Jim McGovern’s War Chest: Loaded with PAC Money

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Sandy Meindersma, GoLocalWorcester Reporter

GoLocalWorcester recently brought you inside the campaign war chests of Senate candidates Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren. Today you will see who is supporting Congressman Jim McGovern.

McGovern has raised nearly $800,000 in the first 15 months since his re-election, and most of it has come from donors outside the 2nd Mass. District. As the campaign season gets underway he still has more than $500,000 in his war chest.

According to the Federal Election Commission, McGovern has raised a total of $799,422, which includes $463,167 in individual donations and $336,225 from political action committees. The itemized donations total $329,464; unitemized donations total $133,703.

According to federal law, campaigns are required to track individual donations, but they do not need to be reported until they exceed $200.

Local Money

$87,176 of McGovern’s donations have come from contributors who live McGovern’s newly configured 2nd Mass. District. 310 individual transactions are recorded, and $25,000 comes from 15 donors.

On the list of large local donors are: James Carbone, president of the Wellness Corporation ($4500), and Howard W. Peterson Jr., president of Peterson Oil ($2500). Also of note is a March 22, 2012 donation of $1000 from David Narkewicz, mayor of Northampton, a town that was not previously in McGovern’s district, but is now, after the redistricting.

Worcester lawyer Michael Angelini, who contributed $500 to McGovern's campaign, spoke very highly of his Congressman. "I've been Jim's supporter for a long time," he said. "The most attractive thing about him is that he is straightforward and transparent. As much as any politician can be, he is honest about his views. He's an independent thinker who's not bound by his ideology."

McGovern has also received small donations from several area voters including: $25 each from Mary Shea and Kenneth Harling of Worcester and $40 from Anthony Costello of Holden. All other donors have contributed at least $50 to McGovern’s campaign.

Scott Zoback, a spokesman for the McGovern campaign, said that small donors are an essential part of McGovern's fundraising activities.

"Congressman McGovern has maintained an aggressive grassroots campaigning and fundraising effort to date, and will continue to do so through 2012. Over 67% of his donations this cycle have been $100 or less, and over 81% have come from Massachusetts donors," Zoback wrote in an email to GoLocalWorcester.

Sources of Other Individual Donations

In addition to the funds McGovern has received locally, he has also picked up $156,116 from Massachusetts residents not living in the new Second Mass. Congressional District, a figure that is nearly twice that of his local receipts. Of the 300 donations, 61 are $1000 or more.

Four donors, Abby A. Rockefeller, Carolyn G. Mugar and Lee S. Halprin of Cambridge, and Katherine A. Deyst of Harvard have already given McGovern the $5000 maximum allowable by law.

The Congressman also received $87,423 from out of state donors, including $1500 from 3 donors in Rhode Island, $1500 from 2 donors in New Hampshire and $2375 from 6 donors in Connecticut. McGovern has not received any campaign contributions from individuals in either Maine or Vermont.

PAC Donations

McGovern has picked up 183 donations from political action committees (PACs), to the tune of more than $336,000, just since January 2011, a figure that exceeds the amount given by his itemized donors.

17 PACs have given in excess of $5000, including three railroad PACs, the Machinist Non Partisan Political League, United Association Political Education Committee and United Food & Commercial Workers International Union PAC.

Robert Sullivan, a spokesman for CSX emailed GoLocalWorcester with this comment regarding the railroad's support of McGovern: "CSX has known Congressman McGovern for many years. We appreciate his distinguished service on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and his leadership on issues of national transportation policy."

Closer to home, eight candidates’ committees have donated to McGovern, including the committees to elect Marty Meehan and John Olver. Meehan is a former Congressman who is currently the chancellor at UMass Lowell, and Olver announced he would retire at the end of his current term.

Local candidates whose committees who have supported McGovern’s bid for re-election include: Vincent Pedone, Kevin Byrne, Kate Toomey and Michael Moore.

Zoback said adequate funds are key to re-election.

"Fundraising is a critical component for getting out a message and introducing yourself to voters, especially in an election year with 400,000 new constituents who have never had Jim McGovern on a ballot," Zoback said. "Additionally, we need to be prepared for any situation in this era of secretive Super-PACs. A group with unknown backers could emerge tomorrow to drop $2 million in advertising against us."