The Journal News (Westchester County, New York)
August 1, 2012 Wednesday
Lobbyists to disclose donors since July 1
Lobbying groups would be required to disclose their significant donors since July 1 under a
set of regulations formally proposed by the state ethics board today.
The Joint Commission on Public Ethics interpreted the state's 2011 ethics law to require
donor disclosure from lobbyists starting with this month, rather than retroactively. The law
applies to the disclosure of any donors of more than $5,000.
A draft set of regulations was sent to members of the commission last night and passed at
its meeting today. The rules will have to be published in the official state register and put to
a public comment period before taking effect.
"What we need to do here is maximize disclosure and implement the statute," JCOPE
Executive Director Ellen Biben said at the commission's meeting today.
Under the regulations, lobbying groups and clients meeting certain thresholds would report
to the state by January 15, disclosing their donors from July through December of this year.
Reports will be required every six months.
The issue has gained considerable attention largely because of the Committee to Save New
York, a coalition supporting Gov. Andrew Cuomo's fiscal policies that has blanketed the
airwaves and outspent all other lobbying entities the past two years. The group has declined
to voluntarily disclose its donors, though several have been revealed in news reports,
including casino gambling entities and business groups.
The state Legislature and Cuomo approved a new ethics law last year, requiring increased
financial disclosure from lobbyists, their clients and lawmakers. The law, which was signed
in August, created JCOPE and required it to come up with regulations and guidelines to
implement the disclosure requirements.
The ethics board had been in the process of crafting regulations for several months.
Biben said a "fair and reasonable" reading of the law does not allow the board to require
disclosure of donors active earlier than July. The disclosure provision of the law took effect
on June 1, and the next six-month reporting period begins on July 1.
Different groups -- and at least one member of JCOPE -- have interpreted the ethics law
several different ways. Several good-government advocates testified in a public hearing
earlier this year, with most arguing that the board can only require prospective disclosure.
Others argued that disclosure could go back to January 2012 or August 2011.
JCOPE member Ravi Batra, who was appointed by Senate Democrats, criticized the
regulations at the meeting. Specifically, Batra took issue with the fact that the relevant
provisions of the ethics law took effect on June 1, but donor disclosure would only be
required after July 1.
The regulations also take steps to clarify which donors would have to be disclosed. For
example, the $5,000 limit would apply to a cumulative total of all donors living in the same
household.
Also, certain donors would be able to obtain a waiver if disclosure "will cause harm, threats,
harassment or reprisals" to the person.
The Washington Times
August 1, 2012 Wednesday
Nonprofit cash lined with ties to PG exec; Many donors play key roles in county
Since funding a lavish half-million-dollar party to celebrate the election of Prince George's
County Executive Rushern L. Baker III about 18 months ago, officials at the BowiebasedPath to Greatnesshave continued to raise thousands of dollars from donors while
counting Mr. Baker's wife as a trustee, an arrangement that critics say opens up another
avenue for special interests to curry favor with his administration.
Under Internal Revenue Service rules, such nonprofit organizations are not required to
make public the names of donors, though officials did so in response to a request by The
Washington Times. The list reveals dozens of contributors, including several with close ties
to the Prince George's government.
Campaign finance specialists say that while legal, contributions toPath to Greatness could
give special interests a way to win favor with Mr. Baker by donating in excess of what they
could give publicly to his campaign. As a candidate, Mr. Baker vowed to tackle the "pay to
play" culture that sent his predecessor, Jack B. Johnson, to federal prison on conviction of
graft.
"It very clearly can become a means for those who want to curry favor with an elected
official to provide funding, which can sometimes further the political ambitions of the
politician or help take care of their family and friends," said Meredith McGehee, policy
director for the D.C.-based Campaign Legal Center.
Under federal law, lobbying reforms created in the wake of the Jack Abramoff scandal
mandate disclosure of federal lobbyist donations to charities tied to a lawmaker. But there is
no such requirement under Maryland election law, leaving it up to nonprofit groups to police
themselves and decide how much, if any, information about funding sources to make public.
Path to Greatness officials have been transparent, providing significant IRS documentation
and donor lists in response to requests from The Times.
Among all of the records, however, perhaps the clearest connection between Path to
Greatness and Mr. Baker's administration is plainly on the group's website, which lists Mr.
Baker's wife, Christa Beverly, as a member of the board of trustees and co-founder of Path
to Greatness. The website also includes a more than 600-word biography of Mr. Baker's
wife, at one point referring to her as "the wife and best-friend of Prince George's County's
new County Executive."
Still, through a spokesman, Mr. Baker said he has no "insight or direct connection" to the
organization: "Mr. Baker is not directly involved with the Path to Greatness organization,"
Prince George's spokesman Barry Hudson wrote in an email to The Times. "His wife is a
member of the board of directors, but Mr. Baker does not have any involvement in how and
where donations come from. His daughter is listed on the site as an intern (non-paid),
however, she accepted another internship and never worked as an intern at the Path to
Greatness."
Ken Boehm, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center, a watchdog group, isn't
convinced: "From all indications, this organization is very closely connected to County
Executive Baker; in fact, it's hard to imagine a less-connected group," he said.
The organization is run from a Bowie property owned by Michelle Haywood and her
husband, Chris Lawson, both of whom have close political ties to Mr. Baker. Mr. Lawson led
Mr. Baker's 2006 campaign, and Path to Greatness is registered under Mr. Lawson's name.
Ms. Haywood is executive director of Path to Greatness.
Ms. Haywood said in an interview that Prince George's Path to Greatness is a so-called
501(c)(4) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Such groups cannot be set up to help win an
election for a politician but can cover inaugural expenses. Separately, she filed paperwork
with the IRS to run a separate 501(c)(3) charitable organization called Path to Greatness,
which would allow donors to take tax deductions for contributions made for charitable
purposes. That application is pending.
She described Mr. Baker's wife as a friend who always has been interested in helping
children in poverty. Ms. Haywood said neither Mr. Baker's wife nor she receives
compensation. In addition, in a message posted on the group's website, Ms. Haywood wrote
that the group aims to "support and seek to build organizations dedicated to education,
youth and health and safety."
Appointees
A few months into his first term, Mr. Baker announced two new appointees to the board of
commissioners overseeing the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.
"Christopher Lawson and Melanie Hartwig-Davis are incredible and experienced leaders who
will serve the citizens well as representatives to the WSSC board," Mr. Baker said at the
time.
Ms. Hartwig-Davis' name also appears on the list of donors provided by the group. Mr.
Baker said neither appointment had anything to do with support provided by Mr. Lawson or
by Ms. Hartwig-Davis to the organization. Ms. Haywood agreed, saying she never discussed
the donations with Mr. Baker or his wife.
Those aren't the only ties between the Prince George's government and the nonprofit group.
Other supporters include Washington Gas Light Co., which is entangled in litigation with the
Prince George's government, and Monty Cooper, appointed by Mr. Baker to a board
overseeing the county's housing and community development authority. Sam Epps, another
donor, was appointed by Mr. Baker to the board of trustees for the county's library system.
In an email, Ms. Haywood said most of the donors to a holiday mixer and trustees dinner
held in the months after Mr. Baker took office gave small contributions, ranging from $50 to
$250, but a firm run by Ms. Hartwig-Davis gave $1,000. Another company, Grant Capital
Management, separately provided $50,000.
Path to Greatness solicits donations online through PayPal. Referring to a holiday mixer in
December, the group posted information online saying tickets ranged from $500 for Silver
Path sponsors to $1,000 for Gold Path sponsors and $2,500 for Platinum Path sponsorship.
In addition, Mr. Baker is pictured prominently in numerous event photos posted throughout
the group's website, including scenes from his swearing-in ceremony and inaugural ball.
From the trustees dinner last year alone, Mr. Baker is pictured in nearly a dozen photos.
Political ties
Prince George's Path to Greatness was formed in the fall of 2010, weeks after Mr. Baker
won election. Mr. Lawson was listed as the incorporator and Mrs. Haywood as registered
agent, according to Maryland state business filings. In a separate set of filings, an entity
called Path to Greatness that was formed in Maryland in December lists Betsy Calloway as
incorporator and Mrs. Haywood as registered agent. Both entities list the Bowie property of
Mr. Lawson and Ms. Haywood.
Ms. Haywood said that if the IRS approves the application for a 501(c)(3) charitable
organization, she would lean toward shutting down the 501(c)(4) group that paid for Mr.
Baker's inaugural ball.
Prince George's Path to Greatness, the earlier-formed 501(c)(4) group that covered the
inaugural ball expenses at a gala at the National Harbor, reported total revenue in 2010 of
$533,710, with expenses of $508,237. Those expenses included a quarter of a million
dollars in rent and facility costs and $75,000 for entertainment.
Signing off on the IRA statement was Michael Cobb, a partner at the D.C.-based accounting
firm Thompson Cobb Bazilio & Associates, which was founded by longtime D.C. fundraiser
Jeffrey E. Thompson. Mr. Thompson stepped down from the firm after a federal raid of his
office and home as part of campaign finance investigation into D.C. political campaigns. Two
companies owned by Mr. Thompson gave checks of $4,000 each to Mr. Baker's campaign in
September 2010, records show.
