Thursday, January 30, 2014

Democratic Debates on PCN

from the inbox:

On Friday, February 7 beginning at 4:30 p.m., PCN will air LIVE coverage of a democratic candidates forum from the Hotel Hershey.
 Hosted by the Democratic State Committee Women’s Caucus, the event will first feature the democratic candidates vying for the chance to run for Lieutenant Governor on the November ballot. The democratic gubernatorial candidates will follow. 

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Murphy's MSNBC "Taking the Hill" Becomes a Regular Program

Patrick Murphy, who represented the 8th congressional district for two terms and was the first Iraq War veteran elected to Congress, has a new venture.  In December he hosted a program on MSNBC focusing on veterans' issues.  

The program, "Taking the Hill," (also the title of Murphy's autobiography) will be a regular addition to the channel's schedule.  The show will be live from 30 Rockefeller Center on Sunday, January 26th at 1 p.m. EST; it will air the fourth Sunday of each month in 2014.  

Thie s first episode will feature a Wounded Warrior Project documentary on using exercise as a way to deal with PTSD; a discussion on sexual assaults in the military with Senator Kristen Gillibrand, MSNBC contributor Jack Jacobs and Anu Bhagwati, executive director of SWAN (Service Women’s Action Network, a nonpartisan civil rights organization founded and led by women veterans that seeks to transform military culture by securing equal opportunity and the freedom to serve without discrimination, harassment or assault).

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Jared Solomon Update

from the inbox:

 Jared Solomon’s campaign for the 202nd Legislative District has continued to gain momentum.  On January 15, 2014, nearly 100 Northeast Philadelphia residents attended a community dinner held at Casa Brasil on Buselton Avenue in Lower Northeast Philadelphia.
“The feedback we’ve gotten to these dinners—and this campaign-- is nothing short of amazing,” said Jared Solomon. “Since announcing my candidacy just over a month ago, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.  We’re already hitting the streets with dozens of volunteers a week, and hearing directly from the voters.  It’s very clear—our volunteers are ready, our donors are ready, and the voters are ready.  They want action, and we are going to bring it.”
The event at Casa Brasil is part of a series of “community dinners” the Solomon campaign is hosting throughout the 202nd District. This free dinner gives residents an opportunity to hear from Jared about the issues in an informal setting—without costing taxpayers a single dime.
Fundraising has also proved incredibly successful for the campaign.  Though only officially a candidate for less than a month prior to the filing deadline, Friends of Jared Solomon raised over $65,000 from more than 450 donors in 2013.   
“The most impressive part of Jared’s fundraising is the diversity of donors,” said George Matysik, Campaign Chair for Friends of Jared Solomon.  “Jared’s not just relying on a few special interest groups to fund this movement—he has over 450 people investing in this campaign.  Hundreds of Northeast residents are already investing time and money in Jared’s campaign because they are ready to bring a new day to Northeast Philly.”

Counterpoint PA with Aaron DiDonato on YouTube

Aaron DiDonato has created a Pennsylvania politics based video series called Counterpoint PA.  The most recent video is on pro and anti choice bills in the PA legislature.  The video before that is on judicial reforms.  DiDonato tweets as @ProgPatriotPA .  The videos are short, five or six minutes long, but very informative.

Constitution Center Highlights Amendments in February

from the inbox:

The National Constitution Center is profiling one amendment a day in February! 27 Amendments (in 27 Days) is a fun and educational crash course in constitutional history, from the Bill of Rights to congressional salaries, and everything in between. The museum will kick off the new initiative in grand style with a First Amendment Fairfeaturing a sampling of Philadelphia’s arts and culture organizations, civic institutions, and media outlets on Saturday, February 1, 2014 from 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Representatives from the Arden Theatre Company, Handwork Studio, MetroKids, Philadbundance, and more will be on hand to celebrate the First Amendment with hands-on craft activities and prizes.
 Additional programming highlights include: 
·         Monday, February 3, 2014 – National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen will convene an esteemed panel of privacy experts including Anita L. Allen of the University of Pennsylvania, Charlie Savage, Washington correspondent for the New York Times, and Peter Swire, recent appointee to President Obama’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies, for a frank discussion on the future of the NSA and privacy in connection with the Fourth Amendment. This FREE program takes place at 6 p.m. in the F.M. Kirby Auditorium at the National Constitution Center.
 ·         Saturday, February 8, 2014 – Special activities include an interactive program on the Eighth Amendment presented in partnership with Eastern State Penitentiary.

·         Thursday, February 13, 2014  Visitors will have the chance to take a close look at the museum’s rare printing of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by President Abraham Lincoln and learn more about its history and the background of the 13th14th, and 15th Amendments. Plus, visitors will have the opportunity to get an exclusive sneak peek of the museum’s summer feature exhibition. 
·         Friday, February 14, 2014 – Museum guests can celebrate the 14th Amendment and Frederick Douglass through special programs and activities. 
·         Saturday, February 15, 2014 – Learn more about the 15th Amendment, which prohibits the use of race in determining which citizens can vote. Amendments that directly impact the limits and powers of the Executive Branch also will be explored as part of the museum’s Presidents Day Weekend activities (Feb. 15 – 17).
 Throughout February, visitors are encouraged to submit their proposal for a new amendment to be added to the U.S. Constitution, both onsite in the museum’s main exhibition, and online via the museum’s Facebook page and constitutioncenter.org. In addition, a poll question that corresponds with each of the current amendments will be asked daily to visitors. On Friday, February 28, the crowd sourced 28th Amendment will be revealed during a daytime Town Hall event hosted by Kathy O’Connell of WXPN’s Kids Corner.
 The museum has partnered with Kids Corner to record a series of 10-minute overviews on each of the amendments with National Constitution Center Vice President of Education and Visitor Experience Kerry Sautner. The new series will debut on Kids Corner on Mondays beginning February 3, 2014. The Constitution Center also is partnering with KYW Newsradio for a series of 60-second vignettes that will run on the station throughout the month of February.
 A series of educational videos, one on each amendment, is being developed in conjunction with University of Pennsylvania Law School Professor Kermit Roosevelt. The first series of videos will be available to view here beginning February 1.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

