Wait, What?

Even on Budget Day – (or especially on Budget Day) – Lobbyist money helps make the world go round…

Feb 05

jonpeltoCampaign Finance, Corporate Viewpoint, Malloy, Power of Incumbency, Prosperity for Connecticut PAC, State Budget, State Deficit, Taxes Campaign Finance, Malloy, Prosperity for Connecticut PAC, State Budget 1 Comment

When Connecticut passed its landmark campaign finance reform legislation, the goal was to remove lobbyist and special interest campaign money from the public policy making process.

But of course, where there is a will, there is a way.

Prosperity for Connecticut Political Action Committee, the PAC affiliated with Governor Malloy has raised over $235,000 in the last 18 months and a nice portion of that money comes from lobbyists who represent a range of clients that will be impacted by Malloy’s budget and policy proposals.

When analyzing the policy initiatives it is often useful to see who has worked to guarantee access to the key decision makers.

The following is list of organizations whose lobbyists have – as the saying goes – ponied up for the Prosperity for Connecticut PAC.

News Flash: Corporate Education Reformers Spend $563,000 and counting in Bridgeport loss

Jan 17

jonpeltoAchievement First/ConnCAN, Bridgeport, Campaign Finance, Education Reform, Excel Bridgeport Inc., Malloy, Mayor Bill Finch, Michelle Rhee, Paul Vallas, Stefan Pryor, StudentsFirst Bridgeport, Campaign Finance, Malloy, Mayor Bill Finch, Michelle Rhee, Paul Vallas, Residents for a Better Bridgeport, Stefan Pryor, StudentsFirst 23 Comments

The final reports from Bridgeport’s November 2012 education reform referendum are in and it turns out that the corporate education reform industry and its supporters spent at least $562,955.16 in their effort to pass Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch’s anti-democracy initiative, a proposal that would have eliminated the City’s democratically elected board of education and replaced it with one appointed by the mayor.

In the end, Residents for a Better Bridgeport, the political action committee formed by Mayor Finch and his supporters, spent a total of $275,671.80 in the November 2012 referendum campaign that ended with Mayor Finch’s plan going down to defeat by a nearly 2 to 1 margin.

Excel Bridgeport, the corporate funded education reform group that has been lobbying for Bridgeport’s public school privatization efforts reported spending $101,803.36.

And when the dust settled, Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst (which goes by the name of Great New England Public School Alliance) spent a total of $185,480.

Taken together, the level of spending by the education reformers broke all Connecticut records for a referendum vote.

Residents for a Better Bridgeport:

In their final campaign finance report, Residents for a Better Bridgeport reported raising another $94,444 in the final week of the campaign, bringing the total amount the group raised (and spent) to over $275,000.

Late corporate campaign donations came in from the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, The Charter Oak Challenge Foundation; Bridgeport based Enviro Express Inc., Mellon Bank, Danbury’s Morganti Group Inc., Bridgeport’s Trefz Corporation and Webster Bank, as well as a number of smaller corporate donations.

Webster Bank’s contribution was for $10,000, Mellon Bank put in $5,000 and the Trefz Corporation added $7,000 to the campaign effort.

The Charter Oak Challenge Foundation, which was created by Andy Boas, the Chairman of Achievement First – Bridgeport’s Board of Directors, gave the anti-democracy political action committee $14,000.

According to the Charter Oak Challenge Foundation’s website, the charity “was founded to help children and families who have the ability to succeed but need financial support to realize their potential. Its founder, Andy Boas, wanted to improve the languishing conditions in Bridgeport by funding a meaningful program for children’s education.”

The final report also revealed that Jonathan Sackler gave the PAC a check for $50,000 just after the last pre-election report was due.

Sackler was the early funder behind Stefan Pryor’s creation of Achievement First, Inc., the larger charter school management company that owns 20 schools in New York and Connecticut and is working to get approval to expand their present schools as well as build new schools in Connecticut. Stefan Pryor is now Governor Malloy’s Commissioner of Education.

Sackler was also the funding force behind the corporate education reform advocacy groups ConnCAN, ConnAD, and the national education reform advocacy group 50-CAN.

Most recently, it came to light that Sackler hosted a major fundraiser for Prosperity for Connecticut, the political action committee affiliated with Governor Malloy.  Collecting over $42,000, Sackler’s May 2012 fundraiser was the most successful event Malloy’s political action committee has had to date.

What is particularly noteworthy about Sackler $50,000 donation is that since Residents for a Better Bridgeport was registered as a “Referendum PAC,” the maximum allowable donation under Connecticut law was $14,442.90.

How Residents for a Better Bridgeport PAC believes it could legally accept Sackler’s $50,000 donation is not clear.

Finally, the Residents for a Better Bridgeport final report included a $1,000 contribution from Connecticut Future PAC, Inc.  Connecticut Future PAC, Inc. was the independent “super-PAC” created to support Chris Murphy’s campaign for the United States Senate.  The PAC, which spent over $485,000 to support Murphy’s campaign, donated $1,000, after Election Day, to the Finch referendum effort.

