THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 13, 1996 TAG: 9609130583
SECTION: MISCELLANEOUS PAGE: D6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVID BARNES, TRAFFIC WORLD
LENGTH: 96 lines
Two freight companies and their employees were among the top contributors to Republican Bob Dole's presidential campaign, according to a new study.
CSX Corp. and its affiliated transportation companies gave $57,350 to Dole through its political action committees and contributions by employees between Jan. 1, 1995, and June 30, 1996, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The Richmond-based company and its affiliates - primarily its railroad, ship and barge companies - together ranked third among corporate contributors to Dole's campaign, the center found.
Union Pacific Corp., and its affiliates, including Overnite Transportation Co., gave $48,452 to Dole through its PAC and employee contributions, making the corporation the fifth-largest contributor to the campaign. The figure includes a $1,000 contribution by Union Pacific Corp. President Drew Lewis. Lewis was secretary of transportation under President Reagan and is one of Dole's chief fund-raisers.
Even with the hefty contributions by the two transportation conglomerates, transportation interests overall are not major financial players in Dole's campaign.
Of the $33.8 million raised by Dole during the 18-month period, only $390,177 came from the transportation industry, the least of any major industry sector.
Companies owning railroads and related industries were the largest transportation contributors to Dole, kicking in $135,602. Aviation interests gave $68,975, the trucking industry gave $88,900, and maritime interests gave $51,450.
PACs affiliated with transportation labor unions gave Dole $7,250.
The figures are based on reports filed by the Dole campaign with the Federal Election Commission and reviewed by the center, a nonpartisan group that studies campaign financing.
The figures may not include all transportation industry contributors, since the campaign did not report the occupations of about 30 percent of its donors, even though federal law requires campaigns to do so. Contributors often neglect to list their occupations, requiring the campaigns to request the information.
CSX's corporate PAC gave $5,000 to Dole. The rest of the contributions came from employees of CSX and its affiliates. CSX President John Snow and his wife, Carolyn, each gave $2,000. Sea-Land Services President John Clancey contributed $1,000.
Most of the contributions came from senior CSX employees and friends of Snow at a mid-1995 fund-raiser held for Dole by Snow at his Richmond home. Snow, a longtime personal friend of Dole, is the ex-senator's top volunteer fund-raiser in Virginia, said CSX spokeswoman Donna Rohrer.
``What you are seeing is a reflection of the personal commitment and interests of the chairman,'' Rohrer said.
Union Pacific Railroad President Dick Davidson and his wife, Marilyn, each gave Dole $1,000.
Southern Pacific Transport Co. employees gave Dole $9,250, including $1,000 from Jerry Davis, the railroad's chief executive officer. Employees of the railroad's major stockholder, Anschutz Corp., gave $4,000, including $1,000 from Nancy Anschutz, wife of billionaire oil man Phil Anschutz, another of Dole's major fund-raisers.
Much of the railroad contributions came in 1995 as Congress was considering legislation killing the Interstate Commerce Commission.
While the Senate did not even begin drafting ICC sunset legislation until the second half of 1995, the House held hearings on the ICC early in the year. Railroads initially split over where the ICC's rail merger authority should go. Union Pacific strongly advocated giving authority to the Department of Transportation or an independent agency, while other railroads favored allowing the Department of Justice to decide whether to approve mergers under a tougher standard than used by the ICC.
Railroads eventually coalesced around a plan giving an independent agency merger review authority. The new Surface Transportation Board voted unanimously in July 1996 to allow the merger.
Last month, the Teamsters union cited the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific contributions in a report critical of Dole's role in the ICC's demise. Dole voted to kill the agency and voted against a proposal giving the Justice Department rail merger authority.
Other railroad industry executives contributing to Dole's campaign include Association of American Railroads President Edwin Harper, Conrail President David LeVan and Norfolk Southern Chief Executive Officer David Goode, each of whom gave $1,000. Duchossois Industries head Craig Duchossois and his wife, Janet, together gave $2,000. The company's PAC gave $5,000. ILLUSTRATION: DOLE DONORS
CSX CORP.
$57,350, third-highest among corporate contributors
UNION PACIFIC CORP.
$48,452, fifth-highest among corporate contributors
Note: Transportation interests overall are not major financial
players in Dole's campaign. Of the $33.8 million raised between Jan.
1, 1995, and June 30, 1996, only $390,177 came from the
transportation industry, the least of any major industry sector.
Most of those contributions were made by individual employees.
SOURCE: Center for Responsive Politics
KEYWORDS: CAMPAIGN FINANCE by CNB