News

Election 2004

Castor's ties to group draw fire

A group that supports female candidates has provided nearly a third of her money - and a campaign manager.

By ANITA KUMAR
Published July 18, 2004

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TAMPA - One of the first calls Democrat Betty Castor made as she pondered a run for U.S. Senate was to a national political fundraising group, EMILY's List.

After securing the group's backing, Castor decided she needed to "ramp it up" with a new campaign manager. So she called EMILY's List for advice. She took it.

Castor also turned to EMILY's List for cash. The result: more than $1.1-million, almost a third of her total.

Castor's campaign is in almost daily contact with EMILY's List, which supports Democratic women who support abortion rights. Its initials stand for Early Money Is Like Yeast.

"EMILY's List works with them day in and day out," said Jeffrey Garcia, Castor's former campaign manager. "They have a lot of leverage. That's a matter of fact. This is how it works. I was there, I know."

EMILY's List has a designated employee to work with the Castor campaign, who calls daily, sometimes hourly, said Garcia, who said he has kept in touch with the campaign. Other EMILY's List staffers help with publicity, finance and research, such as gathering information on an opponent's record.

Such close ties to a single political group has drawn sharp criticism from Castor's chief rival, U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch, D-Hollywood.

"It's an out-of-state interest group that is trying to buy the election," Deutsch said.

The group is selective: About four times as many Democratic women are running for Congress or governor across the country than the 15 EMILY's List candidates. Staffers spent four months researching Castor before deciding to back her.

"It's Campaign 101," said Ramona Oliver, a spokeswoman for EMILY's List. "We have the opportunity to go after one of the most important Senate races in the country."

Almost immediately after the endorsement, Deutsch began calling on Castor to denounce EMILY's List, which he says "took over" her campaign.

Castor, a former Florida education commissioner, disputes such talk.

"They don't come around and tell you to do this and that," she said. "But they want you to do well."

EMILY's List is not a traditional political action committee. It bundles contributions it solicits from 80,000 members. Checks made out to chosen candidates are sent to EMILY's List, which passes them on to the campaigns in bundles.

About 37 percent of Castor's contributions are from outside Florida, from Fredericksburg, Va., to Cheyenne, Wy., to Independence, Iowa.

Deutsch got about 38 percent of his money from out of state through March, the latest data available.

"What Peter Deutsch is accusing us of - controlling the campaign - that we are a dark nasty force invading Florida to take over the Senate race, is ludicrous," Oliver said.

But Garcia, a Miami political consultant, said Castor is downplaying the real role of EMILY's List. His replacement, Deborah Reed, managed an EMILY's List candidate in Maine, who hired other staffers recommended by EMILY's List.

"Anything short of saying they are playing a massive role in this campaign would be an understatement," said Garcia, who left at the beginning of the year.

EMILY's List touts itself as the nation's largest political action committee, contributing more money than groups like the National Rifle Association and the Teamsters Union.

"It's a very powerful, very well-funded organization," said Derek Willis of the Center for Public Integrity in Washington. "I wouldn't want to go up against them."

But EMILY's List isn't a household name, so some suggest Deutsch's attacks may not work.

"Voters aren't really interested in the sausage-making process," said Dina Fraioli, a Republican political consultant not involved in the Florida Senate race. "It's like when people attack the consultants in the campaign instead of the candidates."

Deutsch said his longtime friend, Bernie Friedman, formed an independent political group, the American Democracy Project, to fight Castor after EMILY's List got involved in the race.

But Deutsch said he wanted no outside groups, including Friedman's, to campaign or raise money during the primary race. "I would wish that they didn't exist but I think you have to put into context what happened," he said.

The most recent polls show Castor, a former University of South Florida president, leading Deutsch and Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas. But they also show at least a quarter of all Democratic voters are undecided.

Penelas said the involvement of outside political groups raises important questions about campaign finance rules.

"All my fundraising has been by me, myself and I," he said. "I wish there was an organization that would be doing this for Alex Penelas."

Castor said she has been an EMILY's List member for years and approached the group when she started thinking about running last year.

The organization began a months-long review that included testing her strength in polls, her base of support and her ability to raise money and develop a network. It also looked at opponents, Florida's voter history and the Democratic strength in the state.

When endorsing Castor in September, EMILY's List president Ellen Malcolm cited Castor's experience and said she was a centrist whose views are in line with those of most Floridians.

The group also supported Castor because she is the only Democratic candidate who has been elected statewide, she is well known in the crucial Central Florida area and she has education and economic development experience, Oliver said.

Added benefits: It's an open seat - incumbent Democrat Bob Graham is retiring - and the two major opponents are from the same part of the state, South Florida.

EMILY's List was founded by Malcolm almost two decades ago when she and 25 friends had a party in her basement, calling friends for donations.

The organization is considered a pioneer of bundling, a technique copied many times over by other groups, such as the Club for Growth, which endorsed Republican Senate candidate Johnnie Byrd.

"It's very difficult for women to be taken seriously as candidates," Oliver said. "We level the financial playing field."

EMILY's List members contributed more than $29-million through June, $6.7-million of it for candidates. It claims to have helped 74 Democratic women get elected, including Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Dianne Feinstein of California. Besides Castor, it also is helping Debbie Wasserman Schultz run for Deutsch's South Florida seat in Congress.

EMILY's List mails out candidate profiles regularly to its members. It also e-mails and occasionally calls. "Castor continues to lead the primary field, but her well-funded opponents are spending massive sums to attack her credibility and eliminate her lead," a recent e-mail said.

In the past three months, Castor collected 5,870 donations from EMILY's List members; 5,315 from out-of-state and 555 from Florida. The average donation was $125.

"These contributions are all from individuals, people who share your views, people who read about you, like what they saw," Castor said. "That's what it's all about."

- Times staff writer Matt Waite and researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report. Anita Kumar can be reached at 727 803-8472 or kumar@sptimes.com

[Last modified July 17, 2004, 23:36:24]

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