“The purpose of bringing this committee together and creating the report was to determine whether Maryland's existing laws are out of date or are otherwise ill-suited to today's campaign finance environment,” said Attorney General Gansler. “The committee members took on the monumental task of reviewing Maryland's laws and regulations and developed well-thought out recommendations that will assist all of the key players who create, regulate and interpret Maryland's campaign finance laws.”
See a summary of the report here and the full report in .pdf format here.
The Committee contained three state legislators as members--Sens. Allan Kittleman (R-Howard) and Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery) and Del. Jay Walker (D-Prince George's)--as well as well as attorneys with experience in working for both parties and the FEC, and people who work for the State Board of Elections.
The specific recommendations of the report begin on page 51. I won't repeat them here but they call for specific legislative action by the General Assembly as well as the Office of the AG. The questions faced by the committee include adapting to a spate of recent Supreme Court decisions with major implications in this area as well more generally improving the campaign finance system in the State.
No one can say that the Attorney General--sworn in yesterday in Baltimore--intends to avoid tough or controversial issues in his second term.
Friday, January 07, 2011
Attorney General Gansler's Advisory Committee on Campaign Finance Submits Final Report
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Is Less More? District 18 Campaign Finance
How much does it cost to win a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates?
In District 18, vote shares for the House appear inversely related to spending. However, we cannot know for sure because Vanessa Atterbeary has not filed her pre-general (due in October) or post-general (due in November)campaign finance reports.
Dana Beyer spent $185,577.13, or just over $34 per Democratic primary vote, on her campaign. Her campaign has very substantial outstanding loans which I imagine are owed primarily to the candidate.
Incumbent Ana Sol Gutierrez spent $41,937.16, or $5.32 per vote, and came in first. Jeff Waldstreicher expended $87,976.92 or $11.91 per vote, and came in second. Al Carr spent $99,919.23, or $14.79 per vote and came in third.
However, the three incumbents also benefited from expenditures by the District 18 Democratic Team which also included Sen. Rich Madaleno and spent $95,690.44, so comparisons between the incumbents and challengers are not so clear.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Big Daddy’s Big Money (Updated)
Senate President Mike “Big Daddy” Miller is pouring big, BIG money into a handful of Senate contests. And so are his lieutenants. Let’s look at his slate account.
The Maryland Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has received $836,750 in contributions this year through 10/17/10. Here are the contributors.
Miller himself gave the slate more than half its money. Rob Garagiola, who tied Finance Committee Chair Mac Middleton as the second-leading contributor, was just named the Senate’s next Majority Leader. Howard County Executive Ken Ulman must not be very worried about his Republican challenger, Trent Kittleman, considering that he maxed out to the slate. And the maximum contributions by the teachers and SEIU are interesting considering that one of Miller’s top priorities is passing down teacher pensions to the counties, a goal opposed by the two unions.
Here is how the slate has been spending its money.
The combined $160,448 in mailing and postage is a lot of mail. Consider that a countywide mailing to regularly voting Democrats in MoCo costs about $30,000-40,000. Then consider that MoCo has eight Senate districts. That means this money could have conceivably paid for at least a couple dozen Senate district mailings depending on which voters, and in which parties, are targeted. Then there is the nearly 300 grand for “media.” And finally, $73,900 of the “other” spending went for “research.” Our guess is that they are not researching the exact mathematical value of pi.
The slate’s top target is Republican Senator Alex Mooney of Frederick County, an ultra-conservative who nearly lost to then-unknown Democrat Candy Greenway four years ago. Mooney’s opponent this time is former Frederick Mayor Ron Young. Mooney’s District 3, which includes Frederick City, has 34,626 Democrats and 31,042 Republicans eligible to vote in the general election. The slate has sent at least seven mailers into the district as of October 21, including two accusing Mooney of supporting “violent domestic abusers.” Because the slate reported $302,780 in cash on hand on 10/17 (and Miller himself reported having $341,372), Mooney will be seeing a lot more of those mailers.
Mooney’s race is not the only one in which Miller will be participating. Senate Democrats would really like to pick up the open lower Eastern Shore seat being vacated by Republican J. Lowell Stoltzfus (R-38). The contenders are freshman Democratic Delegate Jim Mathias and Republican Michael James, who lost the Delegate race to Mathias in 2006. District 38 has 36,325 Democrats and 30,644 Republicans eligible to vote. The Democrats also have a number of incumbents to defend, especially in swing jurisdictions like Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties.
But that’s not a problem, since Big Daddy’s Big Money ensures that he can play in as many races as he wants. Wouldn’t it be something if the Senate Democrats actually increase their number this year?
Update: Here are two examples of the slate at work in Anne Arundel County.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Duchy Finishes with $146k in the Bank
Council Member Duchy Trachtenberg has reported $145,965.97 in cash on hand in her campaign account as of 10/17/10. No other council-at-large candidate reported having more than $8,000. This means that Trachtenberg left about half of her January warchest unspent during the campaign.
Trachtenberg lost the fourth at-large spot in the primary to George Leventhal by just 3,981 votes. Since countywide mailings to regularly voting Democrats cost about $30,000-40,000 depending on how the targeting is set, Trachtenberg could have afforded another 3-4 mass mailings. Could they have saved her and sent Leventhal home?
We'll never know.
Mary Kane Used Campaign Funds to Pay The Kane Company
GOP Lieutenant Governor candidate Mary Kane has run for office twice before in Montgomery County. On both occasions, she used campaign funds to pay her family-owned firm, The Kane Company.
The Kane Company is a furniture moving and installation firm headed by John M. Kane, who is Mary Kane’s husband and a former Chairman of the Maryland Republican Party. Mary Kane is a former director of the company. She denies owning company stock, but acknowledges that she would take full ownership of the company if John passes away and would be entitled to half of the company if the couple divorces. The firm is currently being sued by the federal government for wage and hour violations.
Mary Kane was a candidate for the Montgomery County Council’s District 1 seat in a 2000 special election. She lost in the Republican primary to former Senator Howie Denis, who won the general election. She also ran for a District 15 House seat in 2002, losing in the general election to Democrats Brian Feldman and Kathleen Dumais. On both occasions, she used campaign funds to pay The Kane Company.
Here is a complete list of payments from Mary Kane’s campaign account to the firm. All of these payments occurred during the time that Kane was a member of the company’s Board of Directors (1997-2003).
In 2000, Kane made one payment of $2,992.50 to the company for “media” in February that was not cashed and was credited back to her account. In 2002, Kane made five payments to the company totaling $32,007.12. Four of them totaling $26,016.84 were made on 12/30/02 – after she had already lost the general election. The 2002 payments were made for “salaries and other compensations,” “printing and campaign materials” and “field expenses.”
The Kane Company is not a political consulting firm – it’s an office mover. So why was it being paid for “salaries,” materials and field expenses? Did any of these payments of campaign money generate a profit for the company? If so, does that violate the state’s prohibition on campaign funds being spent for personal use?
One last footnote: Bob Ehrlich’s campaign paid The Kane Company too: $349.42 on 10/1/10 for “supplies for signs.”
Monday, September 13, 2010
Campaign Finance Fun Facts
Here’s a few tidbits from the immense State Board of Elections campaign finance database!
1. Marc Elrich has long disavowed development industry contributions and Duchy Trachtenberg told Progressive Neighbors that she was also turning them away. But Elrich took $3,000 from the Maryland Realtors PAC on 8/13/10 and Trachtenberg took $3,000 from them on the same day. Aren’t realtors part of the development industry since someone has to sell all those buildings the developers put up?
OK, reasonable people can disagree on that question, but Trachtenberg also took $1,000 on 5/11/10 from HBW Group of Rockville, a “commercial real estate and construction company.”
