Editor’s note: In this special report, Vtdigger.org examines the sources of campaign money for Vermont’s gubernatorial candidates. More than 300 pages of campaign finance report spreadsheets, which are not available in searchable database format on the Secretary of State’s Web site, were analyzed by hand. The information for all six candidates for governor was divided into the following six different categories: in-state donations of $1,000 or more, out-of-state donations, political action committee contributions, Vermont entities (businesses and associations) and out-of-state entities.
Where possible, Vtdigger.org has identified donors who are public figures, who are affiliated with large companies, or who have notable political affiliations.
The data used for this series came from the Vermont Secretary of State’s office, the Agency of Transportation Web site and a summary of private contracts with the state of Vermont for fiscal year 2009.
The first article focuses on contributions to the sole Republican candidate, Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie; a second report will examine donations to the five Democratic candidates, who are engaged in the five-way primary fight set for Aug. 24.
The candidate at the top
Brian Dubie stands apart as a candidate – and not only because he is the only GOP candidate for governor. Dubie has brought in more than twice as many donations as his closest rival in the five-way Democratic primary, according to information from the last campaign finance reporting period from July 15, 2009 to July 15, 2010.
He has also received more money from large individual donors, political action committees and the business community than any of his Democratic rivals.
Vtdigger.org’s research shows that a number of his out-of-state contributors have connections with the national GOP – including ties to the Bush administration and erstwhile Republican vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin.
Our investigation also shows that a handful of private contractors who have recently done business with the state have made donations to the Dubie campaign. The insurance industry, pharmaceutical companies, aircraft manufacturers and paving, excavation, electrical and construction contractors also stand out in the list of contributors.
A recap of Dubie’s dominance on the fundraising front
Dubie received $805,352 in campaign contributions over the last year; his closest potential Democratic competitor was Peter Shumlin, who raised $418,490, of which $155,000, came from a personal loan he made to his own campaign.
Dubie’s total contributions for this campaign cycle come to $943,960; his nearest rival, Deb Markowitz, brought in $523,946. Together, the five Democratic candidates have raised roughly $1.4 million.
The Republican lieutenant governor has about $455,000 in cash on hand for advertising, field staff, direct mail, online marketing and other campaigning activities — again more than double that of any of the Dems.
The other telling number is this: In all, 2,724 donors gave $100 or less to Dubie, while Markowitz had 1,387 under $100 donors. The remaining Dems fall well below the 1,000 mark; together, the five attracted 3,426 contributors.
How it all adds up for Dubie
In our analysis, we were able to account for about 87 percent of Dubie’s donations for the 2009-2010 reporting period; the remaining 13 percent of the campaign’s funding, or roughly $100,000, appears to come from donors who have contributed more than $100 and less than $1,000. (Though these donors are identified under state campaign financing laws, the information was not available in a searchable format and vtdigger.org wasn’t able to verify the total. Numbers in this section –“How it all adds up” — were adjusted slightly at 10:25 a.m., July 29, 2010, to correct an accounting error.)
Here’s a breakdown of the 87 percent:
• The $1,000-plus club. The largest group of donations — about $290,000 or 36 percent – came from Vermont donors who gave $1,000 or more. Of this group, 82 out of 197 contributors gave the maximum amount allowed by law for individual donations: $2,000.
• Small checks add up big time. The second largest category — about $128,000 or 16 percent — came from the under $100 contributors.
• Businesses go to bat for Dubie. More than 130 Vermont companies donated about $128,000, or 16 percent to the lieutenant governor’s coffers. The Democrats together have the backing of 38 businesses that have donated $24,264. Shumlin leads the pack with $14,602 in contributions from companies.
• Beyond Vermont. More than 120 individual donors, largely from Texas and the Washington, D.C., and New York City areas, gave more than $100,000 to Dubie, or about 12 percent. Seventeen out-of-state entities – businesses and associations – donated about $20,000 or 2.4 percent.
