, was postponed. The reason—bad timing. You see, Capital Results has been lobbying with the city on behalf of the Carrytown Place development. On Monday, Mayor Jones announced that he supported the development. Since the City Council will not be voting on the proposed development until March 28, Capital Results as well as Jones decided it would be best to postpone the fund-raiser.

Not that you should think, dear reader, that Capital Results expects that it’s fund-raiser would in any way effect either the mayor’s support for the project or the eventual decision by the City Council. As Mayor Jones made clear in the TD article, his political activities are unconnected to any positions he takes on behalf of the City of Richmond. This maven knows Dwight Jones and if he tells me that his support for the Carrytown Place project is unrelated to any funds raised for him by Capital Results I certainly believe him. Yet, Mr. Jones recognized that postponing the fund-raiser would “avoid any appearance of impropriety.”

According to the TD article, Capital Results is not the only entity trying to raise funds for the mayor. Last week the law firm Williams Mullen (“Where every client is a partner”) held a reception for Mr. Jones (recommended donation $500 per person). Coincidentally, one of Williams Mullen’s clients is the developer of Carrytown Place. Another of its clients is the group that is attempting to win the contract to design and build a new city jail.

Of course, the funds raised by Williams Mullen last week were not intended to influence either the Carrytown or city jail projects. Raising funds is just one of those services that Williams Mullen supplies to politicians in its altruistic desire to improve state and local government. As a spokesman for the firm pointed out, it held a fund-raiser for the mayor “to reinforce what he’s doing and wish him well for the future.”

So, dear reader, what are we to make of this? In a month the City Council will vote on the Carrytown Place project. Then, I suppose the time will be right for Capital Results to raise some funds for Mayor Jones. There will be no worry about the appearance of impropriety by then. Or will there?

This maven is in the seventh decade of his sojourn on this planet. I am not so naïve as to think that politicians don’t need money to keep their present jobs or to run for new ones. And, I am certainly happy that people like Dwight Jones can keep the need to constantly raise money from affecting his performance as mayor. But, is it reasonable for us to rely on a politician’s desire to avoid the appearance of impropriety?

In Virginia, it is unlawful for senators or delegates to accept political contributions while the General Assembly is in session. Why? To avoid the appearance of impropriety. Do we really expect that our state legislators can accept money from anybody for ten months of the year and that it will not affect how they vote during the two months that they are doing the people’s business?

Precious reader, I am not a believer in altruism. I do not believe that law firms raise funds for politicians because they want to wish them well in the future. And, I also do not believe that the appearance of impropriety is a matter of timing. If holding a fund-raiser for Mayor Jones would have suggested impropriety yesterday, it will suggest the same thing in a month or even six months. The fact is that lobbyists for clients who want certain results from government are providing funds for officials who directly or indirectly can bring about those results. How can they ever avoid at least the suspicion of impropriety?

What we have here in the Commonwealth is a system in which Mayor Jones’ statement, with which I started this piece, is unfortunately true for all elected officials. If you have any idea that you may want to run for reelection, you need to start raising funds as soon as you are elected. All of our elected officials are “constantly in the business of raising funds.” Is this any way to run a city, a state, a country? Trusted reader, you tell me.

Who Owns Virginia?

While we’re talking money, it would be nice to know who supplies all that cash that our state politicians survive on. The best place to find that information is the Virginia Public Action Project . When you get to the main site, go to "donors" and click on contributions by industry. Here’s what you’ll find.

The largest “industry” in terms of contributions is designated “political.” If you click on the dollar amount to see the details, you will notice that these are not really contributions. They are transfers of money among party committees, candidate committees, party PACs and candidate PACs. With respect to real contributions, the top industries (and the amounts they contributed to Commonwealth politicians in 2008-09) are:

Real Estate and Construction…………………. $5,235,066
Finance and Insurance……………………………$3,302,106
Law…………………………………….………………..$3,171,167
Energy and Natural Resources…….…………..$2,660,267
Business (retail and service)……………………$2,620,600
Health Care……………………………………………$2,212,229
Technology and Communication………………$1,930,515
Organized Labor……………………………………..$1,319,936
Transportation………………………………………..$1,258,921

So, now you know the rest of the story.

It has always been my belief that whoever pays the piper has at least a major say in what tune is played. When I see a legislator vote a certain way on an issue I go to VPAP to see if part of the motivation was based on who provided the big bucks. Of course, if you care to believe that all these contributions were made out of an altruistic desire for good government, be my guest. If it makes you feel good to think that your own senator or delegate, or supervisor, or council member always votes in the best interest of all the citizens and is never influenced by those that give the money, go right ahead.

By the way, how would you like to buy this bridge I own up in New York?

TGIO—Thank Goodness It’s Over

The 2009 session of the Commonwealth’s General Assembly is over. The guys and gals representing us in Richmond did a few good things and a few bad things in the two months they spent working in our fair city. Mostly though, it was much ado about nothing. Yet our senators and delegates need to be lauded for going on the wagon during January and February. Yes, for what seemed to them like eons Virginia’s 140 went without sucking on the fund raising teat. For that they deserve a great huzzah!