New Report on Voting Access

The Center for American Progress Action Fund has done a study of voting access in 17 swing states, including Pennsylvania.  The report is a 95 page pdf,  Unequal Access: A County-by-County Analysis of Election Administration in Swing States in the 2012 Election by Anna Chu, Joshua Field, and Charles Posner, with Pennsylvania on p. 39 of the print, or p. 43 of the online version (full table on p. 83 of print, 87 of online).  

Key PA findings:

  • Pike County stood out on two election administration factors—it was the worst of the Pennsylvania counties we examined on the rate of absentee ballots rejected and the rate of voters removed from the voter rolls.
  • Columbia County fared poorly on election administration factors as well, but stood out for poor voter participation rates. It had the fourth-worst voter turnout rate and the fifth-worst voter registration rate.
  • Mifflin County also had poor voter participation rates. It had the worst voter registration rate in the state and the third-worst voter turnout rate.
  • Although Philadelphia County did not appear at the top of the list for poor election performance, it is worth noting its poor performance in terms of provisional ballots. Philadelphia County had the worst rate of provisional ballots cast among the counties examined in Pennsylvania, at more than 4 percent of all ballots cast on Election Day. Its rate of provisional ballots cast was more than eight times the state average. According to reports, the debacle on provisional ballots in Philadelphia County was caused in part by the failure of some polling locations to have supplemental poll books with voter registration information and some poll workers who instructed voters to cast provisional ballots without checking supplemental poll books. A disturbing report by city commissioners found that the majority of voters forced to vote provisionally should have been able to cast regular ballots.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Old News (Unfortunately): All-Male Congressional Subcommittee Decides on Women's Health

Same old same old same old men in Congress, once again, deciding what sort of health care women can have.  Read "All Male Congressional Committee Considers Imposing Far-Reaching Abortion Restrictions," by Tara Culp-Ressler," Think Progress 1/09/2014.  (courtesy of MsRepresentation).  Note the necessity to provide legal evidence of rape to be allowed a rape exception.  The links in the article go to other interesting resources.

PA Teacher Finalist for Teacher of the Year

There are four finalists for the national Teacher of the Year Award.  One is from Pennsylvania:

Ryan Devlin is an 11th-grade English and 9- 12th-grade technology teacher at Brockway Area Junior/Senior High School in Brockway, Pennsylvania, where he has taught for seven years and serves as head of the English department. Devlin also serves as the school's head cross country coach and the senior high gifted advisor. He is an active member of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, National Education Association, and the Brockway Area Education Association. Outside of school, he frequently speaks at state conferences and college campuses and is a cooperating teacher for Clarion University's student teaching program. Devlin also helped write Pennsylvania's new Core Standards English Language Arts Curriculum and over the years has won multiple grants for his innovative use of technology in the classroom. "Today's children will indeed become tomorrow's leaders, so we must teach them ways to find creative solutions to complex problems through collaborating with others and making the best use of technology," Devlin said. With a B.A. in secondary English education from Waynesburg University and a Master's in Educational Leadership from California University of Pennsylvania, Devlin also holds teaching certificates in English (grades 7-12), business/computers (grades K-12), and library science (grades K-12).

Monday, January 13, 2014

Philly Campaign Training

There are two upcoming campaign training events for women in the Philadelphia area.

The first:

The EMILY's List Political Opportunity Program (POP) recruits and trains pro-choice Democratic women to run for office at the state and local level -- and we're coming to Pennsylvania. Join us for our Saturday, January 25th POP training in Philadelphia.

Whether you're just thinking about running for office or are currently serving at the local level, EMILY's List is here to help you take the right steps to get your campaign off to a solid start. If you give us a day, we will give you the tools you need to run a strong campaign and win.

The second:

The Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics at Chatham University is, again, holding a Ready to Run campaign training session in Philadelphia on February 15, 2014, from 8:00 am to 5:45 pm at Drexel University.  

Slate's Vault a Philly Venture

Slate.com has a number of interesting blogs.  One of my new favorites is The Vault, their history blog.  The writer, Rebecca Onion, is a Philly-based historian and writer.  Definitely worth a look.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

NCC on Online Privacy

from the inbox, information on an upcoming National Constitution Center event:

Former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden took online privacy concerns to a whole new level in 2013 when he leaked documents to The Guardian, proving the agency tapped into user data from Apple, Facebook, Google, and others as part of its PRISM surveillance program. A presidential task force has recommended an overhaul of the NSA program and federal court judges are torn between whether the data collection is or is not unconstitutional and in violation of the Fourth Amendment—ensuring the debate over federal privacy laws and the reach of the federal government will continue to grab headlines in 2014. National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen will convene an esteemed panel of privacy experts including Anita L. Allen of the University of Pennsylvania, Charlie Savage, Washington correspondent for the New York Times, and Peter Swire, recent appointee to President Obama’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies, for a frank discussion on the future of the NSA and privacy on Monday, February 3, 2014 at 6 p.m. A 5 p.m. reception with light refreshments will precede the discussion. This program is co-sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania.   