No strangers to political giving, Ms. Haywood, Mr. Lawson and his company, Insuraty,
combined have given more than $100,000 to D.C., federal and Maryland campaigns over
the years. Many of their contributions came the same day, to the same politician and in the
same amount as donations from Mr. Thompson, his businesses or associates.
Two prominent Maryland politicians - Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and Lt. Gov. Anthony
G. Brown - moved in recent weeks to rid their campaigns of money tied to Mr. Thompson,
though neither parted with funds from Mr. Lawson, Ms. Haywood or Insuraty.
Insuraty has worked for two of Mr. Thompson's companies over the years, but Ms. Haywood
said all of the couple's donations were legal and the accounting firm's work for Path to
Greatness had nothing to do with any political ties.
"My husband and I gave out of support for Mr. Thompson's passion for political fundraising,"
she wrote in an email. "We never felt our business relationship was in jeopardy based on
whether we gave contributions or not. From my experience, Mr. Thompson was doing what
he loved to do and folks were a part of it because, in essence, they wanted to be."
The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina)
July 31, 2012 Tuesday
New lobbyist rankings reflect GOP takeover of NC legislature
The power shift at the statehouse is reflected in the latest rankings of the most influential
lobbyists, as newcomers flourished and Republicans surged to the top, according to the N.C.
Center for Public Policy Research.
Tom Fetzer, the former state GOP chairman who helped Republicans take control of the
legislature, landed at No. 2 in his first year working under the rotunda.
Only Dana Simpson, a former aide to a Republican House leader in the mid-1990s, bested
Fetzer. At age 38, Simpson, who ranked No. 14 in 2010 when Democrats controlled the
legislature, is the youngest lobbyist ever to claim the top spot. His clients included Progress
Energy, WakeMed Health and Hospitals and The N.C. Museum of Art Foundation.
“There’s been a whole changing of the guard,” said lobbyist Fred Bone, a longtime
statehouse watcher.
The unscientific rankings are compiled through surveys of lawmakers, lobbyists and capital
correspondents. About two dozen of the lobbyists who made this year’s top 60 are ranked
for the first time and most represent an assortment of special interests on contract.
The top 10 features mostly lobbyists with Republican ties, a reversal from two years ago
when Democrats filled the upper echelon.
“The issues in the last two years allowed to be heard and debated have dramatically
changed,” explained Connie Wilson, a former GOP lawmaker who became a lobbyist after
leaving office in 2004. Wilson is ranked No. 7 after not making the top 55 in 2010. “There is
an increased demand for Republican lobbyists,” she added.
The special interests that hired the top lobbyists in the 2011-2012 legislative session were
predominantly health care and energy entities.
Nine of the 10 most influential lobbyists represented a client in the health care industry,
either hospital systems or pharmaceutical companies.
Five of the top 10 represented Duke Energy, Progress Energy or ElectriCities, all of which
held a stake in the Duke-Progress merger. The legislature had no role in approving the
merger but the companies are subject to state laws and regulation.
“The rankings shed light on what is often an invisible process,” said Ran Coble, the center’s
executive director.
Seven lobbyists ranked are former lawmakers, who are required by state law to not lobby
their former colleagues for six months after leaving office.
“Former legislators know what it takes to make things happen,” Coble said. “They also have
long-term relationships with their former colleagues that can open doors.”
The general partisan shift didn’t surprise Rep. Leo Daughtry, a Smithfield Republican.
“That’s the way it works,” he said.
Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)
July 31, 2012 Tuesday
Utah high court stops ethics reform ballot initiative in its tracks
SALT LAKE CITY-- The issue of legislative ethics reform won't go before voters, at least not
this year. The Utah Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed a lower court's summary judgment
decision that would have given members of Utahns for Ethical Government an opportunity
to gather signatures for an initiative to be included on the November ballot.
"This is a hugely disappointing turn of events," UEG representative David Irvine said
Tuesday. The group had intended for citizens to vote in November on a proposed code of
conduct for state lawmakers. "If a grassroots group like UEG, which has been probably
better organized than any other grassroots group I can think of; if we can't do this, I don't
believe anyone short of the National Rifle Association and its millions of dollars could pull
one off," Irvine said, adding that the high court's move is a "serious setback" for citizens,
who have a constitutional right to co-equal legislative power. UEG failed to gather enough
signatures by the deadline for the 2010 ballot, but contended that it should have more time
to make it on the ballot this year. Less than six months after the April 2010 deadline, UEG
presented about 120,000 signatures to the Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office, whereas
94,500 were required. To make it on the 2012 ballot, officials said UEG had to start over at
the beginning. The group then filed a lawsuit asking the state to certify signatures already
collected and put the measure on the ballot. A written opinion did not accompany the
court's order issued Tuesday, but is expected in the future. Members of UEG planned to hold
a press conference Wednesday to air their opinions and provide a more complete reaction to
the Supreme Court action. UEG's ethics proposal contained provisions for an independent
ethics commission and strict code of ethics for lawmakers, including limits on campaign
contributions, gifts and how lobbyists interact with legislators. The group had several
hundred volunteers gathering signatures on the issue over the course of about three
years. Irvine said that time has essentially been wasted and the statewide initiative right
has been "erased." Since the group began its cause, lawmakers passed a series of bills that
paved the way for a similar commission, more stringent conflict of interest reporting
processes, a gift ban over $10 and stricter control over campaign finances, among other
things.
Naples Daily News (Florida)
July 31, 2012 Tuesday
Several lawmakers work for lobbying firms, group says
TALLAHASSEE -- At least eleven sitting lawmakers derive some of their income from work
with firms that lobby the Legislature, according to a new report by the watchdog group
Integrity Florida.
But the legislators involved say they've done nothing wrong and that their firms take pains
to separate them from the daily operations of lobbying practices.
Dan Krassner, executive director of Integrity Florida, said the findings of his group's report
show the need for greater transparency in the personal finances of elected officials.
"We have a part-time Legislature in Florida," Krassner said. "They're allowed to have
outside jobs. But if they have an outside job, where the insider knowledge they have as a
legislator can benefit their employer, they ought to have more disclosure."
According to the report, which drew from the most recent personal financial disclosure
forms, 10 lawmakers listed as their primary source of income firms that also have
registered lobbyists.
Those lawmakers include Sen. Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens; Sen. Miguel Diaz de la
Portilla, R-Miami; Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa; Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart; Rep. Joseph
Abruzzo, D-Wellington; Rep. Richard Corcoran, a New Port Richey Republican slated to
become speaker; Rep. Jose Diaz, R-Miami; Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach; Rep. Joe
Gibbons, D-Hallandale Beach; and Rep. Greg Stuebe, R-Sarasota.
Gaetz told the group his law firm no longer employs a lobbyist.
Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, received a secondary source of income from a firm
that does lobbying work, according to the report.
In its report, Integrity Florida recommended that the state develop a more thorough
financial disclosure form, specifically highlighting Lousiana's as an example; place the
disclosures online; require lawmakers to disclose any conflicts of interest before they vote,
rather than after; allow the Ethics Commission to perform random audits of lawmakers'
forms; and shorten the grace period for officials who don't return the forms promptly.
Only Bogdanoff, Abruzzo, Diaz and Gaetz provided lists of their firm's legislative clients,
according to the report, while Negron provided a list of clients his firm represented before
state agencies. Joyner and Corcoran were the only two of those listed who filed paperwork
with the Legislature indicating they had a potential conflict of interest on a given vote.
Krassner said that the lack of specific information on the forms made it difficult to track
down any glaring potential conflicts.
"We need more disclosure to do that. We certainly saw plenty of red flags" on the
documents, Krassner said.
But lawmakers listed in the report say there's no conflict of interest. Negron said he works
in the business litigation practice at Gunster Yoakley & Stewart, and noted that other
legislators work as doctors, teachers and in a variety of other professions."Legislators come
from many backgrounds, occupations and walks of life. ... All of us are careful to follow the
ethics rules and guidelines that have been set up," he said.
Gibbons said he does help some local governments work on applications for federal grants,
but that the majority of his clients are private companies and that he isn't allowed to sit in
on meetings or speak with lobbyists at Akerman Senterfitt about clients with interests
before the Legislature.
"They really draw hard lines there," he said. " ... The things I do have nothing to do with the
state of Florida."
The Salt Lake Tribune
August 1, 2012 Wednesday
Loophole lets thousands in lobbyist expenses go unreported
Dressed in cowboy boots and belt buckles, a handful of Utah legislators, including leaders of
the body, gathered last week at This Is The Place Heritage Park for dinner and a hoedown
with Utah lobbyists.
A night earlier, Zions Bank hosted Republican legislators from across the country, including
those from Utah, who were attending the American Legislative Exchange Council's annual
conference at a reception at the Utah Museum of Natural History.
Next week, the lobbyists and a larger group of legislators will do it again, as they attend the
National Conference of State Legislatures convention in Chicago.
And because of a loophole built into Utah's lobbyist disclosure laws in 2010, none of the
expenditures or attendees have to be reported. It is an exception that has allowed
thousands of dollars of lobbyist expenditures -- a majority of what is spent entertaining and
feeding legislators -- to go unreported.
