Effect of Pohlad contributions on stadium bills is debated

Legislators deny that their votes are influenced by campaign donations, but critics say they could have a cumulative effect.

Pat Doyle, Star Tribune

While pitching for a new stadium for nearly a decade, Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad and his family members have given a quarter-million dollars to the campaigns and parties of politicians deeply involved in weighing proposals to spend public money to build the Twins a ballpark.

The Pohlads gave about $70,000 to DFL and Republican legislators and to candidates for governor, much of it when stadium proposals were picking up steam. Some recipients moved over the years from opposing to embracing a stadium plan, but they say they were influenced by the merits of particular proposals, not by contributions.

The Pohlads gave another $185,000 to political committees of the DFL and Republican parties, which in turn funded campaigns of participants in the stadium debate.

Big business, labor and Indian tribes have spent more money over the years on political campaigns than the Pohlads have. But the Pohlad money raised eyebrows last week as the House passed a Twins ballpark plan.

It gives Hennepin County special permission to raise its sales tax without holding a referendum.

A different bill, which finances new stadiums for the Twins and the Vikings with a metrowide sales tax and requires a referendum, is expected to be voted on by the Senate next week.

Opponents of stadium plans have questioned whether the cumulative contributions of the Pohlad family bought the Twins influence at the Legislature.

"It's something that would take contributions year after year," said Laura Lehmann of Citizens for a Stadium Tax Referendum.

House Speaker Steve Sviggum bristled at the suggestion that money might matter.

"There is absolutely no connection to Mr. Pohlad's contribution to Governor Pawlenty or the Democratic caucus or Steve Sviggum or wherever," said Sviggum, R-Kenyon, who received contributions in 2002 from the Pohlads and has supported Twins stadium plans for years. But a longtime ethics watchdog in the Legislature said the effects of repeated contributions are more subtle but nonetheless significant.

"They're not buying votes, they're buying access and goodwill," said Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville. "Buying access and goodwill leads to the results they want. They don't need to buy the votes."

A modest slice of the total

The Star Tribune looked at contributions to candidates since 1998 and to parties since 2000 that were reported to the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board.

Gubernatorial candidate Steve Kelley, a DFL senator from Hopkins, is the chief author in his chamber of a Twins stadium bill. He received $1,500 from the Pohlads in 2005 after getting $1,000 for his Senate campaign in 2002. He noted that the contributions are a small slice of his gubernatorial money.

"I've raised a half-million dollars in the campaign so far -- $250,000 last year," Kelley said.

He said he backed a Twins stadium years before getting any Pohlad contributions. "Legislators sort of decide where they're at, and the folks who agree with them on it decide to support them," he said.

The Pohlad family gave $26,000 to five gubernatorial candidates in 2002. The future governor, Tim Pawlenty, got $2,000 that year. As a House member, he had voted against a Twins plan early in 2002 but indicated support for a ballpark later in the gubernatorial campaign. He has since received another $1,000 from the Pohlads.

Pawlenty campaign spokesman Michael Krueger said, "contributions have no bearing on the governor's decision-making process." He said the governor has "established a pattern of taking on powerful interests," including the pharmaceutical and tribal gambling industries.

Tribes have spent plenty of money to protect their interests. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux alone, owners of the Mystic Lake Casino and opponents of proposals to expand gambling competition, have contributed more than $500,000 to political parties and individual candidates since 2000.

In addition to Pohlad family contributions, lobbyists who represent the Twins and often other clients have contributed another $86,000 since 2002 to legislative candidates and party committees, according to a separate analysis by David Schultz, a professor of law and politics at Hamline University. He said the Twins have paid lobbyists an additional $2.1 million in salary and expenses.

Hedging bets?

Carl Pohlad and sons William, Robert and James were unavailable for comment. Other family members also have contributed to campaigns over the years. Twins President Dave St. Peter said, "They've been asked for contributions and they've chosen to provide some contributions."

He said that the family gave money before stadium plans loomed because it backs candidates for other reasons, and that contributions have been spread among parties.

But Marty sees the multiparty approach as a way to hedge bets.

"There are very, very few people who say, 'I'm going to give money to Tim Pawlenty and Steve Kelley running against him,' " Marty said. " 'And I'm going to give money to the DFL Party because I believe deeply in their goals, and I'm going to give money to the Republican Party because I also believe deeply in their goals.' Nobody does that except somebody who is trying to buy access."

Pat Doyle • 651-222-1210

©2006 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

“The Pohlad family gave $26,000 to five gubernatorial candidates in 2002.  The future governor, Tim Pawlenty, got $2,000 that year.  As a House member, he had voted against a Twins plan early in 2002 but indicated support for a ballpark later in the gubernatorial campaign.  He has since received another $1,000 from the Pohlads.”

 

Effect of Pohlad contributions on stadium bills is debated, 05/04/06, Pat Doyle, Reporter, Minneapolis Star Tribune.

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