Thursday, January 09, 2014

Philadelphia's Promise Zone Strategies

from the inbox:

For decades before the economic crisis, local communities were transformed as jobs were sent overseas and middle class Americans worked harder and harder but found it more difficult to get ahead.  Announced in last year’s State of the Union Address, the Promise Zone Initiative is part of the President’s plan to create a better bargain for the middle-class by partnering with local communities and businesses to create jobs, increase economic security, expand educational opportunities, increase access to quality, affordable housing and improve public safety.  Today, the President announced the next step in those efforts by naming the first five “Promise Zones”. 

The first five Zones, located in San Antonio, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Southeastern Kentucky, and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, have each put forward a plan on how they will partner with local business and community leaders to make investments that reward hard work and expand opportunity.  In exchange, these designees will receive the resources and flexibility they need to achieve their goals.
Each of these designees knows and has demonstrated that it takes a collaborative effort – between private business and federal, state, tribal and local officials; faith-based and non-profit organizations; children and parents – to ensure that hard work leads to a decent living for every American, in every community.

Philadelphia, PA (West Philadelphia)
The City of Philadelphia’s key strategies include:
o   Putting people back to work through skills training and adult education; classes on small business development to support entrepreneurs; loans and technical assistance for small resident-owned businesses; and the development of a supermarket providing both jobs and access to healthy food.
o   Improving high-quality education to prepare children for careers, in partnership with Drexel University and the William Penn Foundation, through increasing data-driven instruction that informs teacher professional development; developing school cultures that are conducive to teaching and learning; mentoring middle and high school youth with focus on college access and readiness; and increasing parent engagement.
o   Preventing and reducing crime in order to attract new residents and long-term investments, through strategies such as focused deterrence, hot spots policing, and foot patrol.

The Birds and the Trees

This fall I put a birdfeeder just outside our kitchen window, a clear plastic feeder hanging from a tall shepherd's crook.  Initially not many birds visited, though a pair of cardinals would stop by and pick out the sunflower seeds.  Most of the birdfood was nabbed by enterprising chipmunks.  Mr. J put a baffle on the shepherd's crook that foiled the chipmunks and as the weather got cooler more birds were eating at the feeder.

We keep a national bird book and a pamphlet on Pennsylvania birds near the window.  So far, in addition to the cardinal family, I've spotted a number of sparrows (sometimes up to six at a time), a black capped chickadee, wrens, and a purple finch.  At present I fill the feeder around every three days, or whenever it is completely empty, with two cups of standard birdseed (song bird variety), and an additional handful of sunflower seeds to keep the cardinals happy.

The entire family (including, perhaps especially, the cats) enjoys watching the birds and see what types of birds visit.  I'm thinking of putting another feeder out in the yard, perhaps aimed at different kinds of birds.

In the spring the birds will build or refurbish nests and raise young.  Most of this will involve trees.  There is an interesting post on DailyKos today, citing research published in the Guardian, on the selection of trees in landscaping.  Chosing native trees is important because natives usually attract more varieties of caterpillars, which birds feed to their young.  Fewer varieties of caterpillars means less food for the birds.  Interesting thought.  You can read more here.

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

More Solomon Articles

More news coverage of Jared Solomon's campaign for the 202nd state house seat:

By Tom Waring and Andrew Miller, 12/12/13, Northeast Times

By El Sol Latino Newspaper, 12/12/13

By Joe Shaheeli, 12/12/13, Philadelphia Public Record

By Tom Waring, 12/4/13, Northeast Times

Local Politicos in the News

A few recent articles that might be of interest:

Jared Solomon, Democratic candidate for the 202nd state house district is profiled in today's Inquirer:  "Castor Gardens activist seeks to unseat state Rep. Mark Cohen," by Dan Geringer, 1/06

State Rep. Madeleine Dean featured in "In a hurry to make a difference," by Jessica Parks, Inquirer 1/02

State Senators Larry Farnese, Mike Stack, and Daylin Leach appear in "Dems turn up the heat on guv to back nondiscrimination, marriage equality bills," by Jenny DeHuff, Inquirer 1/06

New Baby for Boyle

State Rep. Brendan Boyle (currently a candidate for the 13th congressional district) and his wife welcomed a baby on January 2nd.  What a wonderful way to celebrate the start of a new year!  Congratulations to the Boyle family.  For details follow his Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/brendan.boyle.7165).

Monday, January 06, 2014

Monday is a Big Day

Lots of things going on Monday.  Montco has some firsts or "hasn't happened for a long time" events.

In Ambler, Jeanne Sorg will be sworn in as the first female mayor.

In Abington, the township commissioners have a Democratic majority for the first time since 1978.  Margaret Gibbons has the details in the Intelligencer ("Abington dems ready to take control,")  Commissioner Lori Schreiber sent out this press release:

In advance of the January 6 Abington Township Board of Commissioners Organizational Meeting, Commissioners Wayne Luker (Ward 5), Lori Schreiber (Ward 14), and Steven Kline (Ward 1)—leadership of the Board’s new Democratic Majority Caucus—are excited to announce that the caucus has convened to define goals and priorities for the upcoming year. In a joint statement, these veteran Commissioners said, “Abington Township is a very well-run township with a seasoned staff of experts, and we intend to rely heavily on that expertise. However, improvements can be found for even the finest of operations. Therefore, the majority Commissioners would like to begin by focusing in the areas of Economic Development, Communications, and Budgeting.” In their remarks, they also explained that there are some areas in which they are inheriting obvious problems, and so it is important from the start to conduct some internal assessments, determine which areas need improvement or updating, and establish reasonable timeframes to implement solutions and innovations.
The first step towards accomplishing these goals will be the election of the new Board President and Vice President during the Board’s Organizational Meeting on Monday, January 6 at 7:30pm. At this time, the new majority will nominate Wayne Luker—a 22-year veteran of the Board—as President and Steven Kline as Vice-President. Both Commissioners have been endorsed by the entire caucus, which also includes Commissioners John Spiegelman (Ward 11) and Tom Bowman (Ward 15) and Commissioners-Elect Michael Markman (Ward 2), Jimmy DiPlacido (Ward 4), Ben Sanchez (Ward 7), and Tom Hecker (Ward 10). The majority caucus is confident that this leadership has the skills and vision necessary to guide the Board’s agenda in the service of all Township residents. Moreover, the new majority looks forward to bringing its collective abilities, experience, and creative, forward-thinking ideas to the task of further advancing Abington as the region’s premier first-ring suburban community, and to working with the entire Board of Commissioners to get the job done.



Highest Paid Public Employees

Chris Cillizza, who writes the Washington Post's Fix blog, presents a fascinating infographic of the highest paid state employees in all 50 states.  Before clicking through try to guess what the most common job description is.  Something is terribly wrong with our collective priorities.

Friday, January 03, 2014

FEC Report Roundup: Second Quarter 2013

I’m still playing catch up with the quarterly FEC Reports.  This post covers the 2nd quarter 2013, April - June.

You can browse these reports yourself at www.fec.gov.  As always I apologize in advance for any errors or misinterpretations.  I am neither a lawyer nor an accountant, just an interested observer and these thoughts should be taken as such. 

Where there are two numbers separated by a slash, the first is the amount for this quarter and the second is the amount for the election cycle.

Watch the ratio of  itemized (over $250 donations), unitemized (smaller donations), and PAC ratios.  In open races or in challenger’s reports, there are usually fewer PAC donations.  They like to stick with people they are fairly certain are going to win. 

Reports can be arranged alphabetically, chronologically, or scrambled.

6th Congressional District 

Jim Gerlach, Republican (incumbent)   

Receipts
Itemized 82,849.00
Unitemized 6,508.00
Total of Contributions from Individuals 89,357.00 / 202,307.00
Political Party Committees: 
PACs:  217,000.00 / 406,000.00
The Candidate:    0.00
Total Contributions:  306,357.00 / 608,307.00
Loans Made by the Candidate:  0.00
Offsets to Operating Expenditures (Refunds, etc.):  0.00 / 14,723.08
Other Receipts:  825.71 / 1,799.98
Total Receipts:  307,182.71 / 624,830.06
Disbursements
Operating Expenditures: 107,434.46 / 269,289.87
Total Refunds:  0.00 / 1,000.00
Other Disbursements: 33,100.00 / 33,200.00
Total Disbursements: 140,534.46 / 303,489.87
Cash Summary.
Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period 477,093.88
Total Receipts 307,182.71
Total Disbursements  140,534.46
Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period 643,742.13

Gerlach’s report is arranged chronologically so it is difficult to track multiple donations by the same person.  Of the 95 individual itemized donations 20 were from out of state.  One new donor reached the $5200 limit for the election cycle.  Notable names include Elsie Hillman and Bruce Toll.  There were donations from multiple employees of Pension Co., Ringler Associates, Novogradac & Co., Urban Engineers, and the Temple University Health Sys.  Among PACs there were clusters in finance, insurance, health care, energy, and real estate.  Interesting individual PACs – Pizza Hut PAC, and a donation from the NEA.  The National Structure Settlements Trade Association has donated a total of $10K. 

In disbursements the Gula Graham Group received almost $20K for fundraising, and was reimbursed over $16K for expenses.  Power 8 Political Consulting received about $18K.  the campaign paid over $7K for FEC compliance.  There were travel reimbursements, including a hotel stay at a Ritz Carlton.  The campaign bought $3K worth of golf shirts.  There were also payments to other political committees, $27,500 to the National Republican Congressional Committee, $1K to the county Republican committees in Montco, Lebanon and Berks Counties, and $2,500 to the Chester County Republicans. 

7th Congressional District 

Pat Meehan, Republican (incumbent)   

Receipts
Itemized 150,900.00
Unitemized 4,970.00
Total of Contributions from Individuals 155,870.00 / 284,787.00
Political Party Committees: 0.00
PACs:  245,967.00 / 330,527.11
The Candidate:    0.00 / 153.66
Total Contributions:  401,837.00 / 615,467.77
Loans Made by the Candidate:  0.00
Offsets to Operating Expenditures (Refunds, etc.):  384.00 / 420.00
Total Receipts:  402,221.00 / 615,887.77
Disbursements
Operating Expenditures:  104,221.71 / 369,156.28
Other Disbursements: 0.00
Total Disbursements: 104,221.71 / 369,156.28
Cash Summary.
Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period 1,061,137.90
Total Receipts 402,221.00
Total Disbursements   104,221.71
Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period 1,359,137.19

Of the 160 itemized individual donations 45 were from out of state.  There were 5 new donors who have given $5200 and will not be able to donate any further in the election cycle.  Notable individual names:  Elsie Hillman, William Sasso, and Joe Grace.  There were a number of lawyers in the list of donors.  Two employees of the Greater Philly Chamber of Commerce donated.  Among the individual donor’s occupations we find a portrait artist, a bridal consultant, an anesthesiologist, and a plumber.  There was a dizzying array of PACs in the PAC list.  As an example, next to each other on the report were the Human Society and the Institute of Makers of Explosives.  There were a cluster of unions (IBEW, government employees, postal workers, etc).  Comcast Corp has now donated $10,000.  There was a donation from KochPac.  Meehan also received donations from out of state politicos, Pete Roskam’s PAC, Eric Cantor’s PAC, Pete Sessions for Congress, and Kevin McCarthy for congress.