Kim Burningham, chairman of the group Utahns for Ethical Government, said that "it
troubles me" that there is a loophole for the meals at conferences.
"I believe in lobbying, but lobbyists should provide information, not favors," Burningham
said. "If [the meal] is being picked up by a lobbyist, you have to ask why they would do
that. I think it is to buy influence and I think that's questionable behavior."
Senate Majority Leader Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, co-sponsored the 2010 bill that
tightened some lobbyist gift rules -- like prohibiting a lobbyist paying for a lawmaker's ticket
to a Jazz game or covering green fees on a golf course -- but created the conference
loophole. He said that, when dozens of legislators and spouses and families are attending
lobbyist-sponsored events at conferences, it makes it difficult to keep track of how much is
spent on each.
And sometimes at national conferences there are legislators from other states attending,
which makes reporting even more challenging.
"It just makes it impossible to report," Jenkins said. "It got complicated enough that that
was what we decided to do."
Jay Magure, vice president of government relations for 1-800 Contacts, which organized the
ALEC State Night dinner last week, said about 20 legislators attended and he and other
lobbyists picked up the tab for the evening. He said it is the norm in other states to not
have to report the state night dinners.
"I don't know that I've ever had to report a state night," he said. "If they allow you to do
meals, generally speaking, conferences are exempted."
Next week, about 50 people -- lobbyists and Utah legislators -- will gather at Keefer's
Restaurant in Chicago, which was called the best steakhouse in the city by The Food
Network and one of America's Top 10 steakhouses by Playboy magazine.
Jodi Hart, a lobbyist and head of the Capitol Hill Association, organized the event, even
though she won't be attending. The price tag for the dinner is expected to end up at about
$3,000 total, she said, a smaller bill than in years past, because fewer people will be
attending.
"It's a lot smaller," she said.
Last year at NCSL, lawmakers dined at Rosarios in San Antonio. About a dozen lobbyists
who traveled to the event covered the cost. And a week prior, a similar event was held at a
Cajun restaurant during the ALEC conference in New Orleans.
Des Moines Register
July 29, 2012 Sunday
1 Edition
Contributions dodged rules, records show
One of Iowa's top political advocacy groups has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in
anonymous contributions that skirted state rules on campaign-finance reporting, according
to documents reviewed by the The Des Moines Register.
But the group that received the money and the trusts that provided it are unlikely to face
penalties for the violations - which occurred 18 times over an 11-year period - because they
relied on a faulty legal opinion from the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.
Since 2002, three trusts have given a combined $359,000 to Iowans for Tax Relief, the
influential conservative lobbying group that has supported Republican lawmakers and
candidates for decades.
While documents reveal a close relationship between the trusts and the group, known as
ITR, no records on file with the ethics board disclose the original source of the money
donated over the years or even an up-to-date list of the trustees.
That makes it impossible to know the source of political money that for years has flowed
from the trusts to the Iowans for Tax Relief PAC and, ultimately, to dozens of candidates for
state office.
It's also a violation of state regulations requiring political action committees receiving
political contributions from trusts to identify the "trust, the trustee, and the trustor" making
the donation.
Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board Executive Director Megan Tooker confirmed
that those regulations apply to the trusts' many contributions to the Iowans for Tax Relief
PAC.
But there's a catch: The trusts and the PAC appear to have relied on a 2002 advisory
opinion from the ethics board that Tooker said misconstrued the rule and essentially OK'd
the manner in which the trust donations have been recorded ever since.
"I think they should've been reporting the name of the trustor and the trustee, but they
were following the advice of our advisory opinion," Tooker said.
Under state law, following advice offered in an opinion is a defense against violations of
state campaign finance laws and regulations.
After learning of the ITR donations and determining that the advisory opinion was in error,
Tooker said she intended to seek changes at the ethics board's meeting next month.
"I believe our advisory opinion is inconsistent with our rules, and so I'll be encouraging the
board to take a look at that and rescind the advisory opinion or at least modify it to make
sure it's consistent with the rules," she said.
If the board does update the opinion, future donations from trusts will require the additional
disclosures. The ethics board could encourage the group to update its previous reports as
well, Tooker said, but probably cannot require it to.
ITR President Robert H. Solt - who also is listed as a contact for one of the trusts - did not
return calls seeking comment this week. Vice Chairman Donald P. Racheter declined to
comment, saying he was unfamiliar with the group's campaign efforts.
The three trusts, the Trust for Taxpayer Defense, the American Freedom Trust and the Iowa
Public Interest Trust, have been politically active for well over a decade and appear to have
given exclusively to Iowans for Tax Relief. The donations have followed a distinct pattern:
Each trust has made a single donation in every election year since at least 2002, ranging
from $6,000 to $40,000. Altogether, the trusts' donations have averaged about $60,000 per
election.
In the 1990s, records show, the trusts regularly filed reports naming both the trustee and
trustor. But in every instance reviewed by the Register, the trustee and trustor were
identified as the same person and the reports gave no indication as to the original funding
source.
In 2001, the trusts sought advice from the ethics board concerning the legal requirements
for reporting donations.
In response, the board issued an advisory opinion the following January describing the
manner in which political donations from trusts must be reported but indicating that a trust
making contributions and the PAC receiving them must disclose the "original donor" only if
the person had placed money in the trust with the specific "intention" that it be donated to a
PAC.
That, Tooker says now, is too narrow a reading of the state regulations.
Apparently relying on that narrower reading, neither the group nor the three trusts have
identified who provided and managed the money that the trusts have distributed to ITR.
But that was not the intent of the opinion, said Charlie Smithson, the ethics board's
attorney in 2002 who now serves as chief clerk of the Iowa House.
"The purpose of the opinion was just to make sure that ... you're accurately capturing those
people who want money used for a campaign contribution," he said.
The Register's review and inquiries to the ethics board also revealed that the trusts failed to
file even the most basic paperwork disclosing a $15,000 donation in 2008 and three
donations in 2010 totaling $60,000.
The trusts were notified of the violations in letters mailed last week, and now each faces a
$20 fine for its failure to report the 2010 donations made. (The Trust for Taxpayer Defense
will avoid a fine on the 2008 contribution because a three-year statute of limitations has
expired.)
While the original source of the funds given to Iowans for Tax Relief over the years remains
unclear, the connections between the trusts and the organization are starkly obvious.
ITR is generally seen as one of the largest and most active political organizations in the
state, with more than 50,000 members and a clear-cut commitment to lower taxes and
smaller government. The group's policy team for years has been one of the strongest forces
in the state Capitol, active in crafting legislation, lobbying lawmakers and organizing public
demonstrations.
"They've been a significant player and they've been a significant voice in the Republican
caucus," said state Rep. Jeff Kaufmann, a Republican leader who represents ITR's home
base in Muscatine.
The group's political organization, meanwhile, over the years has raised hundreds of
thousands of dollars and distributed them almost exclusively to Republican legislative
candidates - and even provided on-the-ground support for individual campaigns.
"They're an adjunct of the Republican Party," said House Democratic Leader Kevin McCarthy
of Des Moines. "I think it's fair to say that they have viewed themselves, historically, as the
political arm of the Iowa Republican Party."
The group was founded in 1978 by attorney and former state lawmaker David Stanley, a
staunch conservative and heir to what is reportedly one of the largest fortunes in Iowa.
The letters sent to the trusts last week by the ethics commission identify ITR President
Robert H. Solt and board members Anthony T. Berardi and Richard R. Phillips as the primary
contacts for the three trusts.
Berardi on Thursday referred questions to Solt or Stanley. Neither Solt nor Phillips returned
calls seeking comment.
Former trustees identified in earlier reports also have deep connections to the organization.
Cloyd E. Robinson, a former lawmaker from Cedar Rapids, was a trustee and an ITR lobbyist
for decades before retiring a few years ago. In an interview last week, he said he believed
the trusts were formed specifically to funnel more money into the group's political account.
And although he was a trustee, he said he had little say in how the money was spent and
little awareness of where it came from.
"I maybe signed some documents, but as far as the decision on where the money came
from or how much it was, I never really got involved in that," Robinson said.
The ultimate source of the trusts' money, he added, was probably Stanley, ITR's wealthy
founder.
"I think it was a complicated arrangement, but I'd say it was David's money or David's
trust," he said. "I don't just remember now how it was. I really wasn't that involved with it
other than I signed off on it."
A call to Stanley's residence on Friday was not returned.
Jeff Boeyink was listed as a trustee and contact person for the American Freedom Trust in
documents from 2001 through 2004. He's now Gov. Terry Branstad's chief of staff, but
served for several years as ITR's president. He also did not return a call seeking comment.
The donations from the three trusts represent a substantial portion of ITR's total
fundraising. The trusts have given a combined $359,000 to the group since 2002, and the
$114,000 given since July 2010 represents almost a third of the group's contributions
during that time.
That money, in turn has been directed in large part to GOP candidates for the Iowa House
and Senate.
Ahead of the 2010 election, when Republicans won back control of the Iowa House, ITR's
PAC wrote checks of $250, $500 or $1,000 to dozens of GOP candidates and dropped more
than $200,000 into the campaign account of Rep. Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, who became
House speaker the following year.
