Fertilizer for the “grassroots”
Pre-election financial disclosure reports were due Thursday, and the local newspaper has reported cash receipts (including loans) for each candidate and referendum campaign. Because loans are treated as “receipts” and neither in-kind contributions (donations of goods or services; sometimes these donations are large) nor expenditures are included in the article, the numbers in the article could be misleading, but they still attract attention.
Much of the attention this year is focused on the disclosure by Future of Oak Ridge (F.O.R.) which styles itself as a “grassroots group.” People had been asking me if I knew who was funding that group’s campaign in support of general-obligation bond funding for the Crestpointe shopping center development (I didn’t).
The Oak Ridger reported that F.O.R. had received contributions totaling $27,285, including $10,000 from an entity (Franklin Land Associates) that apparently is affiliated with GBT Realty, the prospective developer of Crestpointe. That donation — from an entity with a financial interest in the referendum results — is substantially smaller than the $159,026 that Crown American Properties gave to the “vote yes” side in the 2002 bond referendum, and which was disclosed on July 29, 2002, shortly before the election. (This would not happen in a candidate’s campaign. Tennessee corporations are prohibited from contributing to candidates, and candidates in local elections may not receive contributions over $1000, but there are few restrictions on donations to referendum committees.)
A scanned image of FOR’s full financial disclosure is circulating on the Internet. Commendably (and noteworthy for the extra work it created for the campaign treasurer), F.O.R. reported all contributions received, including those of $100 or less, which are not required to be reported.
While some of F.O.R.’s contributors are genuine “grassroots” local citizens, the F.O.R. report shows that the majority of the group’s funds came from other business sources that do not seem very “grassrootsy.” In addition to Franklin Land Associates (affiliated with GBT), major contributors include:
Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce — $2000
Bristol Park (Franklin, TN-based developers of the new apartments on Emory Valley Rd next to SAIC) — $2000
Len Hart (local real estate developer) — $1000
Scientific Technical Resources (one of the business interests of Nathaniel Revis, who is the apparent owner of the land where Crestpointe would be built) — $1000
Akins Crisp Public Strategies (Knoxville public relations firm) — $1000Broadberry Development Company, LLC, Maryville (an affiliate of Rarity Properties, apparently established to develop Rarity Ridge in Oak Ridge) — $1000
Wackenhut Services, Inc. (federal government contractor that provides guards and other security services at local DOE facilities) — $1000
Rogers Group, Inc. (local supplier of quarried rock, asphalt, etc.) — $1000
Those contributions of $1000 and above accounted for fully $20,000 of F.O.R.’s $27,285 in total receipts.
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ADDED on June 4:
Some political jurisdictions don’t look so kindly on the idea of businesses with vested interests bankrolling political campaigns. A recent article in the New York Times reports that New York City is considering a proposal to set special contribution limits for people with city business, including contractors, lobbyists, and developers. That type of limitation would have interesting repercussions here, where some candidates and referendum campaigns are heavily backed by a roster of people who are perceived to have a financial interest (far beyond that of “taxpayer”) in the actions of local government.
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