In disbursements, the campaign paid rent, about $1300 for website maintenance, cable tv, and travel expenses or reimbursement (EZPass, airfare, a Ritz Carlton, and two Hyatts).  The Theodore Co received around $20K.  The campaign paid $6K for FEC compliance.  Red Maverick Media received $8K.  County Republican committees in Chester ($5K), Montco ($1K), Lancaster ($1K), and Berks ($1500) were paid for event sponsorship or tickets or the like.  Also, Caitlin Ganley, who was (is?) Meehan’s district director received a $10K consulting retainer (I double checked the amount on the FEC pdf report; it is $10,000).


8th Congressional District 

Mike Fitzpatrick, Republican (incumbent)   

Receipts
Itemized 184,952.50
Unitemized 23,525.50
Total of Contributions from Individuals 208,478.00 / 415,201.16
Political Party Committees:  0.00
PACs:  255,475.00 / 359,945.00
The Candidate:   0.00
Total Contributions:  463,953.00 / 775,146.16
Transfers from Other Authorized Committees:  37,897.03 / 37,897.03
Loans Made by the Candidate: 
Offsets to Operating Expenditures (Refunds, etc.):  0.00 / 491.00
Other Receipts:  44.91 / 82.77
Total Receipts:  501,894.94 / 813,616.96
Disbursements
Operating Expenditures:  96,457.67 / 350,774.17
Other Disbursements: 250.00 / 2,250.0
Total Disbursements: 96,707.67 / 353,024.17
Cash Summary.
Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period 275,478.45
Total Receipts 501,894.94
Total Disbursements   96,707.67
Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period 680,665.72

Fitzpatrick’s reports are arranged chronologically.  Of the 263 itemized donors, 37 were from out of state.  Two donors made two donations each which equaled $5200 and therefore cannot contribute again in this election cycle.  Notable donors include Phil English, Vahan Gureghian, Manuel Stamatakis, Nick DeBenedictis, William Sasso, and the Chicksaw Nation (listed as an individual donor).  There were clusters of attorneys, construction executives, engineers, and paint manufacturers.  Several employees of the Navmar Applied Sciences (which looks to be a defense contractor, something about drones). 

In PACs, the Congressman has amassed an amazing amount of support from other politicians, such a combined total of $10K from Eric Cantor’s leadership PAC, ERIC PAC, a combined total of $10K from JEB PAC, donations from Darryl Issa’s PAC, Conrad Burns’s PAC, Jeff Denham’s PAC, and on and on and on.  The largest is a $37K transfer from Patriot Day I, a Republican multi-candidate fund.  This was a tricky organization to research.  The FEC report lists it as Patriot Day 1 but it is actually Patriot Day I.  There are several Patriot Day accounts, all of which are associated with (or managed by) a law firm that handles a large number of Republican political accounts.  Fitzpatrick’s FEC report lists the donors whose money was transferred to his account, including John Boehner.  There are also profession or corporate based PACs, such as KOCHPAC, Wal-Mart PAC, and Sea World PAC.  There are several bank and credit union PACs.  It really is a breath-taking list.  I am impressed. 

In disbursements, there is one paid employee.  KC consulting received $11K, the Theodore Company $36K, $6K for website development, Campaign Financial Services received $16K.  There is another $4K to another fundraising firm, $3K to Temperance House for catering.  The campaign paid car rental fees and a lot of money for gas, as well as train and airfare payments.  A debt to Amex for $4k is listed, but looking ahead, it appears to have been paid by the 3rd quarter.



Shaughnessy Naughton, Democrat  

Receipts
Itemized 49,916.00
Unitemized 0.00
Total of Contributions from Individuals 49,916.00
Political Party Committees:  0.00
PACs:  1,000.00
The Candidate:  100.00 
Total Contributions:  51,016.00
Loans Made by the Candidate:  38,000.00
Offsets to Operating Expenditures (Refunds, etc.): 
Total Receipts:  89,016.00
Disbursements
Operating Expenditures:  80.92
Other Disbursements: 0.00
Total Disbursements: 80.92
Cash Summary.
Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period 0.00
Total Receipts 89,016.00
Total Disbursements   80.92
Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period 88,935.08

I feel for the person preparing this report; it is an amended report and still shows signs of being done by someone not acquainted with doing them.   There are not unitemized donations listed but that is misleading.  The itemized receipts page lists donations as small as $20, when it should only list those over $250.  The donors are listed alphabetically which makes it easier to track repeat donations.  Of the 203 donations listed, 61 were from out of state.  No donors reached the $5200 maximum allowed for the election cycle.  Notable names include Thomas Knox and Judith von Seldeneck.  There were three donors with the name Dessertine and a Dessertine family trust.  There were six donors named Morrow.  Donor occupations include clusters of teachers (several of these) and real estate agents.  Other interesting occupations include stone mason, Microsoft executive, diplomat and architect.  The Friends of Dan McCaffery donated $1,000.  The candidate provided loans totaling $38,000.  There is also a debt listed but it is to the candidate and I think may be part of the aforementioned loan, but am not certain.