According to the final report, Residents for a Better Bridgeport PAC spent about $55,000 more on direct mail, $57,000 for phone banking services and $25,000 more for polling.  Much of the remaining funding went to at least 132 campaign workers, who in the case of the Residents for a Better Bridgeport were labeled “consultants.”

Excel Bridgeport, Inc:

In its final report of the campaign, Excel Bridgeport reported that they spent a total of $101,803.36, of which $66,900 went for direct mail.

Excel Bridgeport’s direct mail vendor was a company called Campaignswon.   According to the company’s website, one of the firm’s partners is Bridgeport’s Jorge Cabrera.

Cabrera is also Excel Bridgeport’s “Community Organizer” and while the Excel Bridgeport campaign finance reports show various reimbursements to Cabrera for supplies, they do not report any in-kind contribution of time.  Failure to report direct or in-kind expenditures is a violation of Connecticut campaign finance law.

Much of Excel Bridgeport’s remaining expenditures went to cover the costs of more than two dozen field staff who were paid for services described as “direct outreach and/or holding signs.”

StudentsFirst/Greater New England Public School Alliance (GNEPSA):

In an earlier report, StudentsFirst/Great New England Public School Alliance reported paying $97,000 to a company called FieldWins for door-to-door canvassers.  FieldWins is a New York company that formed a parallel entity in Connecticut.  The final set of reports from Michelle Rhee’s organization indicated that later in the campaign she paid $35,000 to a company named SKD Knickerbocker for television ads and another $53,480 to FieldWins for additional canvassing services.

And $700 for Vallas’ Haitian Activities:

And one of the strangest twists, after spending nearly $563,000 in their failed attempt to persuade Bridgeport voters to undermine their own democratic rights, Residents for a Better Bridgeport ended the campaign with surplus funds of $702.79.  The political action committee donated the $700 to Los Angeles based J/P Haitian Relief Organization.

In February 2011, Bridgeport Superintendent of School, Paul Vallas, joined the J/P Haitian Relief Organization’s Board of Directors.

According to the charity’s IRS filings, “J/P HRO RUNS AN ACCREDITED IN-CAMP SCHOOL, ECOLE DE ‘L’ESPOIR’ (‘SCHOOL OF HOPE’), WHICH NOW SERVES AROUND 550 CHILDREN. J/P HRO ALSO IS IMPLEMENTING A PROGRAM FOR YOUTH WHO HAVE NOT FINISHED THEIR PRIMARY EDUCATION TO GIVE THEM THE FOUNDATION THEY NEED TO CONTINUE THEIR EDUCATION BEYOND THE PRIMARY LEVEL.”

It has remained unclear what compensation or benefits, if any, Vallas receives from his work in Haiti but the Foundation’s annual report indicates that last year they provided over $60,000 in “in-kind” services for that education program.

Campaign Finance Violations:

As Wait, What? readers know, following complaints I filed with the Connecticut’s State Elections Enforcement Commission, the Commission voted to authorize individual investigations into alleged campaign finance violations by Residents for a Better Bridgeport, Excel Bridgeport and Michelle Rhee and her Great New England Public Schools Alliance.  These most recent reports reveal a number of other apparent violations of Connecticut law.

Future posts will outline these myriad of campaign finance issues.

Readers will also recall that these latest donations come on top of tens of thousands of dollars in previous donations from companies and individuals that do business with the Finch Administration or rely on Mayor Finch and the Bridgeport Democrats for support.

Earlier contributions to Finch’s referendum efforts included;

Aquarion Water Company which donated $14,000

Bridgeport Hospital which donated $14,422.90

Bridgeport and Port Jefferson Company $14,000

CT Coalition for Advancement Now (ConnAD) $14,000

Harbor Yard Sports & Entertainment which donated $14,442.90

Jarvis Group LLC, NY (in-kind video) $14,376.40

Pullman and Comeley law firm $7,000

St. Vincent Medical Center which donated $14,400

United Illuminating which donated $10,000

In addition, there were some large individual contributions including one for $25,000 from Bradford Evans, a Senior Advisor at Morgan Stanley and a $25,000 contribution from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Stay tuned for more about the legal troubles facing Bridgeport’s education reformers.

BNE Energy, Wind Farms, Occhiogrosso: A lesson on how modern government really works.

Jan 08

jonpeltoCampaign Finance, Connecticut State Government, Corporate Viewpoint, DEEP Commissioner Dan Esty, Energy policy, Malloy, State Politics Campaign Finance, Energy Policy, Global Strategies Group, Lobbyists, Malloy, Occhiogrosso 15 Comments

Despite claiming he had no specific plans for work following his resignation as Governor Malloy’s chief advisor, spokesperson and ultra-ego, Roy Occhiogrosso is returning to become the Managing Director for Global Strategy Group’s Hartford Office.