So far this year, ITR has sent $9,000 to 14 GOP candidates and this month reported more
than $187,000 on hand and available to spend ahead of the Nov. 6 election.
Paulsen said last week he definitely would seek donations from the group this year, both for
his committee and on behalf of other GOP lawmakers.
"Obviously they've got a PAC with quite a bit of money in it right now," he said. "I would
anticipate that they'll get in and participate and support candidates and support the things
that they stand for."
Less involved?
Some say Iowans for Tax Relief's engagement in state policy has waned since a staff
shakeup last year. Page 7B
Tax group's involvement has waned since 2011 staff shakeup
Even as Iowans for Tax Relief amasses a campaign war chest in anticipation of this fall's
election, some lawmakers and Capitol insiders have questioned the group's engagement in
state policy since a major staff shakeup last year.
In an abrupt and never fully explained move in the midst of the 2011 legislative session,
five key ITR staffers left the organization, including Ed Failor Jr., its longtime leader and
most prominent figure at the Capitol.
Since then, several lobbyists and lawmakers say, things haven't quite been the same.
Despite high-profile property-tax reform proposals that put tax policy front and center this
spring, some say the group was unusually passive.
"They didn't seem to be much of a presence this year," said Senate Ways and Means
Committee Chairman Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City.
That's quite a change from years past, when ITR led Statehouse support for tax cuts and
opposition to tax increases. The group was at the forefront of successful efforts in recent
years to cut state income tax rates for the highest earners, phase out taxes on Social
Security income and resist proposals allowing the state to levy taxes on the income paid in
federal taxes.
Bolkcom and others said they've never even met members of ITR's new lobbying team - a
stark change from the group's activity with Failor and others at the helm.
ITR Vice Chairman Donald P. Racheter acknowledged that the organization had fewer
lobbyists in the Capitol this year, but said the scaled-back effort was appropriate because
gridlock between the Republican House and Democratic Senate virtually ensured nothing
would get done.
That'll change if things go well for Republicans in November, he said.
"Next year if we have a Republican Senate and a Republican House, you'll see a lot more of
us up there because things will be happening and we'll be a part of it and there will be a
reason to be there," Racheter said.
Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee)
July 29, 2012 Sunday
ALEC under fire for perceived shift
NASHVILLE - Two Tennessee Democratic legislators have resigned from the American
Legislative Exchange Council, which this summer is the target of a national campaign from
critics contending it has become a secretive, corporatecontrolled lobby for conservative
causes. Tennessee Republican legislators attending ALEC's national convention in Salt Lake
City last week, however, say the organization has made them better lawmakers by
enhancing an exchange of ideas and information between the public sector and the private
sector.
"It's an organization that promotes the principles on which this c o u n t r y was founded free markets and free enterprise," said Rep. Steve Mc-Daniel, R-Parkers Crossroads, deputy
speaker of the state House, a member of ALEC since 1989 and a member of its national
public sector board of directors. ALEC is largely financed by its private sector members. Two
groups leading the anti-ALEC campaign - Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) and Color
of Change - say 30 major corporations have recently abandoned membership, including
General Motors and Walgreens last week. Others quitting range from Walmart and CocaCola to Amazon and MillerCoors.
There are Tennessee groups critical of ALEC as well.
"We think Tennessee legislators are being bought and paid for by an exclusive network of
corporate lobbyists and special-interest groups," said Mary Mancini, executive director of
Tennessee Citizen Action.
ALEC holds periodic meetings around the country where legislators from all 50 states and
private sector representatives meet in "task force" session to develop model legislation on
various topics. Critics say the events are at luxury motels with ample entertainment
opportunities.
ALEC provides "scholarships" to some legislators to cover their expenses, typically to
recently elected legislators. In Tennessee, many travel at state expense - as they can to
other national legislator-oriented group events such as the National Conference of State
Legislators and the Council of State Governments.
Legislators say the other groups, however, do not develop "model legislation" that can then
be pushed in their home states. Instead, they offer general information in workshops and
perhaps sample bills of how states have addressed different issues. And there's another
difference.
"ALEC is more conservative," said Rep. Harry Brooks, R-Knoxville, who attended last week's
ALEC gathering and has attended others as well. He has also traveled to NCSL conventions.
ALEC may have a model bill on a given topic, he said, but that model is typically
transformed substantially, or perhaps even ignored, before being introduced in a state
Legislature. Brooks successfully sponsored a bill authorizing operation of forprofit "virtual
schools" in a state, but he said an ALEC model has little to do with the final version.
McDaniel said those "out to destroy ALEC" are "extremists, far to the left." Corporate
sponsors who have withdrawn "caved in to these very liberal groups," he said.
Reps. Joe Armstrong, D-Knoxville, and David Shepard, D-Dickson, have a different view of
ALEC. Both said they joined ALEC at the urging of Rep. Curry Todd, R-Collierville, the ALEC
state chairman, and other Republican legislators in Tennessee whom they respect including McDaniel. But the more they learned about ALEC, they said, the more they disliked
it.
Shepard said he joined and paid his first year's dues in 2010 - $100 - but never actually
attended a meeting, then sent repeated notice of his resignation this year. Armstrong said
he was initially impressed with the group's professed bipartisanship and became a member
of the ALEC task force on health care.
But Armstrong said that after passage of the federal Affordable Health Care Act, ALEC
changed from generally supporting a national solution for providing health care. It began
backing state-level efforts such as a model Health Care Freedom Act, which says states can
ignore the federal law, and the Health Care Compact, which calls for states to take over all
federal health programs, including Medicare. Armstrong said he stopped paying dues in
2010 and, after discovering he was still listed as a member, sent a resignation notice earlier
this year.
"They make their decisions based on politics and contributions rather than on best practices
or best solutions to problems," Armstrong said. "Their agenda has become very self-serving
and very partisan. ... It's extremist."
Tennessee's Republicanmajority Legislature has approved a Health Care Freedom Act but
not a Health Care Compact. The compact bill passed the Senate last session but failed in the
House.
Armstrong said he also was alienated by ALEC's backing of legislation requiring a
government-issued photo identification for voting, which he considers "voter suppression"
targeting the elderly and minority voting rights, and a "stand your ground" law adopted in
states including Tennessee and Florida, which broadens self-defense statutes to allow the
use of deadly force in more situations.
Those two issues have been focal points of the national criticism of ALEC. The "stand your
ground" law got national attention after the killing of Trayvon Martin, a black youth in
Florida.
Besides CMD and Color Of Change, Common Cause has joined in the attack on ALEC by
formally seeking an Internal Revenue Service ruling on whether ALEC should lose its status
as a tax-exempt organization. The contention is that ALEC violates rules against lobbying
legislators. ALEC disputes the claim and Mc-Daniel agrees.
There is no specific legislation being proposed before a state legislative body in session, he
said.
"If you call supporting free market principle and less government intervention lobbying,
then well, maybe," McDaniel said. "But that's not what generally you think of as lobbying."
In at least one state, Wisconsin, a complaint has been filed claiming that ALEC's
"scholarships" for travel expenses to conventions violate a ban on lobbyist gifts to
legislators. Tennessee also has a general ban on gifts from lobbyists to legislators, but there
is an explicit exemption in Tennessee law for out-of-state travel expenses provided by "a
recognized organization of elected or appointed state government officials."
That exemption was added to the state's 2006 revision of ethics laws with the support of
ALEC public sector chair Todd, who noted that it applies to other groups as well.
Tennessee's private sector state chair is Patricia Cannon, who lists a Tullahoma address in
her registration as a lobbyist for Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, a pharmaceutical
company. She previously was registered to lobby in Tennessee for Allergan Inc. When
reached at the Salt Lake City meeting, Cannon declared she would not speak to a reporter,
suggested a look at the ALEC website and promptly terminated the call.
Kaitlyn Bass, the designated spokeswoman on ALEC's website, did not return a reporter's
call.
ALEC does not publicly disclose its corporate or public membership. CMD, however, has set
up a website called "ALEC Exposed" that lists private and public sector members collected
by other means - along with about 800 "model bills" approved by ALEC over a period of
several years.
The group's Tennessee listing has 32 current state legislators and two former legislators, all
Republicans except Armstrong and Shepard. Tennessee's legislative travel records,
however, show two other Democrats - Sens. Ophelia Ford and Reginald Tate, both of
Memphis - as attending ALEC functions in other states at state expenses.
Todd said the group is bipartisan with about 45 percent of members nationwide Democrats
and the national chairmanship rotating annually between a Democrat and a Republican.
Tate said in an interview that he initially attended an ALEC meeting "out of curiosity" and
has remained a member because "it's good to get a different perspective, even if I often
disagree." Tate said he has faced criticism from "people who were a lot less courteous than
the folks at ALEC." The "ALEC Exposed" website also lists more than 50 legislators who have
withdrawn from ALEC since the campaign of criticism began - not including Armstrong and
Shepard. All those listed are Democrats. "When I joined, I thought they were bipartisan,"
said Armstrong. "I think they've gotten extremely partisan now. ... They're lobbying social
agendas."
Todd said he believes resigning legislators "caved in to these left-wing groups" that have
been pressuring Democrats to leave ALEC.