Now that is indisputably development money. So Trachtenberg snowed Progressive Neighbors and got away with it since they endorsed her. Do they have the balls to retract their endorsement or are they just going to lie down and get played?
2. Our informants are baffled by Duchy Trachtenberg’s spending. She started the year with $289,198 – far more than any other candidate and mostly raised out-of-state in four-digit checks. Since then, she has spent more on tracking polls and consulting ($35,000) than she has on printing, direct mail and postage ($33,817). Contrast her printing, mailing and postage total to those of Senator Mike Lenett ($129,378) and Delegate Saqib Ali ($104,876), each of whom is running in a district that is one-eighth of the county. Trachtenberg’s ads in Bethesda Magazine, Washington Jewish Week, Leisure World News and Takoma Park Voice – purchased for a combined cost of just $7,230 – have been no substitute for the robust mail program she could have afforded. She has done just one mass mailing and was, incredibly, beaten to the mailbox by Becky Wagner.
As of August 29, Trachtenberg was sitting on $209,629 with just sixteen days left to spend it. Television could consume that amount of money rapidly, but we have seen no sign of any such ads. And it’s getting late – VERY late. Some sources are speculating that she is so sure of victory that she is saving the money for a County Executive run. Unless she has a grand strategy that has not shown up in her finance reports, she could very well be the richest loser in MoCo history.
3. County Executive Ike Leggett and Marc Elrich have long been political allies even if they have had occasional disagreements. So Ike kicked in $2,500 to his campaign account on 8/19/10.
Well, just twelve days later, Elrich filed an affidavit to help 9:30 Club owner Seth Hurwitz obtain a temporary restraining order against Ike’s pet project, the Fillmore in Silver Spring. The Executive Branch was blindsided and immediately began investigating whether Elrich broke the ethics law by aiding a lawsuit against the county.
How’s that for gratitude? Is it too late for Ike to get his money back?
4. Speaking of the County Executive, he may not have a Democratic primary opponent or a slate, but he has given money to a number of candidates this year. They are:
Vanessa Atterbeary: $300 on 4/21/10 (given as an individual)
Bo Newsome: $6,000 on 7/8/10
Craig Rice: $3,000 on 7/12/10
Judy Docca: $1,000 on 8/2/10
Jay Hutchins: $1,000 on 8/3/10
Martin O’Malley: $4,000 on 8/10/10
Pat O’Neill: $1,000 on 8/11/10
Bonnie Cullison: $1,000 on 8/15/10
Marc Elrich: $2,500 on 8/19/10
Craig Rice: $250 on 8/22/10 (from Catherine Leggett)
Rona Kramer: $3,000 on 8/23/10
Mark Winston: $2,500 on 8/27/10
Bo Newsome: $250 on 8/29/10 (from Catherine Leggett)
One curiosity: A month after contributing to Atterbeary, Leggett endorsed the District 18 Democratic Team.
Another curiosity: Bo Newsome contributed $600 in “rent” to Leggett on 8/19/10.
5. Kyle Lierman reported having just $6,298 in the bank on 8/29/10. Ariana Kelly, his principal rival for the District 16 open Delegate seat, reported having $51,025. (That’s what self-financing can do for you!) Lierman had to replenish his coffers somehow, and we won’t find out how until after the election.
6. Senator Nancy King (D-39) paid $8,000 to Momentum Analysis of Washington, DC, the same polling firm that worked for Big Daddy’s tobacco-financed slate, on 8/12/10 as a “consulting fee.” The timing is interesting since the payment was made about two weeks before King launched her attack website against Ali. If this payment was indeed for a poll, did it say something that prompted King to go negative?
7. Here are the biggest recipients of campaign contributions (excluding loans) this year in MoCo.
Council Candidates
Hans Riemer: $171,392
Nancy Floreen: $146,838
George Leventhal: $111,338
Marc Elrich: $87,435
Craig Rice: $84,173
Senate Candidates
Nancy King: $116,105
Saqib Ali: $76,866
Brian Frosh: $54,623
Roger Manno: $53,769
Jamie Raskin: $51,251
Delegate Candidates
Kyle Lierman: $106,191
Mark Winston: $62,580
Hoan Dang: $56,723
Heather Mizeur: $55,718
Craig Zucker: $49,054
8. Here are the biggest spenders of campaign money this year.
Council Candidates
Becky Wagner: $126,119
Hans Riemer: $122,241
George Leventhal: $112,418
Nancy Floreen: $105,047
Duchy Trachtenberg: $94,709
Senate Candidates
Saqib Ali: $180,591
Mike Lenett: $174,185
Rob Garagiola: $134,139
Cheryl Kagan: $87,152
Nancy King: $84,322
Delegate Candidates
Vanessa Atterbeary: $129,780
Kyle Lierman: $99,893
Dana Beyer: $98,825
Hoan Dang: $89,195
Craig Zucker: $69,906
9. Here are the biggest self-funders of the cycle. This statistic includes contributions and loans to self from 2007 on, but does not include self-funding for the 2009 special election.
Council Candidates
Becky Wagner: $95,000 (from husband)
Hans Riemer: $50,000
Robin Ficker: $22,358
Jane de Winter: $17,115
Ilaya Hopkins: $12,500
Senate Candidates
Mike Lenett: $200,713
Rich Madaleno: $30,000
Michael Griffiths: $6,200
Delegate Candidates
Vanessa Atterbeary: $107,250
Ariana Kelly: $85,381 (includes $6,266 from husband)
Dana Beyer: $75,000
Charlie Chester: $55,000
Jay Hutchins: $47,772 (includes $2,635 from wife)
We’re sure there is a WHOLE lot more, but it’s time to go back to posting negative mail!
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Campaign Finance Reports, Pre-Primary 2
On September 3, all campaign finance reports for the period of 8/10 through 8/29 were due. These are the last reports available before the primary. Here’s a quick roundup by race.
County Council
In District 1, challenger Ilaya Hopkins was not that badly outclassed by incumbent Roger Berliner. Hopkins had $79,986 in receipts for the year, while Berliner had a combined $135,553 in starting cash balance and new receipts. But Berliner’s combination of incumbent status, name recognition and endorsements along with his financial advantage will prove to be too much for Hopkins. In District 2, Craig Rice has big edges in every finance metric against Royce Hanson and destitute Sharon Dooley. The Teachers are also going to work hard on his behalf.
In the at-large race, the incumbents and challengers Becky Wagner and Hans Riemer all have enough money for at least four county-wide mailers to regular primary voters each. Elrich may just be able to do three, while Floreen may be able to do five or even six. Alternatively, the candidates could do more targeted mailers going to selected groups of voters. As of this writing, the decisions have been made and every campaign is merely executing.
Our sources are puzzled by Duchy Trachtenberg’s spending decisions. We’ll have more on that tomorrow.
District 14
We have always assumed that Senator Rona Kramer would draw on her family’s fortune to overwhelm challenger Karen Montgomery in a tidal wave of mail. So far, that has not happened. Kramer has not loaned her campaign any money after giving herself $105,000 in her first run back in 2002. As a result, Montgomery has outraised and outspent Kramer and had a larger cash balance on 8/29. Montgomery is getting serious help from liberal groups who have told us that they have knocked on 5,300 doors and made 7,500 phone calls on her behalf. Kramer is now hitting Montgomery hard with negative mail, but is it too late?
In the Delegate race, Anne Kaiser and Craig Zucker look solid and Eric Luedtke appears to have done enough to win the third seat. The other candidates got in late and have not done enough to compete.
District 15
Senator Rob Garagiola has no primary opponent and is moving his money to other parts of the state. Delegates Brian Feldman and Kathleen Dumais will be reelected and will likely take teammate Aruna Miller with them.