Global Strategy Group is a campaign management and public relations company that specializes in helping companies and organizations push their legislative and political agendas.  Occhiogrosso and the Global Strategy Group served as lead consultants in candidate Dan Malloy’s 2006 and 2010 gubernatorial campaigns. Occhiogrosso and other staff then moved to join the Malloy administration when Governor Malloy was inaugurated in January 2011.

The move is a classic reminder of how government really works and the not-so-clean anti-revolving door policies that are supposed to prevent public officials from personally and financially capitalizing on their public service.

Returning to Global Strategy Group will provide Occhiogrosso (and the company’s clients) with unique access to the development of government policy.

Take, for example, the case study of BNE Energy, which became a client of Global Strategy Group before Occhiogrosso left and has remained one of their primary clients throughout Malloy’s first two years in office.

BNE Energy, incorporated in Delaware, but owned by two Connecticut residents, has been trying to develop commercial wind projects in Prospect and Colebrook Connecticut.  The firm is owned by Greg Zupkus, who serves as President and CEO and Paul Corey, who serves as the company’s Chairman of the Board.

Paul J. Corey is well known in Connecticut politics and government.  During the Rowland years, Corey served as the Executive Director of the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control, the organization that plays such a significant role in the development of energy policy in Connecticut.  Corey also served as the Chairman of the Board of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation from January 2000 to December 2004.

Corey’s wife, Christine, was a high-ranking personal assistant to former Governor John Rowland.  Together they gave Rowland the famous hot-tub that helped lead to the impeachment hearings and Rowland’s subsequent resignation and trip to federal prison.

After leaving public service, Corey joined the law firm of Brown, Rudnick to work in their Public Utility Practice Group.

In addition to the two corporate executives, BNE Energy operation is assisted by the law firm of Pullman & Comley, where former State Senator Andrew McDonald worked before becoming Malloy’s Chief Counsel.  (Malloy has recently nominated McDonald to a seat on the State Supreme Court).  Pullman & Comley was retained to help BNE get approval from the Connecticut Siting Council.

Meanwhile, lobbying and permitting tasks for the wind farms were given to the law firm of Brown Rudnick, LLP.    The lead individual from Brown, Rudnick is Thomas Ritter, the former speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives.

Finally, Occhiogrosso’s Global Strategy Group continued to assist with public relations and grassroots lobbying services.

In the last 24 months, Ritter and Global Strategy Group have received over $200,000 in fees from BNE.

Among the backers of the BNE project is Connecticut’s Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority, a public entity created to “help ensure Connecticut’s energy security and community prosperity by realizing its environmental and economic opportunities through clean, energy finance and investments.”  The authority is chaired by Catherine Smith, the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD).  Another Board member is Daniel C. Esty, Malloy’s Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).

According to public documents, the Finance and Investment Authority has given BNE Energy at least $500,000 in public funds.

In what could be described as an interesting coincidence, on June 21, 2012, BNE’s CEO Zupkus and the company’s president Corey both donated to Democratic Congressional candidate Elizabeth Esty, the wife of Commissioner Dan Esty.

According to BNE Energy, the project faced, “Fierce NIMBY opposition and a tumultuous regulatory environment…as well as heavy legislative scrutiny—particularly after a bill was introduced to place a moratorium on all wind projects in the state. In addition, opposition groups were well-funded and highly vocal, and the press was unsympathetic to the developers.”

BNE’s proposal for a project in Prospect was rejected by the Connecticut Siting Council by a vote of 6-2, but BNE’s plan for a wind farm in Colebrook was approved.  Governor Malloy appoints the members of the Connecticut Siting Council, but the agency’s activities and budget report up through Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) which is part of Commissioner Esty’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

In response to the developments with BNE Energy and the Connecticut Siting Council, at the beginning of the 2012 Legislative Session, Democrat State Representative Vicki Orsini Nardello, the House Chair of the General Assembly’s Energy and Technology committee, along with State Senator Joan Hartley acted on their concern that the State of Connecticut had never adopted appropriate regulations to manage the development of wind energy in the state.  The legislators introduced legislation suspending the development of further wind power projects until state regulations were established.

Among those supporting Nardello’s bill was U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and a significant number of residents from northwestern Connecticut.

However, BNE CEO Zupkus was highly critical of the bill, saying, “It’s just a way the anti-wind is crowd trying to stop wind projects.”

The moratorium bill was eventually passed, but with effective lobbying from former Speaker Ritter the BNE project was exempted.

Meanwhile, in October 2012, a Connecticut Superior Court ruled that the Connecticut Siting Council’s approval of a Colebrook wind farm project was legal and BNE could move forward with construction. However, the judge did make clear that Connecticut’s wind farm siting system was “deeply flawed” and needed to be enhanced.

Meanwhile, as the 2012 legislative campaigns heated up, Lezlye Zupkus, Gregory Zupkus’ wife, announced that she was going to run against Democrat State Representative Vicki Orsini Nardello.

On Election Day, Representative Nardello was one of the only incumbents to lose.  At the time, Nardello explained, “When you take on strong corporate interests, you make enemies.”