• PACs make way. Out-of-state political action committees contributed 1.9 percent, or $16,250. In-state political action committees accounted for 2.6 percent, or about $21,642. Of that amount, $1,000 came from the Heat PAC, which represents the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association; $2,000 came from Gov. Jim Douglas’ campaign funds; $1,500 came from the Friends of Richard Stortz and $17,142 came from Friends of Brian Dubie.
Who (or what) gives?
Wealthy businessowners have shown their support for Dubie in the best way possible: They’ve cut big checks — and occasionally, multiple checks — under the aegis of their wives, companies and PACs.
What follows is a sampling of the givers, broken down by category.
Donations from companies and individuals currently doing business with the state.
• Kubricky Construction, a paving and excavation company, $2,000. The subsidiary of D.A. Collins Cos., based in Mechanicville, N.Y., has contracted with VTrans (the Vermont Transportation Agency) for $39.4 million worth of transportation work over the last three years. Kubricky recently won a contract for the “land work” for the Crown Point Bridge project.
• Pike Industries. $500. The Belmont,N.H.-based asphalt supply, gravel pit and paving corporation operates throughout New England. Pike held $78.6 million in contracts with VTrans over the last three years.
• Frank Whitcomb. $2,000 individual donation, plus $2,000 under Vermont Blacktop Corporation. Frank Whitcomb Construction, based in Walpole, N.H., has had $19.7 million in asphalt resurfacing contracts with VTrans over the last three years.
• Overhead Door of Burlington. $2,000. Contract with the state in 2009 for $7,625.
• Abbey Food Service Group. $1,000. Contract with the state in 2009 for $314,900 to supply food for Kehoe and Buck Lake Green Mountain Conservation Camps.
• Debra Ricker. Personal donation of $2,000, plus donations of $3,000 through two companies: Work Safe Traffic Control Industries, a manufacturer of signs and distributor of traffic control devices for highways, construction zones, traffic calming and incident-management applications; and L & D Safety Marking, which currently holds three contracts with VTrans for $1.28 million. Ricker is a vice president of L & D.
• Forcier, Aldrich & Assoc. engineering firm. $250. In 2008-2009, the company provided $8,145 in consulting services to the state.
• Lawes Agricultural Service. $1,500. The company had a contract with the state for $900 in 2008-2009 to spread herbicide.
Out-of-state contributions from GOP VIPs
• Tim Pawlenty PAC, Republican governor of Minnesota. $3,000
• Friends of Bill Bolling, lieutenant governor of Virginia. $1,000
• Haley’s PAC, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. $3,000
• Fred Malek, aide to Sarah Palin. $1,500
• Douglas Holtz-Eakin, senior policy advisor to John McCain. $1,000
• Sean O’Keefe, NASA administrator under George W. Bush. $1,000
• Todd Eardensohn, major GOP donor. $1,500
• Angela Styles, former head of procurement under George W. Bush. $1,000
Contractors, construction suppliers
• The Pizzagallis. Seven members of the family, which owns the Pizzagalli Construction Co., gave $10,900. The company bills itself as the nation’s largest employee-owned general contracting firm.
• Lamell Lumber Corp., $1,900. Sheila Lamell, $1,250; Ronald Lamell, $1,250.
• Vermont Independent Contractors Association, $500.
• Connor Contracting, general construction firm in St. Albans. $2,000.
• Nicom Coatings Corp. paving sealants and fabrics, $2,000.
• E.F. Wall, construction firm in Barre. $1,250
Insurance and real estate
• American Insurance Association. National trade group. $500.
• The Boardmans. Scott and Carol Boardman, of Hickok and Boardman insurance, each gave $2,000 individual donations. David Boardman, former president of the firm, gave $1,000.
• Peter Murphy Real Estate. $2,000 under the business name, plus $2,000 in an individual donation.
• Ernie Pomerleau Real Estate. $2,000 under Ernie Pomerleau Inc., plus $1,250 personal donation and $2,000 from Antonio Pomerleau, chairman of the company.
• Mayo Realty, St. Johnsbury. $1,000. Plus personal contributions from Bernier Mayo of $2,000 and his wife, Jeanette, of $2,000.
• B&M Realty, North Pomfret. $1,500. Masaii Properties, S. Burlington, $1,500. Both owned by Scott Milne.