District 16
Senator Brian Frosh has no primary opponent and will crush any Republican challenger. Delegate Bill Frick has good financing, Delegate Susan Lee has great financing and both have every endorsement that counts. Kyle Lierman and Ariana Kelly are in a real dogfight for the third seat, with Lierman raising more non-self financed money than any other Delegate candidate in the county and Kelly tossing herself $75,000. This race may come down to how active MCEA is in poll coverage for Kelly, since they have priorities in other parts of the county.
District 17
Senator Jennie Forehand and challenger Cheryl Kagan both have enough money to run good races. Their contest will be decided on other factors. The Delegates have no Democratic challengers.
District 18
Challenger Michael Griffiths has not been able to mount a credible race against Senator Rich Madaleno despite having the same campaign manager as Delegate challenger Dana Beyer. The main thing going for the two serious House challengers is the gigantic amount of self-funding they have each poured into the race. Beyer has put in $75,000, about the same amount as she spent last time, and newcomer Vanessa Atterbeary has put in $107,250. Atterbeary is the leading self-funder of any House candidate in MoCo in this cycle. Her money comes from her father, who employs her at his company. (Disclosure: The author is the Treasurer of the District 18 Democratic Team.)
District 19
Senator Mike Lenett loaned himself $200,000 at the start of the year and looks as if he will spend every penny. By any measure, he is running one of the biggest and most aggressive campaigns of any kind in the county. Challenger Roger Manno cannot outspend Lenett, but he is known in his district and has enough resources to compete. House candidate Sam Arora is a fundraising machine, putting in $45,000 of his own money and raising $84,628 more. His operation is on a different level than the other contenders and he looks like a winner. Incumbent Delegate Ben Kramer is the second-biggest self-funder in MoCo over the last decade (behind only Lenett). He has put in $40,000 of his own money so far and should be reelected. Bonnie Cullison has less money than Jay Hutchins, but she has the Post’s endorsement(!) and her union, MCEA, will move heaven and earth to get her elected. Hoan Dang has a lot of money and is showing some presence on the ground. Our sources do not expect him to win, but he might have a shot at fourth.
District 20
All the incumbents will be reelected. Period.
District 39
Senator Nancy King and challenger Saqib Ali are together drowning the district in negative and contrast mail. Their race is going to be remembered up there, and among MoCo political junkies, for a long, LONG time.
Delegates Charles Barkley and Kirill Reznik look safe primarily because the challengers are not of high enough caliber to take them out. Shane Robinson has lots of endorsements, no money and no name recognition. Bob Hydorn has some name recognition in Montgomery Village, which accounted for about one-sixth of the cards cast in the district in 2006, as well as the Post and Gazette endorsements. But he is almost as cash-strapped as Robinson. The open seat race is one of midgets shooting craps.
That’s the last money update prior to the election, folks, but we’ll have some fun facts on miscellaneous finance issues tomorrow.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Kagan Calls on Forehand to Reveal Hidden Contributions
District 17 challenger Cheryl Kagan is calling on Senator Jennie Forehand to disclose the identity of all of her campaign contributors, a practice that Forehand has not always followed in the past. Kagan's challenge is based on our research last November, in which we found that Forehand was the biggest user of "lump sums" - a campaign finance reporting technique used to avoid disclosing donors - in the county, and the third-biggest user in the entire state. Following is Kagan's press release.
PRESS ADVISORY
For more information, contact:
Will Rice at will@cherylkagan.org
KAGAN CALLS ON FOREHAND TO FINALLY REVEAL IDENTITY OF “LUMP SUM” DONATIONS
(ROCKVILLE, September 6, 2010) Former Delegate and State Senate challenger Cheryl Kagan today hand-delivered a letter to Jennie Forehand, calling her bluff on her willingness to disclose the identities of $36,351 in bundled contributions. Not only is this required by law, but Senator Forehand has stated publicly that she is willing to do so. Despite that, she has not yet complied with Kagan’s repeated requests.
The letter to the 32-year incumbent is below.
September 6, 2010
Dear Jennie:
As you know, I have been concerned for some time with your unwillingness to release the names of all your campaign contributors. At a time of increasing public cynicism with politics and government, it is important for everyone in public service to follow the law and make it clear who is funding our campaigns. I’ve always gone above and beyond what the law requires, most recently with my “Clean Seventeen” pledge to voluntarily close the “LLC Loophole” and accept contributions of not more than half the legal limit.
I’m particularly concerned about your repeated use of the “lump sum” category in campaign finance reports. These anonymous conglomerations of what are supposed to be small donations are meant to be used sparingly. But over the past 10 years, you have reported one-fifth of your total contributions, or $36,351, as lump sums. That’s four times more than any other Montgomery County officeholder or candidate. One lump sum, of $14,085 on 8/2/02, was described by the respected Maryland Politics Watch blog as “remarkable.” MPW went on to say: “...[W]hen a candidate employs [lump sums] to shield one-tenth, one-fifth or more of his or her donor base from identification, that creates the possibility of abuse.”
As you know, the donations that make up lump sums are meant to be under $51; anyone who donates more than that-- whether once or cumulatively-- is supposed to be reported by name. To reach this total in donations in increments of $51 or less would mean you have over 700 donors you are refusing to name. (As reported in Maryland Politics Watch 11/20/09)
In recent months, it looked as though you had finally broken your “lump sum” habit. But in your latest financial report just posted, it’s clear you abused the system again, listing what appears to be a single donation as a lump sum! The only explanation is that you wish to hide the identity of this mysterious donor.
There is a simple way to resolve this situation. At our last debate, I called on you to disclose all of your campaign contributors. You said you could, since you still had photocopies of all the checks (as required by law), and would do it if you “ever have the time.” If you don’t have the time, I offer the services of my campaign to do the job.
We will come to any convenient place you name, bring a photocopier, and at our expense and under the dual supervision of our respective campaigns’ treasurers, make copies of each of the checks that have comprised your lump sum amounts. This information can then be made available to the press and public.
Because of the importance of this issue and short time before Election Day, I am making this letter available to the media so they can judge the adequacy and timeliness of your response.
If you fail to agree to this proposal today, I will assume your claim that you have nothing to hide is insincere and allow the voters of District 17 to draw their own conclusions.
Sincerely,
Cheryl
Cheryl C. Kagan
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Who Has Been Taking Currie’s Money? (Updated)
Although the indictment against Senator Ulysses Currie (D-25) came down yesterday, most political observers have been anticipating that something like this would happen since the FBI raided his house in May 2008. Most candidates have shied away from accepting Currie’s financial assistance since then, reasoning that it would be viewed as tainted in the event of his prosecution. But a few people decided to take his money anyway. Here is a complete list of all candidates for office who have accepted contributions from Currie since the FBI raid.
Senator Nancy King: $1,500 from Currie on 1/11/10
Senator David Harrington: $1,000 from Currie on 1/12/10
Senator Rona Kramer: $1,000 from Currie on 8/3/10
Senator David Harrington: $1,000 from Currie on 8/5/10
Governor Martin O’Malley: $1,000 from Currie on 8/26/10
Update: Senator King advises us that she rejected Currie's check. Indeed, Currie's campaign account records the expenditure to King, but King's account does not report depositing the money. Currie's account should have shown a returned contribution from King but does not. Perhaps that is one of the many irregularities that caused Currie to fire his Treasurer.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Union Linked to Independent Expenditure in District 19
A secretive independent mailing sent into District 19 is in apparent violation of Maryland campaign finance law and is linked to a union that has endorsed one of the competing Senate candidates. We expose that union’s identity today.
During the week of August 16, this mailer was sent to District 19 residents.