Although both Nardello and Zupkus abided by the state’s public financing laws, a new outside group, funded by a right-wing Greenwich billionaire engaged in a series of “independent” expenditures aimed at defeating some Democrats that the group claimed were not sufficiently pro-business.  Nardello was one of those targeted by Voters for Good Government.  The PAC spent over a quarter of a million dollars to try and defeat these candidates.

Voters for Good Government, a new “super-PAC” funded by Greenwich billionaire Thomas Peterffy also took in funds from the Roger Sherman Liberty Center, Americans for Job Security and the American Justice Partnership.  According to a story in the Hartford Courant, Peterffy “hates socialism because he grew up in communist Hungary before coming to America and making his fortune in discount brokerage.”

For more on Voters for Good Government read the Wait, What?  blog post: http://jonathanpelto.com/2012/10/26/anti-socialist-greenwich-billionaire-targeting-democratic-connecticut-state-senators/

Of course, it is unclear if Malloy or Occhiogrosso were involved in any of the developments related to BNE Energy, but one thing is clear.  Occiogrosso’s Global Strategies was involved with BNE Energy before he joined Governor Malloy’s operation and he is now returning to Global Strategies on January 14, 2013.

For more on the interconnections and intrigue surrounding this issue, see the following:

http://articles.courant.com/2012-10-03/business/hc-haar-wind-farm-cases-20121003_1_bne-plan-bne-energy-greg-zupkus

http://articles.courant.com/2012-10-03/business/hc-haar-wind-farm-cases-20121003_1_bne-plan-bne-energy-greg-zupkus

https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/05/13/wind-prospect-denied/

Malloy affiliated Political Action Committee cashes in on education reform bill:

Jan 02

jonpeltoAchievement First/ConnCAN, Bridgeport, Campaign Finance, Charter Schools, Gubernatorial Election 2014, Malloy, Michelle Rhee, Prosperity for Connecticut PAC, Stefan Pryor, StudentsFirst Campaign Finance, Education Reform, Gubernatorial Election 2014, Malloy, Prosperity for Connecticut PAC 6 Comments

In the financial world, I think they call it Return on Investment, or, in the parlance of Wall Street ROI.

On May 29, 2012, Governor Malloy’s education reform bill became Public Act 12-116.

Twenty-four hours later, Malloy was ensconced at the 10,000 square-foot, $8.5 million, Greenwich, Connecticut home of corporate education reform financier Jonathan Sackler for a fundraiser that netted the Malloy affiliated Prosperity for Connecticut Political Action Committee more than $41,000.

Sackler, who helped Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor, create Achievement First Inc., the large charter school management company that owns at least 20 schools in Connecticut and New York, also played a pivotal role in forming Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now Inc. (ConnCAN), Connecticut Coalition for Education Advocacy (ConnAD) and 50-CAN, the national organization that has inserted ConnCAN-like organizations into the education reform debate in Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey,  New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.   ConnAD was a primary funder behind the lobbying effort to pass Malloy’s education bill last spring, and more recently, helped fund Mayor Bill Finch’s failed effort to eliminate a democratically elected board of education in Bridgeport and replace it with one appointed by the Mayor.

Malloy’s financial patrons included the chairman and board members of Achievement First, Inc. as well as board members of Achievement First-Bridgeport, Achievement First-Amistad and Achievement First-Elm City, with most donating the maximum $750 per person allowed under Connecticut law.

A total of at least six members of ConnCAN’s small Board of Directors, along with numerous members of ConnCAN’s Advisory Board were also in attendance or provided checks for the event.  At least two senior board officers of Excel Bridgeport and the President and Vice President of the New Beginnings Family Academy, another charter school in Bridgeport also donated.  ConnCAN’s former CEO, Alex Johnston gave, as did the spouse of the Connecticut Director of Teacher For America.

The Vice Chair of Eva Moskowitz’s infamous New York City based Success Academy Charter Schools dropped $1,500 on the event, thanks to donations from board members and his wife, while another donation came from a board member of the Newark, New Jersey, Team Charter School chain, which is owned by KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, a “national network” of 125 charter schools around the Country.

The event, a veritable who’s who of corporate education reformers, included the Chief Operating Officer of Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst, a couple of national board members of Teach For America, members of KIPP’s national board of directors, a board member of New Leaders Inc. (a program to “train” school administrators in the ways of education reformers) and one of the founders of the national group, Democrats for Education Reform.

Donations for the event came from as far away as Miami Beach, West Palm Beach, Vero Beach, Pacific Palisades, Teton Village, Wyoming, McLean, Virginia, Los Angeles, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, along with multiple checks from education reform/hedge fund managers from New York City.

Connecticut billionaire Steven Mandel kicked in $750, along with his associate, Meghan Lowney, who spent so much time and effort pushing the Malloy Administration’s illegal, and eventually failed, attempt to take-over the Bridgeport School System in 2010.

