Our Philadelphia

Representative, District 185

Donatucci's Top Donors, 2001-2008

1	Pennsylvania Beer Wholesalers	$12,968
2	International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers	$9,000
3	Pennsylvania State Education Association	$3,700
4	LAWPAC	$2,500
5	Pennsylvania Restaurant Industry PAC	$2,500

About Donatucci's Top Donors

Pennsylvania Beer Wholesalers

The Pennsylvania Beer Wholesalers are opposed to legislation that would make it easier for grocery and convenience stores to sell beer. One of the biggest recipients of campaign contributions from them has been State Rep. Robert Donatucci, who chairs the Liquor Control Committee in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Here is an excerpt from a memo sent by Rep. Donatucci to the entire House on 1/23/09, about a bill he planned to introduce to defend the status quo on sales of alcohol—a position in line with that of the Pennsylvania Beer Wholesalers. “In the near future, Rep. Taylor and myself will be reintroducing legislation from last session (H.B. 1420 PN: 1918), which will amend the Liquor Code in order to protect Pennsylvania's three-tier system for beer distribution. This legislation is needed in order to avoid costly litigation which may ultimately result in a court determining how beer is distributed in the Commonwealth. We cannot let this take place.” In addition to receiving $12,968 from the Pennsylvania Beer Wholesalers, Donatucci has received $1,000 from the Anheuser-Busch PAC, $1,000 from the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage Association, and $500 from the Tavern PAC. On the other side of this debate is Sheetz, whose attempt to sell beer from a single Sheetz store in Altoona resulted in a Pennsylvania Supreme Court case that was decided in June 2009, with the Justices ruling against Sheetz by 5-1. The Sheetz PAC has given Rep. Donatucci $250.

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

Gov. Ed Rendell called IBEW “the most politically influential union around,” in an April 30, 2008 article in the Philadelphia City Paper. As long-time leader of the IBEW and former treasurer of the city Democratic Party, John Dougherty has been a kingmaker in city politics, and an endorsement from Dougherty is often followed by an infusion of campaign cash from other sources, and volunteers to help with getting out the vote. The extent to which Dougherty and IBEW depend upon campaign contributions to wield influence was dramatized in 2007 when Dougherty joined U.S. Rep. Chakah Fattah in filing a lawsuit alleging that Philadelphia did not have the power to limit campaign contributions to candidates in city elections. As part of their lawyers’ arguments in Nutter v. Dougherty, et al, it was alleged that the Pennsylvania General Assembly had intended to preempt any municipality in the state from making its own campaign finance laws. Dougherty and IBEW have also been strong supporters of expanding legalized gambling and building casinos in Philadelphia, in part because of the potential contracts for IBEW members.

Pennsylvania State Education Association

According to its website, “PSEA includes 1,199 local associations, representing teachers, education support professionals, health care professionals, higher education professionals, retired educators and students. We represent teachers in 483 of Pennsylvania’s 501 school districts.” PSEA’s legislative agenda in Harrisburg includes boosting teacher salaries and reserves in their pension fund, boosting school funding, providing for cost-of-living adjustments for PSEA member salaries, expanding opportunities for early retirement, and opposition to a bill that would curtail teachers’ rights to strike. Recent legislation to limit teacher strikes was introduced by State Sen. Robert Mellow after teachers at a school in Lackawanna County struck 4 times in 18 months. If Mellow's bill becomes law, no contract dispute would last into the school year. By the end of summer, teachers and school boards in conflict over contracts would present their cases to a team of arbitrators, who would decide which side's proposal was most fair. The panel's decision would be binding.

LAWPAC

LAWPAC is the PAC of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers’ Association. LAWPAC gave $3.7 million to Pennsylvania candidate from 2001-2008, and many of those giving to LAWPAC were trial lawyers opposed to limits on the right to sue. In a 9/30/01 Inquirer article, the Trial Lawyers’ lobbyist Mark Phenecie claimed that LAWPAC didn’t give to judicial candidates because, "We don't want to look like we are trying to influence a judicial election." Yet when a judicial candidate backed by State Sen. Vince Fumo was running for Superior Court in 1999, LAWPAC shipped a $29,000 contribution to Fumo's Committee for a Democratic Majority on Oct. 19. Then on Oct. 22, the Committee for a Democratic Majority shipped a $30,000 contribution to Schiller's campaign. Tracking these kinds of indirect contributions is especially difficult because contributions made in non-election years often don’t have to be disclosed until February of the following year, under Pennsylvania law. Discovering the Trial Lawyer’s entire legislative agenda, beyond defeating limits on lawsuits, is also difficult because Pennsylvania does not require lobbyists to disclose the exact number of the bills on which they have been lobbying.

Pennsylvania Restaurant Industry PAC

Pennsylvania Restaurant Industry PAC