The mailer has no authority line, but says it came from “Defenders of the American Middle Class” at 7 Church Lane, Baltimore, MD 21208. It lists a phone number of 443-986-5280 and a website address of Defendersoftheamericanmiddleclass.com. While the mailer mentions Senator Mike Lenett (running a positive quote about him from the Governor), it does not have any indication that it came from Lenett.
Defenders of the American Middle Class does not appear on the State Board of Elections’ website as either an issue committee or a PAC. We called the board and they confirmed that no such group had registered with them. We called the phone number listed on the mailer and were sent to an electronic mailbox. The website is one page with no contact info and two links to documents produced by the Economic Policy Institute.
Furthermore, the organization is not registered with the Secretary of State. 
But the organization does have a federal non-profit filing. That filing lists the name and address appearing on the mailer, but adds two more bits of information: a contact name of Larry Rubin and a suite number of 13.
We traced the address and suite to Ira Miller and Company PA, an accounting firm. 
Larry Rubin is the Communications Director of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters. According to its latest filing with the U.S. Department of Labor, the council paid Ira Marc Miller and Co. PA at 7 Church Lane, Ste 13, Baltimore, MD 21208 $99,750 for “CPA services” in the fiscal year ending 6/30/09. The report also states, “An outside audit is performed by independent certified public accounting firm, Ira Marc Miller and Company, P.A.”
The facts that Carpenters Union employee Larry Rubin is the non-profit registration contact and that the organization’s address matches the accountant retained by the union strongly suggests that Defenders of the American Middle Class is linked to the Carpenters. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters has endorsed Mike Lenett.
The mailer appears to be illegal in multiple ways. According to Chapter 3.1 of the State Board of Elections’ summary guide, “Political fundraising and spending is unlawful unless a Statement of Organization establishing a political committee has been filed with the State Board.” The categories of political committees are candidate campaign committees, slates, PACs, issue committees and party central committees. As we stated above, the board does not have any record of a registration of any kind by Defenders of the American Middle Class.
The summary guide also states in Chapter 3.2, “Generally, a political committee needs to be established to conduct any campaign finance activity. Campaign finance activity is raising and spending money or receiving other things of value to promote or assist in the promotion of the success or defeat of a candidate, political party or question.” Since the mailer contains a positive quote about Lenett, it is clearly designed to promote his candidacy.
Furthermore, Chapter 12.1 of the summary guide requires authority lines for campaign materials, including literature. If the material is financed by an independent expenditure, it must have an authority line including the name and address of the entity as well as “the name and title of the president, treasurer, or person responsible for the campaign material.” The mailer above does not contain this information.
We asked Senator Lenett if his campaign had anything to do with the design, production or distribution of the mailing and he said no. We asked Larry Rubin if Defenders of the American Middle Class was created and/or financed by the Carpenters. He has not responded to our email as of this writing.
We call on the Attorney General’s office to investigate Defenders of the American Middle Class and to take steps to prevent further illegal mailings.
Disclosure: The author resigned from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters last month, which is the parent organization of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Campaign Finance Reports, Pre-Primary 1: Districts 18, 19, 20 and 39
Following are summaries of candidates’ campaign finance filings for the period of 1/14/10 through 8/10/10, along with our take on what they mean.
District 18
The four incumbents (Senator Rich Madaleno and Delegates Ana Sol Gutierrez, Jeff Waldstreicher and Al Carr) have a combined $166,497 on hand, far more than challengers Dana Beyer and Vanessa Atterbeary. But that does not matter much because both Beyer and Atterbeary are self-funders. Beyer has spent $137,203 on her campaigns so far and took out a $250,000 loan on her home on 12/30/08. She is currently suing the county government and the resulting impact on her campaign budget is unknown. Atterbeary works for a company owned by her father, Howard County resident Knowlton R. Atterbeary. Knowlton can easily write checks to his daughter in her capacity as his employee and she can devote them to her campaign. Incumbent Jeff Waldstreicher self-financed last time but has not done so during this cycle.
Disclosure: the author is the Treasurer of the District 18 Democratic Team.
District 19
Senator Mike Lenett has outspent challenger Roger Manno by three to one(!) but still has a slightly higher cash balance. Both candidates can self-finance and Lenett is the leader in that category in MoCo over the last decade. Unless one candidate’s mail quality is significantly better than the other, they risk drowning each other out in the last three weeks at GREAT expense.
House candidate Sam “Hunk of the Hill” Arora is a very strong fundraiser. What makes him so dangerous is not just his money, but also his campaign experience (working for Hillary Clinton) and his work ethic. Former MCEA President Bonnie Cullison and Jay Hutchins have the endorsements, but neither has leveraged that support into serious campaign contributions. Hutchins threw the dice and put $45,000 of his own money into the race, matching Arora’s self-funding loan from last fall. Cullison’s cash on hand situation is problematic given the resources of her opponents. Hoan Dang has enough money to get his message out, though whether that will translate into real votes is unknown. Ben Kramer’s numbers are irrelevant. He is a legendary self-financer who will spend whatever is necessary to win.
District 20
All four incumbents are going to win, period.
District 39
Senator Nancy King and challenger Saqib Ali will have all the money they need to wage war. King can turn to Senate President Mike Miller’s slate for more cash if she has to, while Ali’s contribution base seems nearly limitless. We hope that District 39 residents enjoy negative mail, because they will be getting lots of it.
Incumbent Delegates Charles Barkley and Kirill Reznik both look like winners. The open seat candidates are starved for money. This district is a political wasteland with a VERY thin bench. For the remaining Delegate seat, whoever deserves to lose the least will win.
We’ll have more when the next wave of reports comes out after September 3.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Campaign Finance Reports, Pre-Primary 1: Districts 14, 15, 16 and 17
Following are summaries of candidates’ campaign finance filings for the period of 1/14/10 through 8/10/10, along with our take on what they mean.
District 14
Senate challenger Karen Montgomery’s cash on hand seems adequate for a mail budget, especially given the fact that progressive groups will be making independent expenditures on her behalf. Senator Rona Kramer’s cash on hand is meaningless considering her self-financing capability. She has already deposited $105,000 of her own money into her prior campaigns. At any time, Kramer can write herself another big check and start blanketing the district with mailers.
Of the Delegate candidates, only Anne Kaiser (the one incumbent), Craig Zucker and Eric Luedtke have any money. The majority of Bo Newsome’s outside contributions were accounted for by a $6,000 check from County Executive Ike Leggett. No one else is really in the game. As of this writing, Vanessa Ali has not filed and is already being fined.
District 15
Senator Rob Garagiola has no primary challenger and his huge stock of cash is likely headed to Democratic Senate candidates in other parts of the state. Delegate Brian Feldman has always been a solid fundraiser. Delegate Kathleen Dumais has not, but she wins anyway. None of the open seat candidates have any real cash, but Aruna Miller should benefit from her endorsements and her membership on the incumbents’ slate. This is a sleepy district long removed from the two-party battles of 2002.
District 16
The incumbent slate of Senator Brian Frosh and Delegates Susan Lee and Bill Frick have a combined $401,591 in cash on hand, MUCH more than necessary for self-defense. All of the action has been among the challengers. Kyle Lierman easily led everyone in contributions and burn rate. Ariana Kelly has the most cash on hand, but she really should not be bragging about her financial performance considering that she loaned herself three times more money than she received from outside contributors. Seven challengers tossed in a combined $195,600 of their own money into their campaigns, guaranteeing full garbage bags across the district through primary day. Other than Kelly and Lierman, the challengers still must find ways to distinguish themselves from each other.