When not funding Governor Malloy’s political action committee or various Connecticut and national education reform organizations, the attendees and donors to the Sackler fundraiser are busy running hedge funds and investment companies.  The donor list included CEOs, Presidents and Directors of Alternative Investment Group, Belenos Capital, Brookside International, Carl Marks & Co., Carter Morse & Mathias, Conatus Capital, Dawson Capital Management, Five Mile Capital Partners, Greenwich Capital Markets,  Gotham Capital and Gotham Asset Management, Jaws Estates Capital, Lone Pine Capital, North Bay Associates, Salmon River Capital,  Sessa Capital, Shumway Capital, Structured Portfolio Management (SPM) , Tilson Mutual Funds and Viking Global Investors, just to name a few.

According to information first reported by the Hartford Courant’s investigative reporter, Jon Lender, Sackler’s May 30, 2012 fundraiser was one of at least fourteen fundraisers the political action committee, Prosperity for Connecticut, held between October 2011 and October 2012.  As of its last State Elections Enforcement Report (October 28, 2012), the PAC reported that it has raised a total of just over $205,000.

With donations related to the May 30, 2012 party totally over $41,000, it appears that Sackler’s education reform house party may be the single most profitable event the PAC has held.

For Lender’s story see: http://articles.courant.com/2012-12-08/news/hc-lender-column-pac-contributions-1209-20121208_1_dannel-p-malloy-ferry-business-bridgeport-ferry

A minor side-note:  With no expenditure listed for food and beverages for the May 30, 2012 event and no “in-kind contribution” of food and beverages listed from the event’s host, it would appear that the attendees weren’t provided any food or beverage for their efforts.  Alternatively, of course, the PAC violated state law by failing to properly report its official expenditures or in-kind contributions, in which case a fine should be forthcoming should the State Election Enforcement Commission take notice of the PAC’s election law violation.

15+ family members and employees of a New York tug boat towing and ferry boat company give to Malloy PAC

Dec 08

jonpeltoBridgeport, Campaign Finance, Ethics, Gubernatorial Election 2014, Malloy, Mayor Bill Finch, Prosperity for Connecticut PAC, State Politics Campaign Finance, Gubernatorial Election 2014, Malloy, Prosperity for Connecticut PAC 19 Comments

At least 15 family members and employees of a company that financially benefits from Connecticut public policy is one of the biggest donors to Malloy’s Political Action Committee, according to an article written by investigative reporter Jon Lender in today’s Hartford Courant.

Wait, What? readers are already familiar with Prosperity for Connecticut, a political action committee tied to Governor Malloy.

As a result of more than 14 fundraising events over the past year, the PAC has raised over $200,000.

Now, according to Jon Lender, “State campaign finance records show that at least 15 contributions — mostly at the maximum annual amount for an individual, $750 — were made in May and September to the Prosperity for Connecticut PAC by people with ties of employment or kin to Capt. Brian A. McAllister of New York City. He is the head of McAllister Towing and Transportation Co. and the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Co., which operates the ferry between those two ports…he McAllister ferry business has been unsuccessful so far in its effort to expand to a larger boat terminal that would be built on the east side of Bridgeport Harbor, opposite from its current location.

But a new consultant’s study on the future of Connecticut’s deep water ports, commissioned in mid-year by the Democrat-controlled legislature and released in October by Malloy’s office, recommends that the state “protect and enhance private ferry services.” And, in a section relevant to the McAllister business, it says: “the State should support the Phase 1 relocation/expansion of the Bridgeport ferry” to the location sought by the company on the east side.”

The full story can be found here:  http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-lender-column-pac-contributions-1209-20121208,0,1249593.column

Issues about the political action committee were highlighted in an article here at Wait, What? in a post entitled, “If money is the “mother’s milk of politics”, Governor Malloy’s cup runneth over” (see http://jonathanpelto.com/2012/12/06/if-money-is-the-mothers-milk-of-politics-governor-malloys-cup-runneth-over/)

The Courant’s Jon Lender then wrote a story for the Hartford Courant.  See http://jonathanpelto.com/2012/12/07/courants-jon-lender-sheds-light-on-malloys-pac/

Lender’s latest story raises extraordinarily serious issues related about the inter-connection between Malloy’s fundraising activities and state policy.

Having now spent a significant amount of time analyzing the PACs fundraising reports, I’m reminded of the interesting fact about icebergs…” approximately 90 percent of an iceberg is found under water.”

I can guarantee this isn’t the last time we’ll be reading about the Prosperity for Connecticut Political Action Committee.

In the “small world department,” Wait, What? readers may also remember that McAllister’s Port Jefferson Steamboat Co., was one of the largest contributors to Mayor Bill Finch’s Bridgeport referendum political committee that was campaigning to do away with a democratically elected board of education and replace it with one appointed by the Mayor.

Moving the Port Jefferson Steamboat terminal in Bridgeport, as was recommended by the Malloy Administration’s study, would require the approval of both the State of Connecticut and the City of Bridgeport.