Earlier this year, ALEC disbanded the task force that produced model legislation on voter
photo ID and "stand your ground."
McDaniel said the organization also was rewriting its bylaws and mission statement at the
Salt Lake City meeting. In his opinion, he said, that ALEC had gotten off track by getting
into social issues.
"ALEC is refocusing on its founding principles - Jeffersonian principles, free enterprise, less
government," McDaniel said. "Those social issues are not part of ALEC's mission."
Todd said that was "maybe 5 percent" of ALEC's efforts in the past anyway.
"We get blamed for a lot of things, but our interest has always been on economic issues,"
said Todd. "This (anti-ALEC effort) is all a political game because the elections are coming
up."
The sponsors of the Tennessee voter ID law say they were pushing the idea long before it
ever became an ALEC model, though it did not pass until last year.
"I think they got their model from me," quipped Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Bill
Ketron of Murfreesboro, Senate sponsor of the measure and a frequent attendee of ALEC
events.
Sarasota Herald Tribune (Florida)
July 29, 2012 Sunday
INTEREST GROUPS FIND NEW WAYS IN
Optometrists in Miami-Dade are going all in to influence who will be Manatee County's next
supervisor of elections.
Over the last three months, the Miami-Dade Optometric Physicians and more than a dozen
other eye doctor groups, lobbyists and political action committees they back have
contributed thousands of dollars to state Sen. Mike Bennett's campaign for the Manatee
elections supervisor post.
Bennett, a Bradenton Republican, has a simple explanation for why such special interest
group would care who manages elections in Manatee: "They love me," he said.
But the issue goes far beyond affection.
The relationship between Bennett and the optometrists shows how special interest groups in
Tallahassee have been able to curry favor with lawmakers to drive legislation and,
increasingly, influence local elections -- despite ethics rules designed to limit their power.
During his last two years in the Senate, Bennett pushed legislation sought by the
optometrists to allow them to dispense medication.
Though the legislation failed in both 2011 and 2012, Bennett, thanks in part to the
optometric connection, has raised $120,000 in his campaign for the Manatee elections
supervisor post, more than double the sum of the three other Republicans in the race
combined.
About $10,000 of that has come just from optometrists and groups affiliated with their chief
Tallahassee lobbyist.
The campaign donations are in addition to tens of thousands of dollars optometrists have
given to a special Bennett-controlled political fund called a "committee for continuous
existence," or CCE, which Bennett also used to fund his campaign.
Bennett -- barred by term limits from seeking another Florida Senate term -- has used the
CCE contributions not only for his own election, but to dole out money for others seeking
local office, including Sarasota County Commission candidate Charles Hines and Manatee
Commission candidate John Colon.
The state senator has spent thousands of dollars from the CCE for travel, dining out and
entertainment.
Bennett charged more than $40,000 in travel and meals to the fund over the last three
years, including four trips in 2010 that cost more than $2,500 each. Bennett said most of
the travel was in Florida, except for an occasional trip out of state. All of it was paid for by
the CCE.
"I don't consider it an unfair advantage at all," Bennett said of the statewide money coming
into the local race.
Bennett's fund, the Committee for Housing and Urban Growth, has been one of the most
prolific of its kind in Florida, collecting more than $1.5 million since 2006.
But it is hardly unique.
Over the last 10 years, special interest groups with business before the Legislature have
poured $27 million into 60 hard-to-trace campaign funds affiliated with the biggest names in
state government.
Gambling interests, phosphate mining companies, developers, utilities and insurance firms
are among the dozens to write checks as big as $50,000 -- 100 times what is allowed for a
traditional campaign account -- for Bennett's fund and others.
'Unlimited money'
Ben Wilcox, a board member for Common Cause of Florida, argues that the CCEs make a
mockery of Florida's campaign finance rules.
While legislators have passed laws barring them from taking gifts and limiting campaign
contributions to $500 per donor, money flows into the CCEs virtually unrestricted.
"It's become a means for legislators to raise unlimited amounts of money," Wilcox said.
How the money can be used is even more wide open.
"The rules are so loose that they can basically do anything they want with that money," said
Wilcox, who has lobbied unsuccessfully for years to shut down CCEs.
Said Daniel A. Smith, a University of Florida political science professor who has studied the
proliferation of CCEs in Florida politics: "They are nothing more than legalized slush funds."
Since 2005, Bennett and former state Rep. Ron Reagan, who was also affiliated with
Bennett's fund until 2010, used the account to reimburse themselves more the $106,000 in
travel, meals and other entertainment despite laws that are supposed to bar lobbyists from
picking up the tab for legislators to travel.
The money has turned state lawmakers and their lobbyist friends into powerbrokers at the
local level.
The $10,000 Bennett has received from groups affiliated with optometrists is a significant
sum for a local election that limits donations to $500 from individuals.
It has given Bennett an advantage that Jane von Hahmann, one of three other Republicans
challenging Bennett for the Supervisor of Elections seat, said has been difficult to overcome.
Bennett has far more money for mailers and campaign signs compared with his opponents.
Von Hahmann said she knew Bennett had allies in Tallahassee who would support him, but
she did not expect so many groups outside of Manatee County to take such an active role in
the race.
"It looks like it's just payback time," von Hahmann said.
CCE money is flowing into the Bradenton mayor's race, county commission contests in both
Sarasota and Manatee and the Sarasota County supervisor of elections campaign this year.
Sarasota Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent received $200 from BBG CCE, a fund run by
state Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice. Bradenton Mayor Wayne Poston received $500 from
Innovate Florida, a fund run by former state Rep. Bill Galvano. Bennett's Citizens for
Housing and Urban Growth sent $500 to the campaign for Colon, the Manatee County
Commission candidate.
State legislators also give their CCE money to political committees to pay for
advertisements for political allies in local races. In 2008, Bennett's CCE and another
managed by one of his lobbyist allies sent more than $17,500 to a campaign account called
Citizens for a Sustainable Economy, which funded campaign mailers against then-incumbent
Manatee County commissioner Amy Stein, a Republican.
Buying access
The Florida Optometric Association has given more than $50,000 to Bennett's CCE over the
last three years. He admits the donations got his attention in their push for their top priority
in the last two legislative sessions.
The first check for $25,000 in 2009 paved the way for him to meet with the optometrists.
"People don't give that kind of money without looking to gain some influence," Bennett said.
Within two months Bennett filed the bill the optometrists wanted, a measure to give them
authority to prescribe medications that only physicians are allowed to issue now.
Bennett said the state would save millions under the state and federal Medicaid program if
optometrists in Florida had the same power to prescribe the medications as their
counterparts in 47 other states.
Despite his spirited efforts, the measure, opposed by physicians, failed.
Nevertheless, Bennett said, "I'd fight for them again."
Underscoring the close relationship between Bennett and the optometrists, his Citizens for
Housing and Urban Growth CCE is managed by the chief lobbyist for the Florida
Optometrists, Dave Ramba.
A lobbyist who also represents dozens of other clients in Tallahassee, Ramba is also the
registered agent for another account called Floridians for Preserving Sight, which put
another $30,000 into Bennett's Citizens for Housing and Urban Growth fund and donated
$500 to Bennett's supervisor of elections race.
The most recent donation to Bennett's CCE -- a $10,000 check -- was made in April,
according to Florida Division of Elections records.
Campaign finance records show the Florida Optometric Association is by far the top donor to
the Floridians for Preserving Sight fund. The Optometric association gave $100,000 to fund
Floridians for Preserving Sight since 2009.
But optometrists are hardly alone in trying to gain lawmakers' attention with money.
When Internet gaming companies feared legislators would crack down on their activities last
year, they created a fund called Save Our Internet that began giving liberally to CCEs
controlled by top legislative leaders. In two weeks in early 2011, a group called Save Our
Internet Access donated $45,000 to the CCEs of prominent legislators, such as incoming
House Speaker Will Weatherford; Detert, chairwoman of the Senate Commerce Committee;
and Bennett, senator pro tempore -- second-highest position in the Florida Senate.
Before the 2012 session, Save Our Internet gave more than $33,000 in donations to CCEs
run by members of the Florida Legislature, their campaigns or to the two major political
parties. Among the donations were $2,500 for a CCE run by expected 2014 House Speaker
Chris Dorworth and more than $8,000 to Bennett's fund.
In late 2010, the Institute for Legal Reform, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
cut two checks for a total of $500,000 to House Speaker Dean Cannon, who would make
business friendly tort reform and an overhaul of the state court system his top legislative
priorities in the 2011 legislative session.
The accounts, like Bennett's Citizens for Housing and Urban Growth, typically have clever
names that make identifying their true purpose difficult, such as "Innovate Florida," "Florida
Freedom Council," "Florida Liberty Fund" and "Creating Possibilities."
Unintended consequences
CCEs were created in the 1970s to give interest groups such as trial attorneys, real estate
agents or home builders a place to pool their resources to promote their interests.
But during the last 15 years, legislators found that they could use the funds, too, as long as
they created an organization with a targeted mission, like Bennett's Citizens for Housing &
Urban Growth.
Some legislators say the funds took off in 2006, when a tougher gift ban law took effect,
banning lobbyists from giving legislators any gifts. Before that, legislators were getting gifts
and not reporting them.