District 17
Senate challenger Cheryl Kagan has outraised incumbent Jennie Forehand three reporting periods in a row, but the two have rough financial parity near the end of the race. Such a situation usually benefits the incumbent because name recognition alone is worth a lot of money, but Kagan has vastly outhustled Forehand for months.
Delegate Jim Gilchrist is a hapless fundraiser and is VERY lucky that no quality House challenger entered the race. The lack of a Delegate contest deprives us of the opportunity to print mailers from Kumar “Bad Boy” Barve, whose infamous sense of humor would have made for great material. Hopefully the Bad Boy will see fit to zing Republican challenger Dan Campos.
Tomorrow, we’ll cover State Legislative Districts 18, 19, 20 and 39.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Campaign Finance Reports, Pre-Primary 1: County Council
Following are summaries of candidates’ campaign finance filings for the period of 1/14/10 through 8/10/10, along with our take on what they mean. Money isn’t everything, but it’s a meaningful ingredient of any campaign.
County Council
Council District 1
Challenger Ilaya Hopkins outraised incumbent Roger Berliner by two-to-one, but Berliner started with a six-digit war chest. He has more than double her cash-on-hand. Hopkins’s mailers will have a hard time breaking through the crowded mailboxes in Bethesda’s State Legislative District 16, while Berliner benefits from name recognition as a three-time candidate. These reports buttress the conventional wisdom that Berliner will win, with the only question being his margin of victory.
Council District 2
No one has any real money here. Delegate Craig Rice (D-15) and former Planning Board Chairman Royce Hanson raised about the same amount of money in their late-breaking campaigns. But Rice started with a small cash kitty and has about twice Hanson’s cash on hand. Sharon Dooley has always been a poor fundraiser and the other candidates’ finances are non-existent.
Council At-Large
Four stories can be seen in the data. First, incumbents Duchy Trachtenberg and Nancy Floreen have abundant media budgets for the final weeks of the race. We do not believe that Trachtenberg has been spending her money effectively, but we will elaborate more on that later in the week. Second, incumbent George Leventhal had the highest burn rate of any candidate, with much of his funds spent on his “Community Conversations” events. For his sake, we hope the return from those events justify their expenditures, as Leventhal has less cash on hand than two of the challengers. Third, Riemer loaned himself $50,000 and Becky Wagner’s husband has loaned her campaign $95,000. Clearly, both challengers are placing serious bets on victory. Fourth, Riemer led all at-large candidates in outside contributions. Yes, the incumbents hit up their donors last year, but Riemer’s supporters have to feel good about his results. The four incumbents plus Riemer and Wagner will all have the resources they need to communicate their messages, guaranteeing a compelling finish to the election.
Other Candidates
Just because district incumbents Phil Andrews, Nancy Navarro and Valerie Ervin do not have competitive primaries does not mean that they have no stake in the election outcome. Andrews and County Executive Ike Leggett could well aid incumbent Marc Elrich’s mail budget. Ervin and Navarro could help their endorsed challenger, Riemer. Former County Executive Doug Duncan has already given $4,000 each to Leventhal and Floreen, $3,000 to Wagner, $2,500 to Hans Riemer and $2,000 to Ilaya Hopkins. (Duncan’s contribution to Riemer is interesting given the fact that Riemer criticized the budgetary decisions made in his last term at a recent debate.) Tensions among some of the candidates and their supporters are on the rise – especially involving increasing friction with Trachtenberg – meaning that money could start changing hands.
Tomorrow, we’ll cover State Legislative Districts 14, 15, 16 and 17.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Pepco’s Money
Maryland politicians are trying hard to out-bluster each other on Pepco’s poor service quality. But let’s remember that an electric distribution system does not collapse overnight – it degrades over a period of years. And what have the politicians been doing during those years?
Why, taking Pepco’s money, of course!
Pepco’s PAC is one of the most active in Annapolis and has contributed on the local level too. Pepco has also contributed directly from its corporate treasury – as it is allowed to do under Maryland election law – and has even thrown in a few contributions from its subsidiaries. But that is not all. Its executive team, in-house lobbyists, Board of Directors and their spouses have contributed even more than that and make regular appearances at all the right fundraisers. Altogether, we have traced 672 state and local Pepco-related contributions from 1999 through January 2010 totaling $278,830.06 (and there could be more). Wouldn’t that money be better used for fixing the power lines?
Here are the top ten recipients of Pepco money across the state.
Here are the top ten recipients of Pepco money in Montgomery County.
And here are the top ten recipients of Pepco money in Prince George’s County.
The key to understanding some of the above contributions is to understand that electricity legislation moves through the Senate Finance Committee and the House Economic Matters Committee. Montgomery County’s Rob Garagiola is a key player on Senate Finance. Prince George’s County Delegate Dereck Davis is the Chair of House Economic Matters. Montgomery Delegates Brian Feldman and Charles Barkley and Prince George’s Delegate Michael Vaughn are House Economic Matters members. The two Governors, the County Executives, Big Daddy and his top lieutenant, scandal-plagued Prince George’s Senator Ulysses Currie, are obvious recipients of any corporate money.
So here’s a prediction, folks. While election season is on, the politicians will squeal and Pepco will cower. But as soon as the election ends, the next fundraising season will begin and Pepco will greet the state legislators with open arms (and checkbooks). And then talk of reform will die down and the problems will “go away.” Until next summer.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Hopkins Claims 300 Contributors, $62,000 Raised
Council District 1 challenger Ilaya Hopkins has sent out a mass email claiming to have 300 contributors and $62,000 in campaign receipts as of her first campaign finance report (which covered activity through August 10). The email does not state how much of the receipts came from self-financing or the amount of cash on hand she possesses. Roger Berliner reported a balance of $98,834.18 as of January 2010. If Berliner responds, we will run it; otherwise, we will report on his finances along with everyone else in a week. Following is Hopkins's email.
A Great Success!
Dear [Voter],
I asked for your support and the response has been tremendous! Thank you!
Over the last few days, we had a surge in the volume of contributions to the campaign from long time supporters and newcomers alike, exceeding our goal for this reporting period. In the six months since February, we have raised over $62,000 from over 300 contributors. This allows us to go into the final month strong.
My opponent had close to six figures in the bank when he filed his previous report in January. That is one of the many advantages of being an incumbent. Just as I will do on the county council, I will use every dollar efficiently and give the job my full commitment.
Filing our report with the state is not the end of our work. If you missed yesterday's deadline, you can still contribute by check or on-line. We are working full time to reach voters - face to face, by phone, by mail and at Metro stations and community events. Just as every dollar matters, so to does every hour of volunteering. Please contact the campaign and we will find a way to help that fits your schedule.
Victory in September will take a lot of work. Having seen the outpouring of support in the past week, I am confident we will do it together.
There are thirty four days until the election. Let's make them count.
Sincerely,
Ilaya Hopkins
Friday, August 06, 2010
Follow the Money Some More, Part Five
Who is financed by Maryland residents and who is backed by out-of-state money? Let’s pull back that curtain, shall we?