Courant’s Jon Lender sheds light on Malloy’s PAC

Dec 07

jonpeltoCampaign Finance, Gubernatorial Election 2014, Malloy, State Politics Campaign Finance, Malloy, Prosperity for Connecticut PAC 14 Comments

For Wait, What readers who were intrigued by yesterday’s blog post entitled, “If money is the “mother’s milk of politics”, Governor Malloy’s cup runneth over,” Jon Lender, the courant’s legendary investigative reporter, has taken an even more detailed look into the recent activities of Governor Malloy’s Political Action Committee…or the political action committee that appears to be connected with Malloy.

As noted in my blog yesterday, Governor Malloy, and a number of Connecticut’s highest ranking public officials, attended a fundraiser last night at the home of Alan Lazowski.  Lazowski is the owner of LAZ parking, and the recent recipient of a multi-million dollar development contract given out by a commission that the Governor controls.

As the Courant notes, “Lazowski is CEO of Hartford-based LAZ Parking, one of the biggest parking operators in the country. In May, LAZ began a $990,980 contract to provide valet parking for patients at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington – a pact that has several renewal options that could extend it six years beyond its initial one-year term…”

Prosperity for Connecticut PAC has already raised over $200,000 thanks to more than a dozen fundraisers over the past year.

Lender’s news article sheds new light on a variety of issues associated with the PAC and its activities, but the most interesting part of the whole article was the official response from Malloy’s gubernatorial spokesperson.

In response to a statement of concern about the PAC by the Republican State Chairman Jerry Labriola, Malloy’s media staff told Lender, “Jerry’s histrionics aside, this fundraiser was not set up by the governor, but he agreed to attend along with many other political, business and community leaders. He’s attending this event for the same reason he attends any number of similar events: he is the chief elected official of the state,” said Andrew R. Doba, Malloy’s director of communications.

As usual, it seems the people who speak for the Governor can’t utter a single statement that doesn’t begin or end with bullying, threatening or insulting language.

Not to mention, this is definitely NOT just another PAC, nor was it an event that the Governor just happened to stop by at.

The invitation made it clear the event featured the Governor and the Governor has been the primary draw at the PAC’s other fundraisers.  Furthermore, it is well-known among the power elite that this is “the Governor’s PAC.”  An observer need only look at the names of the high-ranking lobbyists who have given to this PAC.

Definitely take the time to read Lender’s piece.  Although many of the quotes are in “political speech,” some of them are extremely telling.  There is absolutely no doubt that between what they said to Lender and what shows up in these political action committee reports we’ll be hearing more about this group and its activities.

You can read Lender’s piece here: http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-pac-fundraiser-malloy-1207-20121206,0,3461857.story

If money is the “mother’s milk of politics”, Governor Malloy’s cup runneth over

Dec 06

jonpeltoCampaign Finance, Gubernatorial Election 2014, Malloy, State Politics Campaign Finance, Malloy, Prosperity for Connecticut PAC 8 Comments

Later today, movers, shakers, lobbyists, the political elite, and anyone else ready to plunk down $750 a person can have a cocktail with Governor Malloy and a host of “featured guests” including Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Senator-elect Chris Murphy, Congressman John Larson, Congresswoman-elect Elizabeth Esty and Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra.

The ticket price will also get you into the upscale home of Alan Lazowski, owner of LAZ Parking. Lazowski is also part of the investment team whose company just received a major contract from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority to develop more housing and retail space in downtown Hartford.

And while handing over the check may not get you onto Santa’s “good” list, the proceeds go to Governor Malloy’s political action committee, called Prosperity for Connecticut.

If you were one of those who thought Connecticut’s landmark campaign finance reform law put an end to the co-mingling of Connecticut politics and public policy, apparently you’d be wrong. Since its creation about 15 months ago, Malloy’s Prosperity for Connecticut PAC has raised over $200,000, as a result of at least eleven fundraisers held in Connecticut, New York, and as far away as Washington DC.

If you weren’t on the invitation lists, you might not have known about the fundraiser at the exclusive Rue 57 on Manhattan’s West 57th Steet, or the even more exclusive event at 1455 Pennsylvania Ave, across from the White House and next to the legendary Willard Hotel.

Or maybe you missed the fundraiser at the home of Jonathan Sackler, education reform aficionado and co-founder of Achievement First, ConnCAN, ConnAD and 50CAN. The same Jonathan Sackler who helped Malloy’s Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor build Achievement First into one of the largest charter school management companies in the country.

And you probably didn’t get the invitation to the “meet and great” at Vision Financial Markets LLC, where an impressive number of their employees had the opportunity to meet Governor Malloy after donating only $750 per person to his PAC.

And then there was the New York City event where it appears that more than a dozen members and employees of the McAllister family joined together to generously support Governor Malloy’s PAC.

You don’t know the McAllister family? Why they own McAllister Towing in Brooklyn, New York.