Now they get the chance to get to get back to their addiction. Money, you know, is what allows our legislators to survive. All of them raise much more money than they need to get reelected. It allows them to supplement the meager amount we give them for staff and expenses. It allows them to buy influence with other legislators and others.

So, it’s back to fundraiser after fundraiser after fundraiser. And I’m glad. There is nothing more pitiful than a senator or delegate without a substantial balance in his or her campaign account. Thank goodness the assembly session is over!

Politics And Money In The Old Dominion 1.5

Loyal reader, did you see the story in the Metro section of the Washington Post on New Year’s Day? It says that, although money can’t buy you love, it can buy you endorsements if you want to run for state or local office in Virginia. 1

It seems there’s a guy named Jon Bowerbank who wants to be the Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth. He recently was endorsed by Delegate Lionell Spruill, Sr., as the best Democrat to take on incumbent Tim Bolling. What the endorsement announcement did not indicate was that Bowerbank had just hired Spruill as a political consultant. Of course, Bowerbank was not “buying” Spruill’s endorsement. Spruill has made it clear that his services are very valuable because he has contacts all over the state.

There must be something to Spruill’s assertion because Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brian Moran has also hired Spruill as a consultant to the tune of $7,500 per month. And, you guessed it, Spruill has endorsed Moran’s candidacy.

Getting back to Bowerbank. Four years ago he raised over $37,000 for the campaign of Leslie Byrne to be Lieutenant Governor. In his effort, Bowerbank contributed his own money and convinced his wife and stepson to also donate to Byrnes campaign. Also, by some coincidence, nearly a dozen of Bowerbank’s employees also contributed to Byrne’s campaign. This year, Byrne returned the favor by endorsing Bowerbank for the office she didn’t win. Of course there was no quid pro quo—Virginia is not Illinois. Byrne did acknowledge, however, that "When someone shows an interest in you, they show a loyalty to you, there is an inclination to return that."

Bowerbank also donated funds to Senator J. Chapman Peterson to help pay off part of his campaign debt from 2007. You’ll be pleased to know, loyal reader, that Peterson has endorsed Bowerbank’s candidacy. Was it purely a coincidence? No way! According to Peterson, "Was that a factor in my trying to help him? Of course it was. Obviously, when you make a contribution, it helps you get your foot in the door."

Don’t think for a moment that this is just a Democratic practice. Over the years, Republican Paul Jost has distributed more than $1 million to candidates around the Commonwealth. When he decided to run for a vacant House of Representatives seat last year, he was endorsed by the same people he contributed to. Was there anything wrong with this? Not according to Jost. "It is not a quid pro quo. I never gave money to someone and said, 'Hey, I will give you money if you endorse me.' But certainly life is about doing favors for people and them doing favors for you."

And then there are the parallel attempts of Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe to spend their way to the Democratic nomination. Since 2006, Moran has donated nearly $300,000 to state and local candidates in the Commonwealth. Although McAuliffe, as the new candidate on the block, has not yet filed his first campaign finance statement, he has been spreading cash all over Virginia to help his candidacy grow. (The Post article said nothing of spending by the third Democratic candidate, Creigh Deeds, to win the nomination. However, Deeds most recent finance statements indicate that political donations only constitute about 1% of the money his campaign has spent).

So, loyal reader, what are we to make of this mix of money and politics in our beloved Commonwealth. Perhaps Republican Delegate David Albo of Fairfax put it best. He said he will never support a candidate unless that candidate has contributed to his own campaigns. As Albo put it, "You have to develop relationships, and contributions are the easiest way to do it."

Politics And Money In The Old Dominion 1.0

Last week I expressed my astonishment and misgivings about Seventh District Representative Eric Cantor raising $4.5 million in “campaign” contributions during the last election cycle. Fund-raising at this level is obviously for a lot more than just running for re-election. But money is not just a Republican thing. Just this week I was invited to a special reception for the Honorable Delores McQuinn, candidate for the 70th District House of Delegate seat formerly held by our new mayor Dwight Jones. The reception is scheduled for January 8; two days after Ms. McQuinn will have already been elected to the House. After all, she is running unopposed. Just so everybody understands that this is not just an opportunity to shake hands with the new Delegate, the invitation indicates the following range of “contributions:” Friend--$150.00; Patron--$250.00; Sponsor--$500.00; and Benefactor--$1,000.00.

Now, if Ms. McQuinn’s election were being contested and if this was two or three weeks ago, I would understand the need for this fund raiser. But, as this morning’s article in the Times-Dispatch indicates, Ms. McQuinn is not taking this election for granted. 1 According to TD reporter Olympia Meola, Ms. McQuinn’s campaign raised more than $36,000 in December, of which more than $27,000 was spent—all for an uncontested election. Now it appears that Ms. McQuinn needs even more money. Obviously, Ms McQuinn does not need the money to get elected. She will already be elected by the time of the fund-raiser. So, what is this money for? Well, for one, Ms. McQuinn will have to run for re-election next year. But, that’s ten months away. Why the need for a fundraiser now?