Total Receipts from Maryland Contributors (Excludes Self and Family)
1. Steve Silverman, County Council/Executive Challenger: $2,427,826
2. Ike Leggett, County Executive: $1,291,596
3. Rob Garagiola, Senator (D-15): $583,904
4. George Leventhal, County Council: $549,341
5. Nancy Floreen, County Council: $480,376
6. Brian Frosh, Senator (D-16): $474,066
7. Howard Denis, County Council: $447,130
8. Ida Ruben, Senator (D-20): $345,842
9. Sheila Hixson, Delegate (D-20): $344,836
9. Herman Taylor, Delegate (D-14): $329,014
Total Receipts from Non-Maryland Contributors (Excludes Family)
1. Steve Silverman, County Council/Executive Challenger: $641,905
2. Duchy Trachtenberg, County Council: $460,621
3. Ike Leggett, County Executive: $282,164
4. Heather Mizeur, Delegate (D-20): $186,123
5. Rob Garagiola, Senator (D-15): $155,939
6. Jamie Raskin, Senator (D-20): $136,571
7. Sheila Hixson, Delegate (D-20): $109,835
8. Roger Berliner, County Council: $103,890
9. Howard Denis, County Council: $100,258
10. Herman Taylor, Delegate (D-14): $92,269
Percentage of Total Receipts from Maryland Contributors (Excludes Self and Family)
1. Steve Kanstoroom, County Council Challenger: 100.0%
1. Cary Lamari, County Council Challenger: 100.0%
3. Robin Ficker, County Executive/Council Challenger: 99.1%
4. Steve Abrams, School Board/County Council Challenger: 98.8%
5. Sharon Dooley, County Council Challenger: 98.6%
6. Phil Andrews, County Council: 95.9%
7. Sharon Grosfeld, Senator (D-18): 95.2%
8. Marc Elrich, County Council: 93.8%
9. Charles Barkley, Delegate (D-39): 93.8%
10. Pat O’Neill, School Board: 93.3%
107. Sam Arora, Delegate Challenger (D-19): 20.0%
106. Dana Beyer, Delegate Challenger (D-18): 22.8%
105. Paul Griffin, Delegate Challenger: 24.5%
104. Hans Riemer, County Council Challenger: 25.6%
103. Duchy Trachtenberg, County Council: 26.8%
102. Guled Kassim, Delegate/County Council Challenger: 38.0%
101. Leon Billings, Delegate: 42.0%
100. Aaron Klein, Delegate Challenger (D-20): 46.1%
99. Dan Farrington, Delegate Challenger (D-18): 47.8%
98. Heather Mizeur, Delegate (D-20): 48.0%
Duchy Trachtenberg deserves special mention for her ability to raise money nationally as the former President and Treasurer of Maryland NOW. She has raised $460,621 from out of state. The other eight County Council Members have raised $443,989 from out of state combined. Trachtenberg has raised more money from New York City ($89,196) than from Rockville ($88,960) or Bethesda ($79,873). She has raised more money from Los Angeles ($34,500), San Francisco ($24,000) and Berkeley ($22,600) than from Gaithersburg ($11,900) or Silver Spring ($11,365). Following are the in-state contribution percentages for each incumbent County Council Member:
Phil Andrews: 95.9%
Marc Elrich: 93.8%
George Leventhal: 88.0%
Nancy Floreen: 87.0%
Mike Knapp: 81.8%
Nancy Navarro: 78.1%
Valerie Ervin: 75.8%
Roger Berliner: 64.5%
Duchy Trachtenberg: 26.8%
Here is a final statistic: the percentage of receipts that came from self, family and out-of-state entities. The higher this percentage, the less reliant a candidate is on financing from third-party Marylanders.
Percentage of Total Receipts from Self, Family and Out-of-State
1. Steve Kanstoroom, County Council Challenger: 98.2%
2. Robin Ficker, County Executive/Council Challenger: 93.9%
3. Ben Kramer, Delegate/County Council Challenger: 90.7%
4. Dana Beyer, Delegate Challenger (D-18): 90.2%
5. Sam Arora, Delegate Challenger (D-19): 89.7%
6. Dan Fox, State’s Attorney Challenger: 89.0%
7. Sam Statland, Delegate Challenger (D-18): 85.4%
8. Mike Lenett, Senator (D-19): 84.8%
9. Tod Sher, Delegate (D-14): 81.7%
10. Paul Griffin, Delegate Challenger (D-19): 80.6%
107. Phil Andrews, County Council: 4.4%
106. Sharon Dooley, Council Council Challenger: 5.2%
105. Sharon Grosfeld, Senator (D-18): 5.4%
104. Pat O’Neill, School Board: 6.9%
103. P.J Hogan, Senator (D-39): 7.8%
102. Carol Petzold, Delegate (D-19): 8.3%
101. Marc Elrich, County Council: 8.7%
100. Nancy King, Senator (D-39): 9.6%
99. Dana Dembrow, Delegate (D-20): 10.0%
98. Mike Subin, County Council: 10.4%
We’ll have one more update prior to the primary!
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Follow the Money Some More, Part Four
Today, we look at self-financing. Which MoCo candidates give themselves the most money? Let’s find out.
Total Receipts from Self (Includes Loans)
1. Mike Lenett, Senator (D-19): $364,352
2. Ben Kramer, Delegate/County Council Challenger: $220,450
3. Sam Statland, Delegate Challenger (D-18): $202,860
4. Rob Garagiola, Senator (D-15): $149,428
5. Ike Leggett, County Executive: $125,000
6. Jeff Waldstreicher, Delegate (D-18): $121,442
7. Rona Kramer, Senator (D-14): $105,000
8. Dan Fox, State’s Attorney Challenger: $102,500
9. Tod Sher, Delegate (D-14): $100,830
10. Robin Ficker, County Executive/Council Challenger: $91,272
Percentage of Total Receipts from Self (Includes Loans)
1. Steve Kanstoroom, County Council Challenger: 98.2%
2. Robin Ficker, County Executive/Council Challenger: 93.8%
3. Ben Kramer, Delegate/County Council Challenger: 89.1%
4. Sam Statland, Delegate Challenger (D-18): 82.3%
5. Mike Lenett, Senator (D-19): 79.1%
6. Dan Fox, State’s Attorney Challenger: 72.7%
7. Alec Stone, Delegate Challenger (D-19): 64.0%
8. Jeff Waldstreicher, Delegate (D-18): 58.9%
9. Cary Lamari, County Council Challenger: 54.5%
10. Lucinda Lessley, Delegate Challenger (D-20): 54.1%
Twenty tied at 0.0%
Kumar Barve, Delegate (D-17)
Leon Billings, Delegate (D-18)
Shirley Brandman, School Board
Bill Bronrott, Delegate (D-16)
Jane de Winter, County Council Challenger
Dana Dembrow, Delegate (D-20)
Bob Dorsey, County Council Challenger
Valerie Ervin, County Council
Jennie Forehand, Senator (D-17)
Henry Heller, Delegate (D-19)
P.J. Hogan, Senator (D-39)
John Hurson, Delegate (D-18)
Steve Joseph, County Council Challenger
Cheryl Kagan, Delegate/Senate Challenger (D-17)
Nancy King, Senator (D-39)
Pat O’Neill, School Board
Ida Ruben, Senator (D-20)
Sally Sternbach, County Council Challenger
Len Teitelbaum, Senator (D-19)
Becky Wagner, County Council Challenger
Politicians do not spend vast sums of their personal money on their own races unless they have to. And most of our leaders were in very competitive races. Rob Garagiola beat incumbent Republican Senator Jean Roesser in his first race. All of the other top ten in total self-financing receipts ran for open seats. First-time candidate Mike Lenett got 52% of the vote against two incumbent Delegates in the 2006 District 19 Senate primary. Ben Kramer, Robin Ficker, Dan Fox, Sam Statland, Tod Sher and Dana Beyer share a common distinction: they are the only candidates in recent MoCo history to spend $70,000 or more of their own money on a losing race.
Here’s an estimate of receipts from family members. We included people who shared a surname or a residence with a candidate, or lived in the same residence with another person who did.