Over the past year, while the Governor has helped orchestrate the passage and death of dozens of pieces of legislation, more than a dozen Connecticut lobbyists have donated to Malloy’s PAC, as have some of Connecticut’s other political action committees.

Of course, it takes money to make money, some more than $40,000 of the money raised was paid out to O’Neill & Associates, Boston’s #1 lobbying firm. The a company is headed by Thomas O’Neill III who is not only Tip O’Neill’s oldest son, but also a former Massachusetts State Legislator and former Lt. Governor in the Bay State.

Finally, in the good news department, since it would be illegal, under Connecticut law, for Governor Malloy’s PAC to use its funds to help Governor Malloy’s political endeavors, we can be sure that all these donors never thought the money they were donating was going to benefit the Governor, so at least there isn’t that whole, awkward conflict of interest.

Bridgeport’s critical care hospitals are among biggest funders to Bridgeport’s anti-democracy effort

Nov 04

jonpeltoBridgeport, Campaign Finance, Corporate Viewpoint, Education Reform, Excel Bridgeport Inc., StudentsFirst Bridgeport, Charter Revision, Education Reform, Mayor Bill Finch 4 Comments

On Tuesday, thanks to Mayor Bill Finch and his team of advisers and associates, the voters of Bridgeport will be asked to give up their democratic rights to choose the members of Bridgeport’s Board of Education.  Instead, the Mayor will take over that task.

A coalition of “education reformers” and corporate executives in Fairfield Country are spending a record amount of money to convince Bridgeport voters that it is in their interest to VOTE YES on Question 1, although they go out of their way to make sure that voters don’t understand that a YES vote on Question #1 actually means the people give up their right to select who should oversee Bridgeport’s schools.

QUESTION #1 (misleading language reads):

“SHALL THE CITY OF BRIDGEPORT APPROVE AND ADOPT THE CHARTER CHANGES AS RECOMMENDED BY THE CHARTER REVISION COMMISSION AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, INCLUDING EDUCATION GOVERNANCE REFORMS?”

Residents for a Better Bridgeport, is the Political Action Committee that is leading the Mayor’s effort.  Along with the corporate advocacy group Excel Bridgeport, Inc. and the national “education reform” group StudentsFirst, the Mayor’s operation will break all spending records on a charter reform vote.

Bridgeport Hospital and St. Vincent Medical Center are two of the largest corporate donors to Residents for a Better Bridgeport.

Bridgeport Hospital donated $14,422.90

St. Vincent Medical Center donated $14,400

Bridgeport has two major urban hospitals that are dedicated to providing emergency and critical care to the people Bridgeport and Fairfield County.  However, apparently they both have the financial resources to make maximum donations to an effort to undermine democracy in the city that they call home.

And yet, every year, these two hospitals beg the Governor and General Assembly for financial support to stay in business.

Last year, Bridgeport Hospital provided $13.6 million in care to people who had no health insurance.  Add in the bad debts from people who couldn’t pay their full bill, and Bridgeport’s total level of uncompensated care exceeded $41.9 million

Meanwhile, St. Francis provided $9 million in care to those with no health insurance.  Add in their bad patient debts and St. Vincent’s total uncompensated care was $41.8 million.

So how do these hospitals stay in business?

The State of Connecticut provides these hospitals with major subsidies, using taxpayer funds.

Think of it this way… Without your knowledge or support, some of your tax dollars are going to fund Mayor Finch’s power grab.  Of course, when it comes to using scarce resources, the corporate executives as these two hospitals find other favorite areas of expenditures:

Bridgeport Hospital:  Total salary and compensation for top corporate executives

President/CEO William Jennings:          $764,770

Senior Vice President of Finance/CFO:          $688,999

Senior VP of Human Resources:          $468,241

Senior VP/COO:          $458,001

Vice President:          $452,611

St. Vincent Medical Center:  Total salary and compensation for top corporate executives

President/CEO Susan David:          $1,484,755

Senior VP of Finance/CFO:          $567,478

Senior VP:          $456,215

Vice President:          $455,920

So next time you pay your taxes, or write out your health insurance premium payment, take a moment to remember just where some of that money is going.

And it’s not like there is no one who could step in and stop this madness.  The following are the members of the Board of Trustees for Bridgeport Hospital and St. Vincent Medical Center, but then again, maybe they are just going along for the ride.

Bridgeport Hospital Board of Trustees:

St. Vincent Medical Center Board of Trustees

United Illuminating (UI): One of biggest donors to Mayor Finch’s effort to undermine democracy in Bridgeport

Nov 03

jonpeltoBridgeport, Campaign Finance, Corporate Viewpoint, Excel Bridgeport Inc., Malloy, Mayor Bill Finch, United Illuminating Charter Revision, Mayor Bill Finch, United Illuminating 10 Comments

True the $10,000 donation from United Illuminating to Residents for a Better Bridgeport occurred before Hurricane Sandy hit.

And true an extra $10,000 wouldn’t allow a substantively different response by UI to this natural disaster.