CCEs became the favored way to legally get money for lawmakers to pay for trips and
meals.
Reagan said lobbyists no longer were picking up the tab at a dinner. Instead, a legislator
would receive $10,000 or more for their CCE while at the dinner, which the legislator could
then use to pay for the meal.
"It is all a direct and unintended consequence of the gift ban," said Reagan, one of the
sponsors of that measure.
But the influence on local elections has been another unexpected turn.
"I'm shocked that all these people in Tallahassee want to decide who is our supervisor of
elections," said Edward Bailey, a GOP candidate for the office in Manatee.
CCE: The 10 most prolific legislator-run committees over the last decade. 4A
CAMPAIGN FUNDING
Total money raised by each of the Republican candidates for supervisor of elections in
Manatee County
Edward Bailey $32,788
Richard Bedford $7,150
Michael Bennett $121,800
Jane von Hahmann $9,330
Source: Manatee County Supervisor of Elections
ONLINE VOTER GUIDE
Use our online guide to search for candidate bios and read questionnaires about local races
on your Florida primary ballot. heraldtribune.com/ voterguide
LARGEST CAMPAIGN ACCOUNTS
Powerful members of the Florida Legislature have created special campaign accounts that
avoid gift bans and campaign donation limits. Here are the 10 most prolific legislator-run
committees, called CCEs, in Florida over the last decade, and which legislators have been
affiliated with the funds (* indicates an active fund):
1. $3 million Florida Liberty Fund House Speaker Dean Cannon
*2. $2.7 million Alliance for a Strong Economy Senate Budget chairman JD Alexander
Senate President Mike Haridopolos and others.
*3. $1.5 million Citizens for Housing and
Urban Development Senate Pro Tempore Mike Bennett
*4. 1.3 million Citizens for a Conservative House Incoming House Speaker Will Weatherford.
5. $1.1 million Preserve the American Dream Former Senate president Jeff Atwater
6. $1.1 million...Florida Mainstream Democratic Forum State Reps. Rick Kriseman and
Joseph Abruzzo
7. $816,000 Floridians for a Brigher Future Former Senate President Ken Pruitt.
*8. $727,000 Florida Freedom Counci lHouse Speaker Dean Cannon
9. $620,000 The Committee for Florida's Senate President Mike Haridopolos
Fiscal Future
*10. $616,500 Florida Conservative Majority Senate President Don Gaetz and Senate
Majority Leader Andy Gardiner
LOCAL TIES
State Sen. Mike Bennett is not the only Southwest Florida legislator who has created a
Committee of Continuous Existence to raise money from special interest groups. Here are
CCEs run by other local legislators:
$1.5 million Citizens for Housing and Urban Growth Maintained by state Sen. Mike Bennett,
R-Bradenton
and formerly by state Rep. Ron Reagan, R-Bradenton.
$397,000 Innovate Florida Maintained by former state Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton
$33,500 BBG CCE Maintained by state Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice
$0 Floridians for Common Sense Maintained by state Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg
$32,250 Coalition for Conservative Leadership Maintained by state Reps. Greg Steube, RSarasota and James Grant, R-Tampa
Albuquerque Journal (New Mexico)
July 28, 2012 Saturday
Foundation Pushes Conservative Causes
Editor's note: This is part of a series of occasional columns on groups attempting to shape
public policy in New Mexico.
The Rio Grande Foundation is one of New Mexico's most prominent public policy advocates,
and like some other advocacy groups across the political spectrum, the foundation doesn't
talk about where it gets its money.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization under federal tax law, the Albuquerquebased
foundation isn't legally required to publicly disclose its financial supporters.
President Paul Gessing says donors assume their names will be kept private and that public
disclosure of their names could chill future donations.
"We're all complying with the law," he says. "The proper issue is policies and moving New
Mexico forward."
But some of the donors to the Rio Grande Foundation are themselves nonprofit foundations,
and they must report donations on their own federal tax returns, which are publicly
available.
And those tax records reviewed by the Journal show the supporters of the Rio Grande
Foundation include one of the country's biggest donors to libertarian and other conservative
organizations.
Tax returns of the Donors Capital Fund in suburban Washington, D.C., show the group gave
$297,000 to the Rio Grande Foundation in 2010 and $122,500 in 2009. Its sister
organization, DonorsTrust, gave another $7,500 to the Rio Grande Foundation in 2010.
The Donors groups are dedicated to limited government, personal responsibility and free
enterprise. DonorsTrust also describes itself as "a conservative free-market alternative to
the big liberal foundations."
The Rio Grande Foundation bills itself as "a research institute dedicated to increasing liberty
and prosperity for all of New Mexico's citizens."
"We do this by informing New Mexicans of the importance of individual freedom, limited
government and economic opportunity," the group says on its website.
The work of the Rio Grande Foundation includes reports on public policy issues, opinion
articles for news outlets around the state and operation of the New Mexico Watchdog and
Capitol Report New Mexico websites.
Authors associated with the foundation are frequent contributors to the opinion pages of the
Journal, with more than 80 articles appearing since 2001.
The group favors government that is smaller, taxes and regulates less and is more
transparent. It opposes collective bargaining and defined pension benefits for government
workers, the Rail Runner, the Spaceport, the state's rebate program for filmmakers and
Obamacare. The foundation has been critical of both Republican and Democratic public
officials.
Gessing, president of the foundation since 2006, has said liberals "seem to not understand
the benefits of work." He has also written, "Social Security and Medicare ARE welfare."
Gessing formerly headed the lobbying efforts of the National Taxpayers Union, an anti-tax
group, according to his official biography.
Former state Attorney General Hal Stratton, a Republican, formed the Rio Grande
Foundation in 2000. It was later headed by John Dendahl, the sharp-tongued former state
GOP chairman and unsuccessful candidate for governor.
The foundation had revenues of $450,785 and expenses of $421,834 in 2010, according to
its federal tax returns, which are publicly available because the group is a nonprofit. Gessing
earned nearly $84,000 in 2010.
As a 501(c)(3) group, the nonprofit can engage in issue advocacy and voter education, but
it cannot endorse or oppose candidates in elections.
The foundation can engage in limited lobbying of public officials, but it doesn't have a
registered lobbyist at the state Capitol. Gessing has appeared at news conferences in Santa
Fe, and the foundation last year ran radio ads opposed to a health care-related bill.
The foundation is an affiliate of the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity in
suburban Washington, D.C.
The Franklin Center says it was formed in 2009 because the legacy news media can't
provide the "real information" that voters need to make good decisions.
The center says its affiliates in 39 states are now providing 10 percent of all daily news
reported from state capitals.
The Rio Grande Foundation's New Mexico Watchdog and Capitol Report New Mexico
websites feature original news, as well as news generated by other media outlets.
Original news from the websites has at times made its way into the so-called mainstream
media.
In 2009, Watchdog reported that then-Lt. Gov. Diane Denish had used federal stimulus
money to prepare Christmas cards, conduct a poll and pay for public relations staff.
Denish said the accusations were "reckless manipulations of the truth," but they became
fodder for Susana Martinez in her successful bid to defeat Denish in the 2010 gubernatorial
election.
The investigative reporter for the Watchdog is Jim Scarantino, whose official biography says
he is an Ivy League-educated lawyer who worked on the campaigns of both Democrats and
Republicans before becoming a registered Republican. He worked on the presidential
campaign of GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona in 2000.
The managing editor of Capitol Report is Rob Nikolewski, a self-described conservative who
also writes a column for The New Mexican newspaper in Santa Fe.
The Rio Grande Foundation is also a member of the State Policy Network, based in suburban
Washington, D.C., a 50-state network of members described as free-market think tanks.
The State Policy Network says it was formed in 1992 at the urging of former President
Ronald Reagan. Its stated goal is to help its members better educate the public, policy
makers and opinion leaders about market-oriented alteratives to state and local policy
challenges.
The donors
The Rio Grande Foundation isn't a membership organization, but Gessing says 450 to 500
individuals have made donations to the group since he took over in 2006.
Much of the money given to the foundation by the Donors groups has gone to fund the
Watchdog and Capitol Report news organizations.
Donors Capital reported making grants of $41.1 million in 2010 to about 200 organizations
across the country. DonorsTrust gave another $22.2 million.
Whitney Ball, president of Donors Capital and DonorsTrust, is also board member of the
State Policy Network, and Donors Capital is a major financial backer of the network, the
Franklin Center and other groups related to the Rio Grande Foundation.
Other recipients of grants from Donors Capital and/or DonorsTrust: * The American
Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank whose trustees include former Vice President
Dick Cheney. * The American Majority, headed by Ned Ryun, who is described as a rising
star in the conservative and tea party movements. * The Center for Competitive Politics,
which opposes limits on campaign contributors. * God's World Publications, which says it
trains students in critical thinking with a biblical foundation. * The Acton Institute, which
seeks to integrate "Judeo-Christian truths with free market principles." * The Middle East
Forum, which says it protects the freedom of public speech of anti-Islamist authority,
activists and publishers. * The Project on Fair Representation, a legal project that has
challenged the use of race in university admissions, according to The New York Times.