Total Receipts from Family (Includes Loans)
1. Duchy Trachtenberg, County Council: $52,150
2. Rob Garagiola, Senator (D-15): $49,562
3. Tod Sher, Delegate (D-14): $41,780
4. Susan Lee, Delegate (D-16): $35,566
5. Jeff Waldstreicher, Delegate (D-18): $25,200
6. Anne Kaiser, Delegate (D-14): $22,926
7. Nancy Navarro, School Board/County Council: $21,565
8. Karen Montgomery, Delegate (D-14): $18,830
9. George Leventhal, County Council: $18,184
10. Rich Madaleno, Senator (D-18): $17,022
We do not credit the result for Susan Lee, given the fact that “Lee” is a common surname in the Asian community.
Total Receipts from Self and Family (Includes Loans)
1. Mike Lenett, Senator (D-19): $365,052
2. Ben Kramer, Delegate/County Council Challenger: $222,050
3. Sam Statland, Delegate Challenger (D-18): $204,991
4. Rob Garagiola, Senator (D-15): $198,990
5. Jeff Waldstreicher, Delegate (D-18): $146,642
6. Tod Sher, Delegate (D-14): $142,610
7. Ike Leggett, County Executive: $130,865
8. Duchy Trachtenberg, County Council: $114,150
9. Dan Fox, State’s Attorney Challenger: $112,751
10. Rona Kramer, Senator (D-14): $110,639
We’ll look at geography in Part Five.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Follow the Money Some More, Part Three
In our ten-plus-year dataset of MoCo political contributions, business entities and PACs accounted for 25.9% of all receipts and labor PACs and political clubs accounted for 5.2%. Here are the leaders for each category.
Total Receipts from Business Entities (Including PACs but not Individuals)
1. Steve Silverman, County Council/Executive Challenger: $1,437,988
2. Ike Leggett, County Executive: $423,356
3. Rob Garagiola, Senator (D-15): $379,807
4. Sheila Hixson, Delegate (D-20): $227,928
5. George Leventhal, County Council: $195,719
6. Kumar Barve, Delegate (D-17): $190,630
7. Howard Denis, County Council: $187,102
8. Herman Taylor, Delegate (D-14): $174,376
9. John Hurson, Delegate (D-18): $166,475
10. Nancy Floreen, County Council: $166,432
Percentage of Total Receipts from Business Entities (Including PACs but not Individuals)
1. John Hurson, Delegate (D-18): 63.1%
2. Len Teitelbaum, Senator (D-19): 58.6%
3. Nancy King, Senator (D-39): 50.6%
4. Kumar Barve, Delegate (D-17): 50.3%
5. Sheila Hixson, Delegate (D-20): 50.1%
6. P.J. Hogan, Senator (D-39): 48.4%
7. Luiz Simmons, Delegate (D-17): 47.2%
8. Carol Petzold, Delegate (D-19): 47.0%
9. Jennie Forehand, Senator (D-17): 46.6%
10. Brian Feldman, Delegate (D-15): 46.3%
107. Leon Billings, Delegate (D-18): 0.0%
107. Jane de Winter, County Council Challenger: 0.0%
107. Steve Kanstoroom, County Council Challenger: 0.0%
107. Reggie Oldak, Delegate Challenger (D-16): 0.0%
103. Robin Ficker, County Executive/Council Challenger: 0.1%
102. Duchy Trachtenberg, County Council: 0.2%
101. Alec Stone, Delegate Challenger (D-19): 0.2%
100. Tom DeGonia, Delegate Challenger (D-19): 0.4%
99. Phil Andrews, County Council: 0.6%
98. Diane Nixon, Delegate Challenger (D-20): 1.0%
Many of the leaders in business receipts have positions that are conducive to raising that kind of money. Garagiola sits on the Senate Finance Committee. Hogan and King have held spots on the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. Hixson is the Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. Hurson and Barve have been House Majority Leaders. It is noteworthy that even though Hurson has been out of politics for almost five years, he has still raised more business money than longtime business ally Nancy Floreen. And that statistic only includes two of Hurson’s four terms.
Total Receipts from Labor
1. Tom Hucker, Delegate (D-20): $112,777
2. Valerie Ervin, County Council: $74,322
3. George Leventhal, County Council: $71,549
4. Nancy Navarro, School Board/County Council: $69,811
5. Rob Garagiola, Senator (D-15): $69,073
6. Howard Denis, County Council: $41,350
7. Roger Manno, Delegate (D-19): $39,010
8. Sheila Hixson, Delegate (D-20): $37,750
9. Ike Leggett, County Executive: $33,865
10. Kumar Barve, House Majority Leader (D-17): $33,100
Percentage of Total Receipts from Labor
1. Tom Hucker, Delegate (D-20): 47.5%
2. Valerie Ervin, County Council: 31.8%
3. Nancy Navarro, School Board/County Council: 24.1%
4. Joan Stern, Delegate (D-39): 21.9%
5. Craig Zucker, Delegate Challenger (D-14): 20.6%
6. Roger Manno, Delegate (D-19): 19.8%
7. Laura Berthiaume, Delegate/School Board: 17.3%
8. Charles Barkley, Delegate (D-39): 16.6%
9. Marc Elrich, County Council: 14.6%
10. Henry Heller, Delegate (D-19): 13.7%
Twenty-four tied at 0.0%
Phil Andrews, County Council
Sam Arora, Delegate Challenger (D-19)
Hugh Bailey, County Council Challenger
Dana Beyer, Delegate Challenger (D-18)
Shirley Brandman, School Board
Nancy Dacek, County Council
Hoan Dang, Delegate Challenger (D-19)
Jane de Winter, County Council Challenger
Sharon Dooley, County Council Challenger
Dan Farrington, Delegate Challenger (D-18)
Robin Ficker, County Executive/Council Challenger
Dan Fox, State’s Attorney Challenger
Steve Hollman, Senate Challenger (D-18)
Steve Kanstoroom, County Council Challenger
Guled Kassim, Delegate/County Council Challenger
Cary Lamari, County Council Challenger
Lucinda Lessley, Delegate Challenger (D-20)
John Mahoney, Senate Challenger (D-19)
Bo Newsome, Delegate/County Council Challenger
Diane Nixon, Delegate Challenger (D-20)
Reggie Oldak, Delegate Challenger (D-16)
Jean Roesser, Senator (D-15)
Ryan Spiegel, Delegate Challenger (D-17)
Alec Stone, Delegate Challenger (D-19)
Hucker, as the founder of Progressive Maryland, and Ervin, who spent twenty-five years in the labor movement, are natural leaders in labor money. Denis, a Republican who served six years on the County Council, was also one of its most pro-union members. Elrich, Heller and Barkley are all former MCEA members.
We’ll look at self-funding tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Follow the Money Some More, Part Two
Time to get to work on our gigantic dataset of Montgomery County political contributions!
Here is the distribution by category of all contributions and loans received by 107 MoCo politicians since 1999.
Individual contributions dominate the database. They account for 78.7% of all contributions and 50.0% of all money. Business entities follow, accounting for 25.9% of all money, but that is misleading. Many individual contributors are business owners, and they are not above using their children, spouses and employees as channels for their money. Even so, business donated about five times the money that labor contributed (5.2%). Self-funding totaled over $3 million and had the highest average contribution/loan level ($3,865). That reflects the fact that candidates are allowed to donate unlimited amounts to their own campaign funds, and some do!
Maryland-based entities accounted for 83.4% of contributions and 79.8% of all money, with entities in D.C. (7.1%) and Virginia (4.4%) running far behind. But many politicians collect far larger sums from out of state, and we will be identifying them.
Here are the leaders in total receipts and receipts from individuals from 1999 through January 2010.
