Chad Blair: The Problem With Raising Campaign Cash During Session
Near the end of the recently concluded Hawaii legislative session, a Capitol staffer asked me why I bothered to blog every time a legislator held a campaign fundraiser during the session — .
Others have asked me the same question, suggesting that it’s a waste of my time and not of interest to Civil Beat readers. It’s not news that politicians raise money, they point out.
They have a point, and I acknowledged that I may be beating a dead horse. The more useful reporting would be to trace a campaign contribution to a lawmaker that may have resulted in favorable action on legislation.
Civil Beat does that kind of journalism too, most recently in the article Will the GMO Debate Fuel Campaign Donations as Local Elections Heat Up?
So, why bother with the fundraiser blogs? I offer this defense.
In for Charles Keating Jr., the shady financier who went to jail because of his involvement in the savings-and-loan crisis, many included what Keating had to say when asked whether all his political contributions succeeded in persuading lawmakers to do his bidding.
“I want to say in the most forceful way I can: I certainly hope so,” he replied.
Many campaign donations are from people who genuinely support candidates. But a whole lot of money also comes from lobbying interests that want to pass or block legislation that would have an impact on their organizations or industries.
People wonder why bills sometimes die despite having received a lot of support, such as a measure this year to prohibit the use of in enclosed public areas. The bill, which made it all the way to conference committee, was opposed by smokers-rights groups, some who argued that there is still no definitive evidence that e-cigs are dangerous.
Maybe the e-cig bill died because legislators decided it wasn’t a good bill; it was heavily amended during the course of the session, and agreement on a final version may have proved difficult. Or maybe it had something to do with the fact that Altria Client Services, which represents major U.S. tobacco companies, and its affiliates spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying in Hawaii since 2011, .
Detail from a 2014 fundraiser notice for Gov. Neil Abercrombie.
As USA Today , the use of electronic cigarettes has boomed, something the Altria Group has a financial interest in, .
Tobacco companies don’t always get their way at the Hawaii Legislature. This year, for example, lawmakers passed a bill prohibiting smoking in and around .
A lawmaker is not likely to admit that they killed a bill regulating e-cigs because they were persuaded to do so by the Marlboro Man. But Altria spends money in Hawaii for the same reason Charles Keating bought congressmen.
The makes it possible for me to track when legislators are raising money during the 60-day session that runs every year from mid-January to early May — hence all those blogs. This year, there were nearly 50 fundraisers, including some by lawmakers who held more than one. To see if your legislator raised money during that time, .
The folks at the Campaign Spending Commission also have of the fundraisers. The interactive graphic allows viewers to use their mouse or track pad to hover over the dots on the chart to view detailed information.
Green dots represent fundraisers held during session by Senate and House legislators, while blue dots represent fundraisers not held during session as well as fundraisers held by all other candidates, like Gov. Neil Abercrombie and Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell.
The size of the dots represent the price or suggested contribution for attending the fundraiser. I’ve included the chart below, or you can to test drive it.
Among the interesting information gleaned from the data is that many fundraisers are held at Mandalay Restaurant, a short walk from the Capitol. Some are at fancier digs, such as the Oahu Country Club and The Plaza Club. Suggested donations run from $50 to $250, though some ask for larger amounts.
On April 23, for instance, Rep. Richard Fale, a Republican now running for the state Senate seat held by Democrat Clayton Hee, held a fundraiser at Laie Elementary School. Hawaii law allows fundraising at state and county property .
The Fale campaign’s suggested donation ranged as high as $4,000. It was the largest amount requested by a state lawmaker this session, on par with fundraisers held by Caldwell and Council Chairman Ernie Martin.
But then, Fale, if he survives the GOP primary (former Rep. Colleen Meyer may run again), would face Hee in the general. The senator has more money in his war chest — $460,000 as of Dec. 31, the most current data available — than any other state legislator, and there is talk he may run for lieutenant governor.
Despite being flush with cash, Hee held a fundraiser of his own April 23 — right in the middle of conference committee — at The Plaza club; the suggested donation was a mere $350.
Fundraisers are often held in conjunction with fellow lawmakers. Reps. Justin Woodson, Bert Kobayashi, Richard Onishi, Nicole Lowen, Takashi Ohno and Richard Creagen — all freshmen Democrats — gathered at Mandalay on April 13.
The persons in charge of the fundraisers were often the candidates themselves or their spouses. But sometimes it is someone with other interests before the Legislature.
Pono Chong, a former representative, organized fundraisers this session for Sen. Ron Kouchi, Rep. Mark Nakashima and House Speaker Joe Souki. Chong is vice president of business advocacy for the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii — . Among the many bills the Chamber had its eye on this year was the minimum wage increase.
I’ve also made a habit of blogging whenever Abercrombie holds a campaign fundraiser. I’m sure it’s annoyed some supporters of the governor, but it seems astonishing how many he has held — , half of those within the past eight months. The most recent was April 30 — on the eve of session’s end. It was held at the Kahala Hotel & Resort for $2,000 per head.
I don’t know how Abercrombie’s fundraising track record compares with his predecessors. I do know that his Democratic primary opponent, state Sen. David Ige, has held just three fundraisers since announcing his candidacy last summer, two of them during session. The likely GOP gubernatorial nominee, Duke Aiona, held two fundraisers of his own last month.
The governor doesn’t make the laws, but his administration proposes bills and he signs legislation into law or vetoes them. So it’s important to see who is giving him money. The that Abercrombie will be at — “at the San Francisco home of Larry Ellison, the billionaire Oracle founder who owns most of Lanai.”
The public won’t know who contributed how much to whom until July, because state and county campaign financial disclosures aren’t due until July 10. When that time comes, Civil Beat will be sure to look carefully at them and report back to you.
In the meantime, if you are interested who is giving how much to your elected officials, . You just might discover something that prompts you to blog about it.
Contact Chad Blair via email at cblair@civilbeat.com or follow him on Twitter at .