Kevin Strouse, Democrat  

Receipts
Itemized 181,899.66
Unitemized 18,191.36
Total of Contributions from Individuals 200,091.02
Political Party Committees:  0.00
PACs:  18,500.00
The Candidate:    35,175.00
Total Contributions:  253,766.02
Loans Made by the Candidate:  0.00
Offsets to Operating Expenditures (Refunds, etc.):  0.00
Total Receipts:  253,766.05
Disbursements
Operating Expenditures:  35,504.26
Other Disbursements: 0.00
Total Disbursements: 35,504.26
Cash Summary.
Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period 0.00
Total Receipts 253,766.05
Total Disbursements   35,504.26
Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period 218,261.79

Strouse’s reports are arranged alphabetically.  Of the 170 donations (reduced from the listed number to account for noted duplicate donations by some individuals) 77 were from out of state.  Twelve donors have contributed the maximum amount allowed for an election cycle ($5200); three of those twelve were named Strouse.  Notable donors include Dennis Alter (who gives his occupation as tourist), Betsy Sheerr, Richard Hayne (Urban Outfitters), and Dr. Manan Trivedi.  Occupational clusters include doctors, finance, and government analysts.  There was also an actor, an artist, a tennis coach, and a senior policy advisor at Third Way.  In PACs there were several relating to military or veterans concerns.  There were a handful of political committees, such as the Friends of Jared Polis, and Nancy Pelosi for Congress.  The candidate has contributed about $35K of his own money. 

In disbursements, there was one paid employee.  The campaign paid New Media Campaigns $5K for internet, and bought NGP software used for tracking and filing campaign donations.


13th Congressional District

Incumbent Democrat Allyson Schwartz is running for governor; she is still filing FEC reports but they are not included here and will be dealt with separately.

Dr. Valerie Arkoosh, Democrat   

Receipts
Itemized 255,620.34
Unitemized 22,178.10
Total of Contributions from Individuals 277,798.44 / 494,563.44
Political Party Committees: 0.00 
PACs:  7,500.00 / 9,000.00
The Candidate:   0.00
Total Contributions:  285,298.44 / 503,563.44
Loans Made by the Candidate: 0.00
Offsets to Operating Expenditures (Refunds, etc.): 0.00 
Total Receipts:  285,298.44 / 503,563.44
Disbursements
Operating Expenditures:  40,105.09 / 43,907.70
Other Disbursements: 0.00
Total Disbursements: 40,105.09 / 43,907.70
Cash Summary.
Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period 214,462.39
Total Receipts 285,298.44
Total Disbursements  40,105.09  
Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period 459,655.74

I counted 21 donors who have now donated the full legal amount for the 2014 election cycle but as the report is scrambled it is too difficult to figure out how many of those are duplicate listings.  Ditto with the roughly 154 donations out of the 366 which are from out of state.  Notable donors include Lynn Yeakel, attorney Daniel McElhatton, Peter Buttenwieser, and Rosemarie Greco.  In with the standard captains of industry and professional occupations, Arkoosh received donations from a retired storyteller, the COO of the Phillies, a teacher, a metalsmith, and a journalist.  In PACS, there were three medical groups and another donation from the Women’s Campaign Fund.

In disbursements, there were three paid employees, payments for rent, air and train travel, $6K for website work, and $3K for FEC compliance.


Brendan Boyle, Democrat

Receipts
Itemized 138,578.00
Unitemized 17,349.00
Total of Contributions from Individuals 155,927.0
Political Party Committees:  0.00 
PACs:  96,800.00
The Candidate:   0.00
Total Contributions:  252,727.00
Loans Made by the Candidate:  0.00
Offsets to Operating Expenditures (Refunds, etc.):  0.00
Total Receipts:  252,727.00
Disbursements
Operating Expenditures:  28,065.18
Other Disbursements: 0.00
Total Disbursements: 28,065.18
Cash Summary.
Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period 0.00
Total Receipts 252,727.00
Total Disbursements   28,065.18
Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period  224,661.82

Only 18 of 158 donations from out of state and some are multiples from the same people.  I counted seven donors who have given the total allowed for the entire election, and cannot donate any more.  Two of these are the candidate and his wife, another two are two of the Susquehanna International Group trio who gave a significant amount of money to Anthony Williams gubernatorial campaign in 2010.  They are strong supporters of charter schools.  Among the others who donated are a tennis instructor, a waiter, a chef, three funeral directors, Det Ansinn, Alan Butkovitz, State reps, Kevin Boyle, Michael Carroll,  Richard Mirabito, former State rep Babette Josephs, the Lenfests,  the lieutenant governor of Illinois, and the standard assortment of doctors, lawyers, and Indian chiefs (ceos).  Of the PACs that contributed, there were several union related contributions, several state rep and Philadelphia ward campaign committees, $1000 from Students First PAC, and two Irish related committees.

In disbursements he paid $7K for fundraising services, $3K for accounting services, $3800 for setting up a website, a little over $4K for design and printing services.  There was one paid employee.


Daylin Leach, Democrat   

Receipts
Itemized 278,939.14
Unitemized 34,851.70
Total of Contributions from Individuals 313,790.84
Political Party Committees:  0.00
PACs:  33,800.00
The Candidate:    10,000.00
Total Contributions:  357,590.84
Loans Made by the Candidate:  0.00
Offsets to Operating Expenditures (Refunds, etc.):  0.00
Total Receipts:  357,590.84
Disbursements
Operating Expenditures:  77,227.22
Refunds: 3,100.00
Other Disbursements: 0.00
Total Disbursements: 80,327.22
Cash Summary.
Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period 0.00
Total Receipts 357,590.84
Total Disbursements   80,327.22
Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period 277,263.62

Leach’s reports are arranged alphabetically.  He received a lot of donations through the ActBlue national online fundraising tool.  However, very few of his donations are from out of state.  It is hard to get an accurate count of total donations because those coming through ActBlue have two lines in the report, one for the donation and one for ActBlue.  There were 25 out of state donations which is a small percentage of the total; I would guess around 10% or so.  Ten donors have contributed $5200, the total allowed for the entire election cycle.  There were several donations from people who are or were in the state legislature (house and senate) and also those who work there.  Other notable names:  Joe Hoeffel, H. F. Lenfest, Jeffry and Marsha Perselman, Betsy Sheerr, and Dr. Manan Trivedi.  There were occupational clusters for attorneys, mental health, and the standard business executives.  There were also three librarians, two writers, two teachers, the president of PA Planned Parenthood, an arts consultant, and a food blogger. 