Total Receipts (Including Loans)
1. Steve Silverman, County Council/Executive Challenger: $3,143,083
2. Ike Leggett, County Executive: $1,704,625
3. Rob Garagiola, Senator (D-15): $938,834
4. Duchy Trachtenberg, County Council: $743,267
5. George Leventhal, County Council: $677,530
6. Howard Denis, County Council: $649,938
7. Brian Frosh, Senator (D-16): $574,539
8. Nancy Floreen, County Council: $572,676
9. Herman Taylor, Delegate (D-14): $483,255
10. Mike Lenett, Senator (D-19): $460,867
Total Receipts from Individuals (Not Including Self or Family Financing)
1. Steve Silverman, County Council/Executive Challenger: $1,610,767
2. Ike Leggett, County Executive: $1,091,559
3. Duchy Trachtenberg, County Council: $596,567
4. Brian Frosh, Senator (D-16): $445,904
5. Nancy Floreen, County Council: $364,600
6. George Leventhal, County Council: $347,822
7. Jamie Raskin, Senator (D-20): $343,880
8. Howard Denis, County Council: $292,486
9. Heather Mizeur, Delegate (D-20): $253,500
10. Roger Berliner, County Council: $235,764
Percentage of Total Receipts from Individuals (Not Including Self or Family Financing)
1. Phil Andrews, County Council: 98.9%
2. Leon Billings, Delegate (D-18): 91.8%
3. Shirley Brandman, School Board: 89.7%
4. Pat O’Neill, School Board: 88.8%
5. Jane de Winter, County Council Challenger: 86.1%
6. Bill Frick, Delegate (D-16): 85.7%
7. Jamie Raskin, Senator (D-20): 82.7%
8. Saqib Ali, Delegate (D-39): 81.9%
9. Duchy Trachtenberg, County Council: 80.3%
10. Bill Bronrott, Delegate (D-16): 78.5%
107. Steve Kanstoroom, County Council Challenger: 1.8%
106. Ben Kramer, Delegate/County Council Challenger: 3.7%
105. Robin Ficker, County Executive/County Council Challenger: 5.2%
104. Tod Sher, Delegate (D-14): 7.8%
103. Mike Lenett, Senator (D-19): 9.6%
102. Sam Statland, Delegate Challenger (D-18): 9.9%
101. Steve Abrams, School Board/County Council Challenger: 12.9%
100. Luiz Simmons, Delegate (D-17): 16.3%
99. Dan Fox, State’s Attorney Challenger: 16.8%
98. Rona Kramer, Senator (D-14): 20.2%
Phil Andrews is the distant leader in individual receipt percentage because he has always turned away developer and PAC contributions. Some of the candidates who received the lowest percentages from individuals benefitted from self-funding. We’ll find out who they are later in the series.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at business and labor.
Monday, August 02, 2010
Follow the Money Some More, Part One
Last fall, we ran a series called “Follow the Money” in which we examined the sources of campaign contributions for MoCo politicians. As ambitious as that series was, it had two shortcomings. First, it did not include the new batch of campaign finance reports that were submitted in January. And second, it did not include enough politicians. As all of our devoted readers know, there can never be enough politicians! Who else will answer (or arrange to have answered) the ranting emails we fire off at three in the morning?
So with those flaws corrected, we proceed with our update. Let’s Follow the Money Some More!
Last time, we studied 61,483 loans and contributions to 61 active and potential candidates in MoCo since 1999. That’s child’s play compared to our new dataset, which includes 87,768 loans and contributions to 107 current and former candidates. Our database includes all incumbent county officials and state legislators, plus the following other candidates:
Former County Executive Candidate: Steve Silverman
Former County Council Members: Mike Subin, Howard Denis, Nancy Dacek
Former Senators: Jean Roesser, Chris Van Hollen, Sharon Grosfeld, Len Teitelbaum, Ida Ruben, P.J. Hogan
Former Delegates: Tod Sher, Mark Shriver, Richard LaVay, Bill Bronrott, Cheryl Kagan, Leon Billings, John Hurson, Adrienne Mandel, Carol Petzold, Gareth Murray, Dana Dembrow, Joan Stern
State’s Attorney: John McCarthy, Dan Fox
School Board: Shirley Brandman, Pat O’Neill, Phil Kauffman, Laura Berthiaume, Judy Docca
Council Candidates: Pat Ryan, Steve Kanstoroom, Cary Lamari, Hans Riemer, Becky Wagner, Jane de Winter, Pat Baptiste, Hugh Bailey, Bob Dorsey, Sharon Dooley, Steve Joseph, Sally Sternbach
Senate Candidates: Steve Hollman, John Mahoney
Delegate Candidates: Pete Fosselman, Ryan Spiegel, Dan Farrington, Dana Beyer, Diane Nixon, Aaron Klein, Lucinda Lessley, Craig Zucker, Eric Luedtke, Tom DeGonia, Paul Griffin, Alec Stone, Sam Arora, Bonnie Cullison, Jay Hutchins, Hoan Dang, Will Smith, Sam Statland, Reggie Oldak
Other Candidates: Steve Abrams, Robin Ficker, Guled Kassim, Bo Newsome
We did not include statewide candidates like Doug Duncan, Doug Gansler, Tom Perez or Peter Franchot. We also did not include deceased politicians or totally non-competitive candidates. We probably missed a few names we should have included, but if you want perfection, look for it in Heaven.
We are using the same categories of contributions as before:
Individual Contributions
These are checks written by individuals, who are limited to $4,000 in total contributions to one entity and $10,000 in total contributions to all entities in one four-year election cycle. We isolated certain categories of individuals as described below.
Business Contributions
This category includes business entities, which are permitted to donate directly to state campaigns, and business PACs. We do not include business owners who contribute as individuals in this category, a MAJOR caveat in our analysis. Our case studies of racetrack owner William Rickman and corrupt developer Ronald Lipscomb illustrate how business owners sometimes contribute through their spouses, children and employees, all individual donations serving a corporate design. Linking business owners to family members and corporate entities would be a worthy and illuminating exercise, but it is beyond our time constraints to do it for every candidate in the county. That said, any measure of business influence in our analysis must be regarded as a significant understatement.
Labor Contributions
This includes labor union PACs and political clubs. We did not include individuals who are union members in this category. Indeed, that information is not public record.
Political Fund Contributions
These are PAC and political clubs that usually have an overt partisan affiliation. Examples include the Maryland Democratic Party, the Hispanic Democratic Club of Montgomery County and the Potomac Women’s Republican Club.
Candidate Fund Contributions
These are funds controlled directly by candidates, who sometimes give money to allies.
Self Contributions
This category includes loans, the device of choice for self-funding candidates. Candidates and their spouses are permitted to contribute or loan unlimited amounts to their campaign funds.
Family Contributions
We attempted to determine family membership by including contributions from people with the same surname as the candidate, living at the same home address or sharing surnames with co-habitants. This is an imperfect measure when applied to candidates with common surnames, so this measure can only be regarded as an approximation in some cases.
Lump Sum Contributions
The State Board of Elections permits candidates to report contributions under $51 from multiple individuals as aggregate “lump sums” for purposes of convenience. Campaign treasurers can save lots of time with lump sums, but the practice does conceal the identities of small contributors. Few candidates use lump sums, but we will report on the ones who do.
Other Contributions
A small number of contributors did not fit any of the above categories.
Tomorrow, we will begin our analysis of contributions in the above categories. When computing contribution shares, we will exclude those politicians who have raised less than $20,000 because their small bases will skew the percentages. They are:
Phil Kauffman: $19,589 in receipts
Richard LaVay: $17,125
Pat Ryan: $15,520
Will Smith: $12,618
Pete Fosselman: $12,211
Mark Shriver: $9,576
Judy Docca: $8,525
Bonnie Cullison: $7,590
Jay Hutchins: $6,820
Eric Luedtke: $5,700
Politicians beware, because now we will begin naming names!