Others who have publicly disclosed financial support of the Rio Grande Foundation include
the JM Foundation of New Jersey - which supports activities to promote self-sufficiency,
personal responsibility and private initiative - and the Union Pacific Foundation, the primary
philanthropic arm of the parent company of Union Pacific Railroad.
The JM Foundation gave $25,000 to the Rio Grande Foundation in 2011; the Union Pacific
Foundation gave $15,000 this year.
The New York Times
July 28, 2012 Saturday
Late Edition - Final
Behind Big Political Gifts, a Mysterious Donor
It is a small apartment in a scrubby section of Jamaica, Queens, where the average
household income is $33,800 and many residents receive government assistance.
But from this unlikely address, nearly $900,000 has flowed to the campaign accounts of
powerful political players across the country.
It is hard to say where the big sums are coming from.
Neighbors describe the man who lives inside -- James Robert Williams, 64 -- as a reclusive
figure who walks with a cane and orders Chinese food for many of his meals.
Yet Mr. Williams, who has few apparent assets and no obvious source of income, has
become a major benefactor to political candidates and risen to V.I.P. status in New York
Republican circles.
He was recently named by Edward F. Cox, the state Republican Party chairman, to serve on
an advisory panel that featured party notables, including a former White House spokesman
and a former New York secretary of state.
And he was honored in 2009 as ''corporate citizen of the year'' during an event at the Grand
Hyatt New York in Midtown, where he shared the dais with Mitt Romney, now the
presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
But Mr. Williams, who contributed to more than 50 campaigns in the past five years,
appears to be bipartisan. In addition to the $400,000 he and companies listed at his address
gave to Republican state and county committees in New York, he contributed $50,000 to
Andrew M. Cuomo's campaign for governor, and $20,800 to another Democrat,
Representative Charles B. Rangel.
Among the Republican lawmakers and groups who received contributions were Senator John
McCain, $57,800, for his presidential run; the Republican National Committee, $31,250; and
Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, $10,000. The bulk of the money was given between
2008 and 2011.
''The guy is unbelievable,'' said Joseph J. Savino, the Republican Party chairman in the
Bronx, which received an $8,000 donation. ''He's great.''
Still, there is much that is mysterious about James Robert Williams, who also goes by J. R.
Williams, Bob Williams and Robert Williams.
According to documents at the New York Department of State, Mr. Williams has formed at
least 25 companies, most of them based at his apartment on 170th Street in Jamaica. But
there is little evidence of their existing beyond incorporation papers, and most are now
inactive.
Records also show he described himself as a lawyer, though the school he says he attended
-- Indiana University -- has no record of it. The law firm he indicated he worked for says it
never employed him.
And despite the donations he has showered on politicians of both parties, those who have
received the contributions say they have little idea of how he makes his money.
The New York Times asked Republican Party officials how Mr. Williams was selected for
appointment to the panel by Mr. Cox, known as the Chairman's Advisory Council, and for
the honor of corporate citizen.
The state party referred a reporter to a public relations representative for Mr. Williams. But
the representative said he could not answer questions about Mr. Williams, or be of any
assistance, because Mr. Williams had disappeared after learning of the reporter's interest.
''Mr. Williams has become completely unreachable,'' Andrew Moesel of Scheinkopf Ltd., the
public relations firm, wrote in an e-mail. ''If he ever does emerge and contact us, you will be
the first to know.''
Becky Miller, a party spokeswoman, later sent an e-mail saying, ''Bob Williams is one of
several men and women from all walks of life and every corner of the state who provide
support and guidance to the New York State Republican Committee.''
Before he vanished, Mr. Williams rebuffed a reporter who went to his apartment building
and tried to ask him some basic biographical questions, like where he went to school. Mr.
Williams said the questions were ''more complicated'' than they seemed and ended the
conversation over a phone in the building's lobby.
Federal investigators are now examining Mr. Williams's activities, too, focusing on his role in
a real estate proposal in which investors say they lost millions after he and a business
partner offered to help them gain a foothold in the city's affordable housing market.
''It would be inappropriate to make any substantive comment at this time for fear of
compromising an ongoing investigation,'' said Benjamin Brafman, a lawyer who is
representing the investors, Peter Jacov and Av Glattman. ''However, it is absolutely clear to
us that when the dust settles in this case, Messieurs Glattman and Jacov will be viewed as
having been victimized by a small group of powerful and fundamentally dishonest
individuals.''
Officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to comment.
But public records and interviews with family and associates suggest that the questions
surrounding Mr. Williams may become more tangled.
Mr. Williams, those who know him say, can be quick to pick up a dinner check and has a
driver ferry him around. In addition to the Chinese food deliveries, he sometimes has
antipasto delivered to his door from an Italian restaurant in Mineola.
But he has few visible assets beyond his Cadillac, and this year alone, eight state tax liens
were filed against his companies.
His biography, posted online, says he helped General Dynamics secure a $2.5 billion federal
wire and cable service contract for minority-owned firms. Rob Doolittle, a General Dynamics
spokesman, said he was unable to confirm that Mr. Williams played such a role.
One of nine children from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Mr. Williams attended the
State University at Buffalo on scholarship, where he played basketball and planned to
pursue teaching, according to team rosters from the period. He graduated in 1971, and
years later, he informed his alma mater that he had a law degree from Indiana University
and asked that his mail be sent to Williams & Lockner, a Minneapolis law firm.
Officials at the Indiana University system say they have no record of the attendance of Mr.
Williams. A founding partner of the Minneapolis firm, Thomas P. Lockner, doubted that Mr.
Williams had any legitimate tie to the firm. In January, when Mr. Cox, the Republican Party
chairman, named Mr. Williams to the advisory council, the announcement referred to him as
the president of First Pro Group. State records, however, note that First Pro was dissolved in
July 2010.
The companies he controls, most of them in his apartment, have names that indicate
interest in a range of things, like trucking, electrical supplies and construction, and the
contributions are often drawn from them. But there is little evidence that any of the firms
have created jobs for anyone besides Mr. Williams and a woman, Barbara Brunson, who also
lives in Suite 5L.
In fact, the phone number listed in incorporation records for three of the companies is
actually registered to his upstairs neighbor, Dutelle Achoute. In an interview, Ms. Achoute
said she had no idea who Mr. Williams was and expressed surprise that her number was
listed for the companies.
In the case that prompted complaints to the F.B.I., Mr. Glattman and Mr. Jacov, the real
estate investors, told the authorities they were cheated of $6 million they had deposited in
escrow accounts for investments by Mr. Williams and a partner, David Spiegelman, a New
Jersey lawyer.
The investors contend that they had set aside the money in 2008 to bid on deals in the
affordable housing sector and had been told by Mr. Spiegelman that their plans would
benefit from Mr. Williams's involvement because of his know-how and political connections.
The investors say they were then shown deeds, bank statements and other documents by
Mr. Spiegelman and Mr. Williams to reassure them that the money from the escrow
accounts was being used to bolster their effort to acquire city-controlled apartments and
homes.
One official-looking document appeared to be signed by Chris Christie, in his former
capacity as a United States attorney, and informed the investors that they would not have
any criminal exposure as part of the deal.
The investors eventually realized that most of the documents were fakes -- the Christie
document, for example, was dated half a year after Mr. Christie, now New Jersey's
governor, left the federal prosecutor's office. The investors severed ties to Mr. Spiegelman
and Mr. Williams and then notified the F.B.I.
A Christie spokesman said he had no knowledge of the document or of the business deal.
Reached at his home, Mr. Spiegelman declined to discuss the matter. ''The likelihood is, if
I'm somehow involved, I'd obviously not want to say anything that would involve me
further,'' he said. Of Mr. Williams, he said, ''He's a very convincing individual when you talk
to him.''
Inquiries to people connected to campaigns that received large checks yielded few insights
into Mr. Williams. Several did not respond, including Mr. Cantor, who is the House majority
leader; the Republican National Committee; and State Senate Republicans in Albany. But
one government watchdog group called the pattern of donations extremely troubling. Ken
Boehm, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center, said, ''In more than 15 years of
investigating political corruption, I've never seen a more suspicious set of facts.''
One former city official who has spent time with Mr. Williams described him as a man who
''seemed to know everybody'' and was always brimming with ideas. One day he would talk
about affordable housing in Harlem and the next day muse about development around a
Brooklyn auto mall.
''He was one of those guys who had his hands in everything,'' the former official said. ''You
never knew what was real. The next time he'd come, he'd tell you he had a time machine.''
Tampa Tribune (Florida)
July 28, 2012 Saturday
FINAL EDITION
Burgin, lobbyist hit with complaint on Lee mailer
A Tampa lawyer and political ethics advocate is filing complaints with the Florida Elections
Commission against state Rep. Rachel Burgin, R-Riverview, and a Tallahassee lobbyist over
a mailer attacking Tom Lee, her opponent in the state Senate District 24 primary.
In the complaints, Paul Phillips alleges that Burgin illegally raised money for the committee
that sent out the mailer, which she denies.
He also alleges the mailer was illegal because it was an electioneering communication --- a
campaign attack --- sent out by a committee that was not authorized to participate in
political campaigns.
