THE CRUNCH: LOCAL MEDIA MOGULS TOP LIST OF MINNESOTA’S BIGGEST POLITICAL GIVERS
By Paul Demko
Minnesota Independent
10/16/08 10:48 AM
MN
Stanley and Karen Hubbard are in a league of their own when it comes
to political contributions. In the first 18 months of this election
cycle the couple doled out $163,500 to federal political candidates
and causes — $40,000 more than the next most generous Minnesota
household. Republicans have largely been the beneficiaries of their
largesse, with more than 80 percent of that money ending up in GOP
coffers.
Stanley Hubbard The owners of Hubbard Broadcasting, which includes KSTP
radio (AM-1500) and TV (Channel 5), are not newcomers to the political
game. Since 1990 Stanley has made 468 political contributions totaling
more than $1 million to federal campaigns across the country, according
to the Center for Responsive Politics. Meanwhile, Karen has distributed
204 donations totaling more than a quarter of a million dollars.
Critics have sometimes accused Hubbard Broadcasting of letting the
owners’ political beliefs interfere with its journalism. Most recently
the company’s flagship TV station aired a rare editorial praising
the behavior of police officers during the Republican National
Convention, despite more than 800 arrests and accusations of police
misconduct. Left unmentioned was the fact that Hubbard Broadcasting
was a corporate sponsor of the event and that Stanley Hubbard served
on the RNC Host Committee’s executive board.
In 2006 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Hatch pilloried the
company for its coverage of a gaffe by running mate Judi Dutcher
regarding ethanol fuel E85. "Stan Hubbard is a political hack and he
has a news media station that is full of political hacks," Hatch said
at the time. "What they did is they took her out of context."
The top 100 givers in the state have made $4.1 million in federal
political contributions since the beginning of 2007, or more than
$40,000 per household. Republican donors have cut checks for $2.3
million, while their Democratic counterparts have contributed $1.8
million. To get a better understanding of the state’s most generous
political patrons, the Minnesota Independent commissioned a study by
the Center for Responsive Politics looking at the top 100 contributors.
In the first six installments of this series we looked at the bottom
90 members of the list, those contributing between $23,000 and
$67,000. Today we hit the top 10. Donors on this section of the list
contributed a total of $1,077,859 to federal political candidates and
causes during the first 18 months of this election cycle. Democrats
dominated this portion of the list, collecting nearly $700,000 from
the top 10 donors.
Right behind the Hubbards on the list is another influential media
figure, John Cowles Jr. A native of Des Moines, Cowles came to
Minneapolis in 1938 after his family purchased the Minneapolis Star
newspaper. He eventually rose to become CEO of Cowles Media Co. and
publisher of its flagship newspaper, the Star Tribune. In 1998 the
company was sold to the McClatchy Co., and since then Cowles has been
a prominent philanthropist and major Democratic contributor. So far
this election cycle, Cowles and his wife, Sage, have given $122,000
to campaigns and causes.
Mark Dayton Not surprisingly, some of the other biggest names in
Democratic political circles crop up at the top of the fundraising
pyramid. Former Sen. Mark Dayton hits fourth place on the list,
contributing at least $105,900 to Democratic campaigns and causes
through the first 18 months of this election cycle. Roughly half
that money ($52,000) went to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee. Although Dayton walked away from the Senate in 2006 after
just one term, he is often rumored to be mulling a run for governor
in 2010. Spreading around lots of cash to Democratic candidates will
undoubtedly endear him to the party faithful.
Not far behind Dayton is his ex-wife, Alida Messinger. The Rockefeller
heir, whose brother is Sen. Jay Rockefeller, has given at least $95,900
to Democratic efforts since the beginning of 2007. Messinger, who is
invariably referred to as secretive in media reports, has long been
one of the most prolific Democratic donors in the country.
A 2003 study by the Center for Public Integrity found that she’d given
$2.3 million to so-called 527 groups during a two-year period, ranking
her behind only Jane Fonda among the country’s most generous donors
to such organizations. She hasn’t stopped writing checks since. An
April study by the Campaign Finance Institute determined that she had
contributed $433,000 to 527 groups in the first 13 months of this
campaign cycle, making her the 11th largest donor to the advocacy
organizations nationwide. She also has written a $1 million check
this year to bolster support for a ballot referendum in Minnesota that
would raise the sales tax to provide funding for the outdoors and arts.
Jim Deal is a relative newcomer to the world of big-time Democratic
donors. The retired insurance executive first made a splash in 2006
when he donated $100,000 to Minnesotans for Change, an organization
set up to thwart Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s re-election plans. "Minnesota’s
on a disastrous collision course," Deal told the Star Tribune at the
time. "Obviously, I’m a liberal."
That outlay of cash may have been made in vain, but it hasn’t
stopped Deal from continuing to be one of the DFL Party’s biggest
backers. Since the beginning of 2007, Deal and his wife, Pamela,
have contributed $119,560 exclusively to Democrats, making them the
third most generous household in the state.
On the Republican side of the ledger are a couple of prominent local
business executives. George Anderson is vice president of operations
at Roseville-based Crown Iron Works. He and his wife, Barbara, have
contributed $94,400 to political campaigns since the beginning of 2007,
with all but $4,400 of that money going toward Republicans. George
Anderson also made a $10,000 contribution in 2006 toward a campaign to
outlaw gay marriage. "I don’t have anything against anyone personally,"
Anderson told Minnesota Public Radio at the time. "But I think it’s
important to keep that definition straightforward, and not muddle
it up."
Brad Anderson Brad Anderson has also been a reliable source of cash for
GOP candidates. The Best Buy CEO, who got his start as a sales clerk
at stereo store Sound of Music, took in compensation of $49.3 million
last year. Roughly $75,000 of that money ended up funding Republican
campaigns. Among his contributions: $10,000 for the Republican Party of
Minnesota and $5,000 for Sen. Norm Coleman’s Northstar Leadership PAC.
Gerard and Cleo Cafesjian are the rarest of big-bucks political donors:
they give generously to both parties. The couple have contributed
a total of $102,700 this election cycle, split between Democrats
and Republicans. Staunch conservatives like Rep. Michele Bachmann
($5,500) have enjoyed their support, as have liberal politicians
like Rep. Betty McCollum ($3,000). Gerard Cafesjian is a prominent
Armenian-American businessman who made his fortune as an executive
at West Publishing Co. The couple is best known for spending $1.2
million to restore the Como Park carousel.
Here’s the complete list of donors occupying slots 1 through 10:
1. Stanley and Karen Hubbard, Lakeland, Hubbard Broadcasting, $163,500
2. John and Sage Cowles, Minneapolis, retired, $122,000
3. Pamela and James Deal, Anoka, NAU Companies, $119,560
4. Mark Dayton, Minneapolis, retired, $105,900
5. Cleo and Gerald Cafesjian, Naples, retired, $102,700
6. Joseph and Christina Sriver, Minneapolis, designer, $100,050
7. John and Sheila Morgan, Minneapolis, Winmark Corp., $96,850
8. Alida Messinger, Minneapolis, philanthropist, $95,900
9. George and Barbara Anderson, Champlin, Crown Iron Works, $94,400
10. Bradbury and Janet Anderson, Minneapolis, Best Buy, $76,999
Previously in The Crunch:
Minnesota’s top 100 political givers: 11 to 20
Minnesota’s top 100 political givers: 21 to 30
Minnesota’s top 100 political givers: 31 to 40
Minnesota’s top 100 political givers: 41 to 50
Minnesota’s top 100 political givers: 51 to 75
Minnesota’s Top 100 political givers: 76 to 100
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
