Democrats reap spoils of victory: big money

Campaign finance - As they move to tighten ethics rules, cash keeps pouring in

Monday, January 15, 2007

DAVE HOGAN

The Oregonian

SALEM -- At the same time reform-minded legislators are pledging to limit perks from lobbyists this year, lawmakers have collected more than $900,000 in campaign contributions since the Nov. 7 election.

Three-quarters of that money has gone to the Democrats who now control both the House and Senate, according to campaign finance reports.

That creates a challenge for the Democrats vowing to change the cozy Capitol culture: How can they do that without resorting to doing business as usual with the interest groups that supply most of the legislators' campaign money?

The answer , says House Majority Leader Dave Hunt, is by fulfilling their pledges to strengthen ethics laws.

"None of those contributions will impact our public policy decisions," the Gladstone Democrat said Friday.

Hunt said that on the first day of this year's session last Monday, the House approved new rules banning meals, trips and other perks paid by lobbyists. And though House Democrats have led the fundraising since early November, the new rules ban House members of either party from accepting contributions during the session.

Watchdog groups say limiting goodies from lobbyists isn't enough: Lawmakers need to put limits on campaign money and its uses as well. Otherwise, lobbyists will just give more money to lawmakers' campaigns.

"If they give campaign contributions, they're still going to get in the door before others," said Janice Thompson of the Money in Politics Research Action Group. "That doesn't mean ethics reform isn't needed. It just means we need campaign finance reform."

Since Oregon is one of five states with no limits on campaign contributions, legislators and other candidates can raise unlimited amounts of campaign cash as long as they report the donations. They are prohibited from converting campaign money to personal use, but thanks to lax laws and enforcement, lawmakers routinely use campaign money to pay for phone, dining, golf and travel expenses.

During legislative sessions, some legislators use campaign contributions to pay for their car, housing and dining costs at the same time the state pays them $99 a day for living expenses.

A public commission recommended in November that lawmakers reform the state's campaign finance laws, saying the role of money in elections appeared to be one reason public confidence in the Legislature was low.

Another commission said legislators and other candidates should be banned from using campaign money for purposes such as personal expenses or to defray office expenses.

As usual, most of the campaign contributions going to lawmakers and the party caucuses after the November election goes to the winners, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Oregon Elections Division.

What's new is how much of it is going to Democrats. They now hold the governor's office and House and Senate majorities for the first time in 16 years.

Nearly half of the campaign contributions since Nov. 8 have gone to House Democrats, who erased a six-seat Republican advantage to take a 31-29 majority.

In all, House Democrats raised more than $450,000 since Nov. 8, more than double the $170,000 gathered by their Republican colleagues in the same period.

The biggest chunk of cash was the $185,000 that the House Democrats' Future PAC committee reported raising in December, much of it from a fundraiser held at Alessandro's Restaurant in Salem.

Associated General Contractors and two other donors each gave $15,000, and Northwest Natural Gas, PacifiCorp, the Oregon Association of Realtors, and Oregon Health Care Association each gave $10,000.

Although the usual Democratic donors chipped in, including public employee unions and other labor groups, more of the House Democrats' money came in $5,000 donations from traditionally pro-Republican business groups such as grocers, bankers, restaurants, cigarette makers, and beer and wine distributors.

"I would say we had greater participation than in the past," Hunt said, smiling. "Many old friends, many new friends."

In the first two weeks of this month, legislators reported raising more than $220,000, all but $3,400 of it before the House and Senate convened Jan. 8. Senate Democrats, who hold 18 of the chamber's 30 seats, raised the most during that period, with $86,000.

Though the House's new rules prohibit members from receiving campaign contributions during the session, Senate members may accept contributions but must report them within two business days.

The Senate also introduced legislation, Senate Bill 10, that would increase the penalties for ethics violations, limit lobbyist-paid goodies and provide dedicated funding for the state agency that enforces ethics laws for lobbyists and public officials.

Hunt says Democrats will be judged by what they do or don't accomplish this year on their stated goals of reining in lobbyist influence.

"The ethics bar has been raised significantly, and it's going to be raised further," he said.

Dave Hogan: 503-221-8531; davehogan@news.oregonian.com