• Myers Realty. $250
• Berg Carmolli and Kent. $200
Other businesses
• Handy Toyota and Handy Chevrolet. $1,000 each.
• Bond Auto Parts, George Bond. $2,000. Plus $1,000 personal donation.
• Winthrop Smith. Sugarbush Resort owner. $1,000.
• Bourdeau Brothers, agricultural product sales in Middlebury. $1,500.
• Buttura & Gherardi Granite Artisans. $2,000.
• Nordahl Brue, CEO of Brueggher’s Bagels. $1,000.
• Myers Container Service Corp., local trash hauler. $2,000.
• Tatro’s ACEs, appliance repair company. $2,000
• Intuit Inc., San Diego, Calif. $2,000.
• Comcast Financial Agency Corp., Manchester, NH. $500
Agriculture
• Dairy Farmers of America, national milk processor. $1,000
• Dairylea Cooperative, Inc., national milk processer. $1,000
Energy
• American Gas Association, national trade group for local natural gas companies. $500
• Utility Risk Management Corp. Office in Stowe. $2,000
• Robert Young. $2,000. Retiring CEO of Central Vermont Public Service Corp.
• Skip Vallee. $2,000. CEO of R.L. Vallee, Inc., a Vermont gas and oil wholesaler. Denise Vallee. $2,000
• Cota and Cota, fuel oil dealer. $2,000. Cota & Cota, Inc. $1,500
Manufacturing, out of state
• General Electric, political action committee. $5,000.
• Goodrich Corporation, defense manufacturer. $2,000.
• General Aviation Manufacturers Association. $500.
• Paul and Diane Manning, PBM baby formula. $2,000. Plus $1,000 from PBM.
Manufacturing, in state
• Norman Schneeberger. $2,000. The CEO of GS Precision, a Brattleboro company that provides high-precision, machined components and subassemblies for the aircraft engine, missile guidance and fuel control system segments for the global aerospace industry.
• GW Plastics. $2,000. Injection molding company in Bethel with a second Vermont location in Royalton. The company also manufactures products in Texas, Mexico and China.
• Shelburne Plastics, manufactures plastic bottles for milk and juice. $1,000.
Pharmaceuticals
• Eli Lilly and Company, pharmaceutical manufacturer based in Indianapolis, Ind. $2,000.
• MYPAC, Mylan Inc., pharmaceutical manufacturer based in Canonsburg, Pa. $1,000.
• Cobble Hill Holdings, the parent corporation of Burlington Drug Co., a pharmaceutical wholesaler that recently bought out Porter Pharmacy in Middlebury. $2,000 from each entity.
Airline industry
• Allied Pilots Association. $3,000
• Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, $1,000
Vermont GOP
• Administration officials: James Douglas, Robert Ide, Gerald Myers, James Saudade, Kevin Dorn, Martha Hanson
• Notables: John McClaughry, Kermit Spaulding, Steve Larrabee, Susan Sweetser, Tom Salmon, Mark Snelling, Ray Keyser, Laura Moore (a Democratic candidate for the Washington County Senate seat), Charles Bucknam, Lawrence Pine, Leon Graves, Charles Smith, Cathleen Voyer, Rob Roper, Michael Dubie ($1,259), Barbara Snelling ($2,000), Ralph Colin ($2,000), Thom Lauzon ($2,000), Karen Lauzon ($2,000), Richard Tarrant ($2,000), Dawn Terrill ($1,000)
• Former and current lawmakers: Peg Flory, Heidi Scheuermann, Joe Acinapura, Tom Koch, Randy Brock, Howard Crawford, Topper McFaun, Kurt Wright, Bill Doyle, Walter Freed, George Coppenrath, Vince Illuzzi, Anne Donahue, Stephan Morse, Wendy Wilton.
Lobbyists, all under $1,000
Kimbell Sherman Ellis; Guy Page and Shawn Shouldice, Vermont Energy Partnership, a trade group backed by Entergy Corp.; Morris and DeMag, Downs Rachlin Martin, both of which represent Entergy Corp.