The mailer, which went to voters in the east Hillsborough district last week, criticized Lee's
personal life, citing his divorce and remarriage, and compared him to county Property
Appraiser Rob Turner, who has been hit by a sex scandal.
The personal nature of the attack earned a public rebuke from Florida Republican Party
Chairman Lenny Curry.
Burgin denied having any knowledge or connection with the mailer, but she didn't dispute
its contents.
In 2010, Phillips started an ethics case against then-Hillsborough County Commissioner Jim
Norman by filing a state Ethics Commission complaint over his failure to list on his financial
disclosures an Arkansas lake house his wife bought with $500,000 from a political
supporter.
Norman won a state Senate seat that year, but in June, three months after the committee
found Norman broke the law, he announced he wouldn't run for re-election.
Burgin contended the new complaint is politically motivated because Phillips, even though
he's a Republican, "has been a vocal opponent of conservative values who does not share
the same core beliefs that I have. I'm not surprised he would go in that direction."
She noted that Phillips ran briefly in a primary against Ronda Storms in 2010 for her state
Senate seat, the seat from the same district that roughly corresponds to the one Burgin and
Lee are now competing for.
Phillips said in an interview that he's a Republican, but not one who focuses on social or
reproductive issues. He said he's a banking lawyer and former part-time ethics teacher at
St. Petersburg College and thinks ethical standards are virtually ignored in Florida politics.
"I wish I could do more, but there are so many loopholes in the law people can get away
with anything," he said.
Phillips said he has filed two complaints -- one against Keyna Cory and The American People
Committee, the committee that sent the mailer, and one against Burgin.
Cory is a lobbyist and the wife of Jack Cory, a lobbyist and political opponent of Lee who's
supporting Burgin. He told the Tribune recently that he manages the committee's affairs,
and Keyna Cory was listed as its chairman and treasurer only because she was handling its
books.
The committee is classified as a "committee of continuing existence," a type of committee
that's not allowed to publish advertising aimed directly at supporting or opposing a political
candidate.
The mailer, Phillips contends, violates that prohibition.
The complaint against Burgin alleges, based on newspaper reports, that she solicited money
for the committee.
That would be legal only if Burgin publicly reported her ties to the committee to state
campaign finance authorities and on a disclosure web site, the complaint says.
The committeecreated such a site before the mailer went out, with pages for the required
contribution and expense reports, but it left those pages blank and included no names of
associated politicians.
Burgin has acknowledged she solicited money from lobbyist David Ramba that ultimately
went to Cory and the committee, but said she "absolutely did not" mention the committee
itself or seek money specifically for it.
She said Ramba asked her where money to be used in her behalf should go, and she gave
him the names of three lobbyists supporting her -- Cory and two others.
"I'm not involved in that organization. I in no way broke Florida law," she said.
Ramba has given conflicting accounts of the conversation with Burgin.
He told the Miami Herald that Burgin said Cory should be the recipient of the money, but
when questioned about why Burgin's account was different, he told the Tribune hers "was
more accurate."
Cory couldn't be reached for comment Friday.
The Elections Commission doesn't comment on complaints or even confirm whether it has
received one.
The agency clerk, Donna Malphurs, said the committee staff investigates complaints, and if
found sufficient, presents them to the commission of nine members appointed by the
governor for a probable cause determination and possibly a hearing.
The commission can impose a fine of up to $1,000 per violation, or refer serious cases to
law enforcement. The process usually takes six to nine months, and the earliest possible
hearing on a complaint received now would be February, she said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
July 27, 2012 Friday
Main Edition
ETHICS; Apologies sought, but none are given
Several dozen candidates and elected officials who have signed a pledge to limit lobbyist
gifts to lawmakers have either filed required ethics reports late or have outstanding fines for
doing so.
But several of those accused of being hypocrites in the list released this week by House
Ethics Committee Chairman Joe Wilkinson, R-Sandy Springs, are actually in compliance with
state ethics rules, according to an analysis of the list by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Those wrongly accused are calling on Wilkinson to apologize, which he has so far refused
to do.
Wilkinson this week issued a scathing press release accusing 49 of the 130 pledge signers of
violating state ethics law.
"On the one hand they seek to promote so-called 'ethics' by endorsing a meaningless 'gift
ban' yet on the other hand are behaving unethically by flouting current laws," Wilkinson said
in his release.
But, according to the AJC's analysis of Wilkinson's list, several should not be included.
Mistakes by the state ethics commission or by Wilkinson himself led to several people being
included who should not have been --- and many of them are just days away from
competitive elections in Tuesday's primary.
After the AJC pointed out the problems to Wilkinson, he issued a second release Thursday
addressing only some of the candidates and said their "situations underscore a cautionary
tale for all elected officials and candidates to follow." He said it's important for them to be
sure their information has been posted accurately on the ethics commission's website.
Doreen Williams, a Conyers Democrat in a five-way primary for House District 92, is listed
in Wilkinson's initial release as having failed to file a required personal financial disclosure.
But Williams said she filed, and she produced a confirmation from the ethics commission
proving it. After being pressed about the conflict, Wilkinson said he checked with ethics
commission executive director Holly LaBerge, who confirmed that Williams had filed, and on
time, but that commission staff misspelled Williams' name. That is why a search for Williams
in the database did not produce a report.
The AJC has questioned whether up to a dozen or more other candidates are incorrectly
included in Wilkinson's list. For example, the commission website shows many of the pledge
signers were late in filing documents, but they do not appear on the commission's separate
list of late filers.
LaBerge did not return repeated messages for more information.
"I still believe that publishing a list that had not been verified with those involved for alleged
discrepancies one week before a primary election is unacceptable and may certainly have
been politically motivated," Williams told the AJC.
Another of Wilkinson's targets, Rep. Bob Bryant, D-Garden City, said neither the chairman
nor the ethics commission ever reached out to him with any questions or concerns.
Wilkinson named Bryant because he is listed on the ethics commission's website as having
$250 in outstanding fines, for supposedly not filing two campaign disclosure reports --- one
due at the end of last year and another June 30.
The problem? According to data on the same website, the eight-year incumbent actually
filed both reports on time or within the allowed grace period. One of the reports has a typo
involving the filing date, although the day it was filed conforms to the rules. The other
appears clean.
"If you hadn't called, I wouldn't have known," Bryant told the AJC. "This is the first time I'm
hearing about it."
Wilkinson accused both Democratic and Republican signers of the pledge of being in
violation. Melissa Morrison of Dallas is a Republican running in a three-way primary for
House District 19. Wilkinson accused her of filing her personal finance disclosure after the
deadline, but the ethics commission website shows she was on time.
Wilkinson correctly, however, noted Morrison filed her June 30 campaign finance report late
and was fined $125, a fact Morrison acknowledges.
"My disclosure was faxed into the state on time, I was unable to send it electronically,"
Morrison said in an email to Common Cause Georgia executive director William Perry. "I was
told that faxed disclosures were not accepted and I immediately filed it, again,
electronically. No excuses! I am running my campaign on less than $5,000, and will pay the
late filing fee this week."
The pledge signers agree to support legislation that would cap lobbyist gifts to lawmakers at
$100. The pledge is backed by Common Cause Georgia and the Georgia Tea Party Patriots
and has the support of Republicans and Democrats.
Voters in both the Republican and Democratic primaries will have the chance to tell
lawmakers if they support a cap via nonbinding referendums on both parties' ballots.
Wilkinson and others, including House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, say a cap won't
limit lobbyist influence. Wilkinson has dismissed the cap as a "gimmick" and said those who
support it but violate other ethics rules should come clean.
"It is disappointing, ironic and hypocritical that 49 candidates for the Georgia House of
Representatives who signed a petition to impose a $100 lobbyist gift cap on lawmakers are
themselves in violation of ethics and campaign finance laws," Wilkinson said.
Supporters of the cap, however, said the issues are separate.
"I don't believe it is hypocritical," state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, said. "I think
for any new or old candidate or elected official, we have an obligation to follow all of the
filing disclosure rules. And based on 20 years of experience, it's easy to violate those rules
in technical ways and on deadline ways. I do not think, for instance, being one week late on
a filing disclosure when you're in an uncontested election demonstrates hypocrisy in seeking
a cap on lobbyist gifts."
Oliver supports the cap and takes issue with Wilkinson's list. The ethics chair included in his
list every candidate who has endorsed the cap and notes which of those he believes have
violated the law. Oliver is listed among the supporters, and Wilkinson does not accuse her of
any mistakes.
But his press release makes it easy to assume that those listed have violations. Wilkinson
says in his release that attached is a list of candidates "who signed the cap pledge but are in
violation of state laws."
Debate over lobbyist gift cap
The Georgia Alliance for Ethics Reform, which includes Common Cause Georgia and the
Georgia Tea Party Patriots, has asked candidates and elected officials to sign a pledge to
support legislation that would cap lobbyist gifts to lawmakers.
The pledge says the candidate agrees to support a bill that says: "It shall be unlawful for a
lobbyist to make a gift to a public officer where the value of the gift is more than $100.00."
However, some House officials, including Speaker David Ralston and Ethics Committee
Chairman Joe Wilkinson, say the gift cap won't limit lobbyist influence; instead, the cap will
drive it out of the public eye.