The PAC donations reflected some of the individual donations, with a number of state political PACs contributing, most associated with a particular candidate, such as the Friends of Rob Teplitz, and Citizens for Hughes.  There were two animal rights groups and two marijuana legalization groups.

In disbursements, Leach’s use of online technology is evident.  Along with Amtrak travel expenses, the campaign also used priceline.com and uber taxi service.  In addition to paying $14K to Devine Mulvey Longabaugh for media, there were a total of around $3K in payments for Facebook advertising.  There were three paid employees.  In addition a fundraising consultant, Vanessa DeRose, was paid $15K.  An Internet consultant received $2500.  Another fundraising consultant received $3K.   The campaign paid $2100 for NGP campaign software. 


Marjorie Margolies, Democrat  

Receipts
Itemized 173,000.00
Unitemized 4,345.00
Total of Contributions from Individuals 177,345.00
Political Party Committees:  0.00
PACs:  8,000.00
The Candidate:    0.00
Total Contributions:  185,345.00
Loans Made by the Candidate:  0.00
Offsets to Operating Expenditures (Refunds, etc.):  0.00
Total Receipts:  185,345.00
Disbursements
Operating Expenditures:  24,378.73
Other Disbursements: 1,000.00
Total Disbursements: 25,378.73
Cash Summary.
Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period 0.00
Total Receipts 185,345.00
Total Disbursements   25,378.73
Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period 159,966.27

Just over half, 67 of 130, of the donations were from out of state.  A total of 13 donors have reached the election cycle limit of $5200.  There are some big national names on the donor list:  Lanny Davis, Martin Frost, Harold Ickes, Vernon Jordan, Thomas “Mack” McLarty, Anthony Podesta, Robert O. Rubin, and Donna Shalala.  Local notables Marcel Groen, Joan Specter, and Dr. Manan Trivedi.  There were only a few PAC donations, one is from Citizens to Elect Dwight Evans and another was from AmeriPAC (Steny Hoyer’s leadership PAC).


There were few disbursements.  Other than two employees, there was a $4K payment to Joe Trippi for website work, and $8K to the Katz Watson Group for fundraising.  There were other disbursements, such as $2600 for NGP software.

FEC Report Roundup: First Quarter 2013

I’m still playing catch up with the quarterly FEC Reports.  This post covers the 1st quarter 2013, January – March.

You can browse these reports yourself at www.fec.gov.  As always I apologize in advance for any errors or misinterpretations.  I am neither a lawyer nor an accountant, just an interested observer and these thoughts should be taken as such. 

Where there are two numbers separated by a slash, the first is the amount for this quarter and the second is the amount for the election cycle.

Watch the itemized (over $250 donations), unitemized (smaller donations), and PAC ratios.  In open races or in challenger’s reports, there are usually fewer PAC donations.  They like to stick with people they are fairly certain are going to win. 

Reports can be arranged alphabetically by donor (which makes it easy to track multiple donations by any one individual, unless they made more than one donation at once), chronologically (which makes it easy to see when the campaign held fundraisers), or scrambled (which is just a pain to deal with).

UPDATE:  Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (13th district) is running for governor.  She is still filing FEC reports but they are not included here and will be dealt with separately.

6th Congressional District

Jim Gerlach, Republican (incumbent)

Receipts
Itemized 112,150.00
Unitemized 300.00
Total of Contributions from Individuals 112,450.00 / 112,950.00
Political Party Committees:  0.00 / 0.00
PACs:  182,000.00 / 189,000.00
The Candidate:    0.00 / 0.00
Total Contributions:  294,450.00 / 301,950.00
Loans Made by the Candidate:  0.00 / 0.00
Offsets to Operating Expenditures (Refunds, etc.):  14,723.08 / 14,723.08
Other Receipts:  461.09 / 974.27
Total Receipts:  309,634.17 / 317,647.35
Disbursements
Operating Expenditures:  86,449.59 / 161,855.41 
Refunds 0.00 / 1,000.00
Other Disbursements: 100.00 / 100.00
Total Disbursements: 86,549.59 / 162,955.41
Cash Summary.
Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period 254,009.30
Total Receipts 309,634.17
Total Disbursements 86,549.59  
Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period 477,093.88

Gerlach’s reports are arranged chronologically not alphabetically so it is hard to track multiple donations from the same person.  That being said, 14 of the 69 itemized donations were from out of state.  There were 6 donations of $5200, the total amount allowed for the election cycle.  Among his donors were some Republican heavy hitters, Manny Stamatakis, Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr., and Nick DeBenedictis.  There are also donations from two executives at Boston Beer Company.  Among the PAC donations there are four trucking related PACs, several medical PACs, and a smattering of restaurant and insurance industry PACs.  There is also a donation from a for profit education group.

