State: Money can buy political access

Why the sudden interest in the state GOP? A Federated spokeswoman said executives had no comment on why they chose this year to "participate in the political process" in Florida.

One possible clue: Federated won a contract potentially worth millions of dollars to manage state employee retirement money.

In politics, money means access and influence. And businesses and people keenly interested in state contracts and policy are pouring "soft money" into the party controlling state government, much of it aimed at re-electing Republican Gov. Jeb Bush. Democrats, meanwhile, are eager to raise enough cash to unseat him and are turning to their own special interests for help.

Unlike contributions directly to political candidates, there are no limits on soft money contributions to state political parties. That's why the largest checks go to state parties rather than the candidates themselves.

PHP Holdings is unfamiliar to most Floridians, but not to the state GOP, which last year received $175,000 from the Tampa-based health care firm. This year, less than two months before state officials renewed the company's $375-million Medicaid contract, PHP gave an additional $110,000 to the Republican Party.

Then there's Affiliated Computer Services, whose assorted companies have a host of government contracts in Florida, including managing Florida's Medicaid Information System. ACS companies have given at least $140,000 to the state Republican Party this year.

Government agencies say contracts are awarded on a company's merits; political considerations mean nothing. But with so much money flowing into Florida's political parties, such assurances don't quell skepticism.

"It just seems there is a correlation between people who seem to get contracts and attention and the contributions they make," said Republican Comptroller Bob Milligan, describing it as a "gut" feeling and refering to no specific company.

"I think there are some less than appropriate (contract) selections."

For all the stated outrage over special interest money tainting the political process, the political money hose is set at full blast in Florida. This also happens to be a year with strikingly little disclosure because lawmakers eliminated a campaign finance report that normally would have been required a month before Election Day.

The federal McCain-Feingold law is supposed to cut off unlimited soft money contributions to the national parties after November, but it will have no effect on state parties. On the contrary, many political operatives expect unlimited contributions will flow like never before into Florida's political parties.

As it is, a nationally watched governor's race featuring the president's brother and races in many of the 160 newly drawn state legislative districts are creating new demands for campaign money.

"The pressure is enormous right now for campaign dollars," said Ron Book, a top Tallahassee lobbyist, whose clients include some of the biggest campaign donors in Florida. "It's been the most costly election cycle I've ever seen, and the appetite for campaign money is not on the decline."

Book insists, though, the campaign cash won't buy state contracts or legislative votes. Still, they help.

"I like to believe it gets me an appointment more quickly or my phone call returned faster," he said.

Indeed, Bush vetoed a heavily lobbied bill that consumer advocates decried even though telecommunications companies have given more than $600,000 to the state GOP this year. A similar measure is expected next year.

This is not a uniquely Republican phenomenon. Most of the special interest money flowed to the Democrats when they ran the state, just as the vast majority now flows to the Republicans.

As usual, Democrats this year are relying most heavily on lawyers and unions. Trial lawyers, who want to stop Republican efforts to limit jury awards, have given more than $650,000 to the party. The Florida Education Association, the teachers union backing gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride and frequently clashing with Bush, has given more than $200,000 to the Democratic Party, along with $1.5-million to an independent group that ran TV ads for McBride.

On Saturday, the head of Florida's public employees union, AFSCME, handed McBride a $400,000 check for the state party. The president of the AFL-CIO says that union expects to raise $3-million for the campaign against Bush.

But Democratic fundraising has been dwarfed by the Republicans, who have pulled in huge contributions from businesses with big financial stakes in decisions in Tallahassee.

"There's absolutely no correlation between contributions to the state party and contracts that are awarded by the state or any sort of legislation," said Towson Fraser, spokesman for the state Republican Party. Businesses, he said, give mainly because they like how Gov. Jeb Bush and other Republicans are leading the state.

It's not always clear what motivates the biggest check-writers. California resident John Walton, for example, in August joined the top tier of Florida's political donors by giving $325,000 to the Republican Party.

Why? The billionaire son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton sits on the board of Wal-Mart, which also happens to hold a multimillion-dollar contract to provide garden material to homeowners affected by the state's citrus canker eradication program. A spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said Wal-Mart was the only company interested in the program.

But ideology is at least as likely a motivation for Walton's generosity. He is an ardent supporter of private school voucher programs like those pushed by Bush and has given millions of dollars toward that cause across the country. Another wealthy voucher advocate who has teamed up with Walton, investor Theodore Forstmann of New York, gave $20,000 to the state GOP in June.

With the president's brother facing a re-election challenge, White House connections also play a role. As of Sept. 5, the Republican Party had received nearly 46 percent of its money from out of state, including $973,000 from the Bush family's home state of Texas. Some donors clearly have an interest in federal policy.

The Washington Post reported last month that two weeks after Bacardi-Martini USA gave the Florida Republican Party $50,000, Gov. Bush wrote his brother's appointee in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office urging quick action on behalf of Bacardi in a trademark dispute. Five days after Bush's June 13 letter, Bacardi gave the state party $25,000 more.

Bush denied the contributions had anything to do with the letter. He said he was simply going to bat for an important Florida company.

Likewise, when a cruise ship industry group in June gave $500,000 to the state party, it cited Gov. Bush's leadership in beefing up port security after Sept. 11. But that's not the only thing the industry got from Bush.

Last year Bush killed a plan to tax Miami cruises to pay for a new Florida Marlins stadium. And while other states, particularly Alaska, have taken a hard line on pollution from cruise ships, Florida last year became the only state to embrace industry guidelines for monitoring cruise ship waste.

For all the assurances that money doesn't influence decisions in Tallahassee, at least one interested group doesn't buy it: the folks doling out the campaign donations.

Consider the unusually frank memo that surfaced in June from two Marion County doctors wanting their colleagues to help them prior to meeting with top Republican legislative leaders.

"Talk is cheap, however, and if we are to get their attention, it is important that we show up with sufficient funds to convince them that we are serious," wrote Ocala allergist Karl Altenburger. "We are asking that you make a contribution to the Republican Party of Florida (There is no limit) and send this to us as soon as possible. . . . We have been directed to bring at least $10,000 to each of these events."

-- Times researchers Kitty Bennett and Barbara Oliver contributed to this report. Adam C. Smith can be reached at (727)893-8241 or adam@sptimes.com.

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