As is becoming more and more apparent to this maven, members of Congress and members of the General Assembly need a minimum amount of money in their campaign accounts just to garner any respect. Any senator, representative, senator or delegate has to have tens of thousands of dollars in the “war chest” at all times. Very little is going to be spent on getting re-elected. It will be spent, however, on buying influence within the national or state parties, or within the legislative body. Or it might be spent to put people in debt to you for favors in the future.

So, I urge you all, whether or not you are going to the reception, to send those checks into Ms. McQuinn. We can’t send her to Richmond (the capital, not the city) without a respectable amount of cash on hand. The voters of the 70th District, whether or not they bother voting tomorrow, are depending on you to make their delegate a force to be reckoned with.

Cantor Raised How Much?

Reading my Times-Dispatch on Saturday, I was drawn to the lead story in the Metro section, “Cantor to keep donated money.” The gist of the story was that Seventh District Representative Eric Cantor was not going to return $2,300 in campaign contributions he received from Robert I. Toussie. If you remember, Toussie’s son was pardoned by President Bush last week and then his pardon was revoked when Bush learned that Toussie senior was a major contributor to the Republican Party. I don’t care too much about the Toussie issue. If Toussie merited a pardon before the disclosure of his father’s largess, I would assume he still merited one after the disclosure.

What did open my eyes was this statement in the story: “Cantor’s campaign raised $4.5 million this election cycle.” Did I read that right? Four point five million dollars? Why would an incumbent running for re-election in a safe Republican district need to raise $4.5 million dollars in campaign contributions? Considering that he was running against a political unknown, I am sure that Mr. Cantor could have easily been re-elected without spending a cent on his campaign.

Reader, you know that since I am a Democrat and mostly a liberal I am not a great fan of Eric Cantor. I’ve never met the guy, but I just don’t like his politics. As I have expressed here, and in a letter to the TD back in 2006, I think that Cantor is a big part of the cause for the problems that we face in this country after eight years of Republican governance. But that is not what this is about. What this is about is the outrageous campaign finance laws that permit members of Congress to raise obscenely large amounts of money and use them for just about any purpose they care to.

The federal campaign finance laws are administered by the Federal Election Commission. In the regulations the Commission has issued to implement the laws there is a Part 113 entitled “Use of Campaign Accounts for Non-Campaign Purposes.” I would have hoped that these regulations would put severe limits on what campaign funds can be used for. Instead, they seem to legitimize every use of the funds other than the member of Congress putting it directly into his pocket or her purse.

So what kind of things does our Mr. Cantor spend campaign funds on? First, he spends on salaries and benefits for a staff. (These are all based on financial statements filed with the Federal Election Commission by “Cantor For Congress.”) From the financial statements we cannot tell whether these expenses were for a separate campaign staff or to augment federal funding for Mr. Cantor’s Washington or Seventh District staffs. (Please keep in mind, dear reader, that I am not suggesting that Mr. Cantor is doing anything illegal. He spent a significant amount of his campaign funds for legal consulting, so I must assume he got good advice.)

Mr. Cantor spent big bucks on airline fares, hotel rooms, car rentals and other expenses of travel in many places around the country. I cannot tell whether these trips were related to his re-election campaign or his campaign to become Minority Whip. Mr. Cantor also spent a significant amount on catering for various events. Again, many of these were neither within the congressional district nor in Washington so it is hard to tell how they related to the campaign.

Mr. Cantor’s campaign spent a lot on fundraising consultants. Payments to G.R. Seppala and Associates, in Wayzata, Minnesota, for fundraising consulting amounted to over $85,000 during the campaign. (This amounts to more than Mr. Cantor’s opponent spent on the whole campaign.) To me this suggests that Cantor for Congress is more a money producing entity than an election campaign committee. When you pay that kind of money to one consultant, you are obviously expecting a rather big return on your investment (like maybe $4.5 million).

Mr. Cantor also spent a big chunk of his campaign funds on what I call “win friends and influence people” expenditures. He contributed tens of thousands of dollars to the election campaigns of other Republicans around the country. These are the kinds of contributions you surely want to be making if you’re running for Minority Whip. He sent money to the National Republican Congressional Campaign, the Nevada Republican Party and local campaign committees. One of the larger contributions was $5000 to the John Doolittle Legal Defense Fund. (Mr. Doolittle, one of Mr. Cantor’s former fellow Republicans in the House, is charged with corruption and is in need of lots of money for his defense.)

So, trusted reader, what are we to make of this? We have a campaign finance system that allows representatives and senators to raise huge amounts of money and use it for purposes not directly related to their re-election campaigns. Is this the way we should be electing our public officials? We need the Congress to go back and look at the campaign finance laws again and impose restrictions on themselves. Write to you senators and representative and urge them to fix a system that seems out of control.