But with 41,794 UI customers still out of power as of 11:00 a.m. today – November 3^rd, 2012, – a week after the storm hit, the symbolism is – let’s just say – shocking!

UI is a Connecticut public utility company; it provides a public benefit so it is regulated by the State of Connecticut.  It exists because we, the people, allow it to exist.

Here we are, a state in which 10 percent of the people are unemployed and nearly 1 in 5 are unemployed, underemployed or have given up looking for work. And UI, a company with some of the highest electric rates in the nation is siphoning off money to play politics in Bridgeport.

Next week we’ll investigate and learn whether the money they donated to undermine democracy in Bridgeport was “shareholder funds or “rate-payer funds, but quite frankly, the point is irrelevant.

The fact is we have a Connecticut Public utility company – taking Connecticut resident’s hard-earned money – to fund an effort to take away one of the most important American rights we have – the right of self-governance.

It’s time that our elected officials tell us what they are going to do about this outrage!

Click here to see the latest UI Outage map

On Oct. 29, 2012, UIL Holdings Corporation (NYSE: UIL), the company that owns UI,  announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.432 per share on its Common Stock at today’s Board meeting. This dividend is payable January 2, 2013 to shareowners of record at the close of business on December 19, 2012.

Oh, and on a related note, on October 29, 2012, as the storm closed in, Thelma Albright and William Murdy, both UI Directors, cashed in stock for $51,571 and $27,697 respectfully,

Finally, UI’s Board of Directors includes the following people.  If you happen to see one, ask them…. So, what about that $10,000 donation to Residents for a Better Bridgeport?  Is undermining democracy a position supported by the entire board?

UI Board of Directors  

Thelma R. Albright

Former President, Carter Products Division, Carter Wallace, Inc.

Arnold L. Chase

Member of the Board of Directors and President, Gemini Networks, Inc.; Executive Vice President, Chase Enterprises

Betsy Henley-Cohn

Chairperson of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, Joseph Cohn & Son, Inc.

Suedeen G. Kelly

Partner, Patton Boggs L.L.P.

John L. Lahey

Non-Executive Chair, UIL Holdings Corporation; President, Quinnipiac University

Daniel J. Miglio

Former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of SNET Corporation and Southern New England Telecommunications

William F. Murdy

Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, Comfort Systems USA

Donald R. Shassian

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Frontier Communications Corporation

James P. Torgerson

President and Chief Executive Officer, UIL Holdings Corporation; Chief Executive Officer, The United Illuminating Company

Mayor Finch and “Education Reformers” spend record amount to take away Bridgeport voter’s rights!

Nov 02

jonpeltoAchievement First/ConnCAN, Bridgeport, Campaign Finance, Corporate Viewpoint, Excel Bridgeport Inc., Mayor Bill Finch, Michelle Rhee, Paul Vallas, StudentsFirst, United Illuminating 30 Comments

Welcome to 21st Century America

Lennie Grimaldi, Bridgeport’s leading political pundit, and author of the blog, Only in Bridgeport, broke the news today that Mayor Mike Bloomberg gave $20,000 to Residents For A Better Bridgeport, the political action committee behind the campaign to support Mayor Bill Finch’s power grab to eliminate a democratically elected school board and replace it with one appointed by him.

But the $20,000 donation from Bloomberg is only the tip of a much bigger iceberg and Residents for a Better Bridgeport is only one of a series of corporate funded political groups spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to make sure Bridgeport’s parents and other voters don’t get a direct role in selecting who sets education policy in Bridgeport.

Here are just a few of the companies and organizations that are funding the anti-democracy campaign.  More names to come…  By the way, the campaign finance violations are so numerous that it will take a few days to develop the appropriate legal complaint – but we’ll put it together and file it on Monday or Tuesday – if for no other reason than for our American principles.

Even more importantly, what is UI, the publicly funded hospitals and the publicly subsidized Harbor Yard doing using people’s hard-earned payments and money to undermine democracy.  It is inappropriate and disgusting.

Let’s hope the Legislature will demand a full investigation into these corporations and their behavior.

With tens of thousands without healthcare and electricity, these people are spending money to take away the democratic rights of Connecticut residents.  It is perhaps the best example of immorality that I have ever seen.

Considering the Democrats will always control 6 of the 9 Board of Education seats, the question remains – why is Finch and the reformers working so hard to “control” the 3 seats that would normally go for “minority representation” – in this case – to members of the Connecticut Working Families Party.  This is not about controlling policy, this is about making sure that no opposition, whatsoever is allowed.

Also just in, Michelle Rhee’s national organization, StudentsFirst, dropped $97,000 on October 19^th to pay for door to door canvassing expenditures to persuade voters to give up their democratic rights.  Recently, Rhee’s husband, a former NBA star and Mayor of Sacramento, California showed up to campaign in favor of the charter change.  He appeared at a forum with Mayor Finch and Paul Vallas, Bridgeport’s part-time, $229,000 a year, Superintendent of Schools.

And they call themselves Americans!