Today’s Daily Hampshire Gazette has a great article about political fundraising in the Valley, including some intriguing information about who fills U.S. Rep. Richie Neal’s campaign war chest.
The article, by Ben Storrow, focuses on Hampshire County, the Gazette’s area of coverage, which creates an interesting angle to look at Neal’s fundraising. While Neal is very much a Springfield guy—he grew up in the city and lives there now, served as its mayor and has his deepest base of political support there—his 2nd Congressional district does, in fact, reach into Hampshire County. But as Storrow’s article shows, when it comes to campaign donations, Neal doesn’t enjoy the kind of deep-pocketed support from the county as the area’s other member of Congress, John Olver, does.
Charts accompanying the article list the top contributors to each man’s campaign in 2009 and 2010. Olver’s biggest donor (Jerome Milleur of Hadley) gave $8,800 during that time period; his tenth most generous donor (Mary Ann Cofrin of Amherst) gave $2,500. By contrast, Neal’s top Hampshire donor (Peter H. Barry of South Hadley) contributed $1,500 to his campaign—$1,000 less than the tenth-place donor on Olver’s list.
Of particular note was the number of donors, to both campaigns, who don’t actually live in that district. Neal’s top 10 list (actually, Storrow listed 16 donors, with the bottom eight all tied at $500 each) includes six contributors with addresses in Pelham and Amherst—towns in Olver’s 1st Congressional District. Meanwhile, six of Olver’s top 10 contributors list addresses in Neal’s district—including his top donor, Milleur. (The other five all come from Northampton—one more reminder that, let’s face it, the Paradise City really ought to be Olver’s terrain.)
Interesting as it is to track individual donations to candidates, the big money, of course, comes from corporations and PACs. For Neal, the insurance and financial industries are his bread and butter; Storrow reports that, over his 22 years in Congress, Neal’s top four contributors have been Mass Mutual, the National Association of Insurance and Finance Advisors, the National Association of Realtors and Fidelity’s PAC. Grand total from these four sources: more than half a million dollars.
Political action committees account for 57.6 percent of Neal’s total campaign donations, with individual contributions accounting for 30.4 percent, Storrow reported.