In disbursements the campaign is making monthly payments to the Gula Graham Group and Power 8 Political Consulting.  In addition the campaign has hired an individual fundraising  consultant / FEC compliance person.  There are payments of around $4600 for a thank you party at a place called Teca.  That must have been some party. 


7th Congressional District

Pat Meehan, Republican (incumbent)

Receipts
Itemized 123,400.00
Unitemized 2,467.00
Total of Contributions from Individuals 125,867.00 / 128,917.00
Political Party Committees:  0.00
PACs:  81,500.00 / 84,560.11
The Candidate:    0.00 / 153.66
Total Contributions:  207,367.00 / 213,630.77
Loans Made by the Candidate: 
Offsets to Operating Expenditures (Refunds, etc.):  0.00
Total Receipts:  207,367.00 / 213,666.77
Disbursements
Operating Expenditures:  153,706.43 / 264,934.57
Other Disbursements: 0.00
Total Disbursements: 153,706.43 / 264,934.57
Cash Summary.
Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period 1,007,477.33
Total Receipts 207,367.00
Total Disbursements 153,706.43  
Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period 1,061,137.90 

Meehan’s reports are also arranged chronologically.  There are 10 (of 68) out of state donations.  There were 22 donations totaling $5200 so they cannot donate again in this election cycle.  Among the notables are Vahan and Danielle Guerghian.  Other donors include a laundry owner and assorted CEOs.  Some donors are listed as Meehan Majority Makers.  There are PAC donations from the aerospace industry represented by Airline Pilots, Air Traffic Controllers, Lockheed and Boeing, and then from pharmaceutical industry PACs Merck and Astra Zenica.  There is a donation from JEB PAC.

In disbursements, the campaign paid $13K for lawn signs.  They also paid for an EZPass, and for cable tv.  There were 3 paid employees.  The Theodore Co received just under $10K for fundraising.  Chris Mottola consulting was paid $28K.  There must have been some drama with a campaign office, as there are payments for rent, for moving, and 3600 to a firm that does waterproofing and other types of repair.  In addition to local political campaigns Meehan donated $2000 to Christie for Governor.  The campaign reimbursed Patrick Meehan, Jr. for expenses, and reimbursed Meehan’s leadership fund, Patriots Leading a Majority. 


8th Congressional District

Mike Fitzpatrick, Republican (incumbent)

Receipts
Itemized 173,325.00
Unitemized 27,853.16
Total of Contributions from Individuals 201,178.16 / 206,723.16
Political Party Committees: 0.00 
PACs:  100,470.00 / 104,470.00
The Candidate: 0.00  
Total Contributions:  301,648.16 / 311,193.16
Loans Made by the Candidate:  0.00
Offsets to Operating Expenditures (Refunds, etc.):  491.00 / 491.00
Other Receipts:  13.02 / 37.86
Total Receipts:  302,152.18 / 311,722.02
Disbursements
Operating Expenditures:  140,756.93 / 254,316.50
Other Disbursements: 0.00
Total Disbursements: 140,756.93 / 254,316.50
Cash Summary.
Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period 114,083.20
Total Receipts 302,152.18
Total Disbursements 140,756.93 
Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period 275,478.45 

Fitzpatrick’s reports are arranged chronologically.  Of the 172 itemized donations, nine were from out of state and 12 were for more than $5,200, the total allowed in this election cycle.  As with other reports, it is difficult to see who many of those people donated again, given the arrangement of the report.  Among notables donating are William Sasso and Thomas Manion.  A number of people at Teletronics Technical Company donated, as did a group of people who work at Merck.  There are also clusters of health care system owners, care dealers and mechanics.  The president of the Seoul National University donated, as did a librarian, artist, nurse, teacher, and some local business owners.  In PACs there are a number of local political committees that donated, and a cluster of finance related PACs.  The US Cuban Democracy PAC donated as did the JEB Fund. 

In disbursements there are payments for a rental car and gas payments.  There are payments to Olive Garden, Temperance House, and the US House Members Dining Hall, as well as plane, train, and hotel costs.  The campaign made several small payments to Federal Express.  LN consulting and KC Consulting were each paid about $6K.  The Theodore consulting company received nearly $9K. 


13th Congressional District (open seat) 

Valerie Arkoosh, Democrat   

Receipts
Itemized 214,250.00
Unitemized 2,515.00
Total of Contributions from Individuals 216,765.00
Political Party Committees:  0.00
PACs:  1,500.00
The Candidate: 0.00   
Total Contributions: 218,265.00
Loans Made by the Candidate:  0.00
Offsets to Operating Expenditures (Refunds, etc.): 0.00 
Total Receipts:  218,265.00
Disbursements
Operating Expenditures:  3,802.61
Other Disbursements: 0.00
Total Disbursements: 3,802.61
Cash Summary.
Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period 0.00
Total Receipts 218,265.00
Total Disbursements 3,802.61 
Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period  214,462.39

About half of her donations came from out of state.  The report is scrambled so it is difficult to track whether or not the donations are from the same people.  There were 28 listings for donations of $5200, the total allowed for the election cycle, but I think that was 14 people donating $2600 twice – again, it’s hard to tell when the reports are scrambled.  As might be expected, Dr. Arkoosh has a significant number of donations from physicians and others in the medical field.  There was also a little Hollywood, including a directory of celebrity services, a sr vp at Showtime, a filmmaker, and a project developer at Google.  A piano teacher and a private investigator were also donors.  Notable individuals are Dr. Manan Trivedi, a former congressional candidate in the 6th congressional district, the director at Women’s Way, and Debra Brady.   The only PAC listed is the Women’s Campaign Fund.

The only disbursement listed is $3500 to a fundraising consultant.