By Chuck Burton, APSteve Law works on a luxury box at Time Warner Cable Arena — where the majority of the Democratic National Convention will be held — in Charlotte on July 16.
By Chuck Burton, APSteve Law works on a luxury box at Time Warner Cable Arena — where the majority of the Democratic National Convention will be held — in Charlotte on July 16.
Organizers of the Republican National Convention, meanwhile, say they also are collecting money but are well on their way toward hitting their goal of raising roughly $55 million as companies, such as Hewlett-Packard and Coca-Cola help underwrite the Aug. 27-30 Republican National Convention in Tampa where Mitt Romney will accept his party's nomination.In a sharp departure from previous conventions, Democrats have banned checks from corporations or political action committees for the convention and have imposed a $100,000 cap on donations from individuals.Those restrictions have made it harder to collect contributions, said Ken Eudy, who runs a Raleigh marketing company and serves on Charlotte's host committee. Democrats have set a $36.6 million fundraising goal for the Sept. 3-6 convention.In a year when presidential candidates, super PACs and an array of other politicians down the ballot are scrambling for campaign cash, a convention "is at the bottom of the political food chain," said Eudy, who hosted a convention fundraiser last week attended by North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue and other top Democrats in the state. "It's very difficult to raise this money."Making fundraising harder: Some labor unions have announced they will not help underwrite the Democrats' gathering in North Carolina, choosing instead to direct their money to get-out-the-vote efforts. Four years ago, unions accounted for five of the top 10 organizational donors to the Democrats' convention in Denver, according to a tally by the non-profit Campaign Finance Institute."We feel that a better use of our members' money would be spent on grassroots mobilization efforts this election cycle," Jim Spellane, a spokesman for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said in an e-mail. In 2008, the union donated more than $1 million to help stage the Denver convention.Last month, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka announced the union would not make any "major monetary" contributions to the convention. Instead, the group plans an Aug. 11 rally in Philadelphia to promote labor issues.Officials with both Tampa and Charlotte host committees refuse to say how much they have raised or provide a comprehensive list of donors. They are not required to provide a public accounting to federal regulators until Oct. 15 — more than six weeks after the conventions have ended."We've achieved every milestone we have set," Kenneth Jones, an executive at a Tampa private-equity firm who runs the Republican host committee, told USA TODAY this week. The Republicans have not imposed restrictions on corporate giving."We're on track," said Tom Williams, a spokesman for Duke Energy, whose CEO Jim Rogers serves as co-chairman of the Charlotte host committee. Officials with the Democratic Party tout the decision to limit corporate contributions as evidence of Obama's commitment to limit the influence of special interests. And Dan Murrey, the host committee's executive director, said the emphasis on smaller donations has boosted grass-roots giving. The convention already has received contributions "from nearly 65 times more individuals" than four years ago, he said.
Even so, there are ways around the ban on corporate giving. Democrats are accepting in-kind contributions, such as computer and telephone equipment, from for-profit companies for official convention activities.In addition, the host committee is using a parallel fundraising account, New American City Inc., to accept unlimited corporate funds. Organizers say those funds will pay for expenses outside of the official convention events, such as welcoming parties for journalists and convention delegates.Party officials say they have no say over how the host committee raises money through the New American City account. "The Democratic convention has gone further than any convention in history to reform the way conventions are funded," said Joanne Peters, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Convention Committee. But the host committee "may raise money however it sees fit to promote Charlotte."Conventions — splashy, made-for-TV affairs that kick off the fall presidential campaign — are expensive events, paid for with a combination of public and private funds.Congress has set aside $100 million to provide security for both events. An additional $18 million in public money goes to each convention from the Federal Election Commission to help underwrite salaries, construction, entertainment and other officials convention activities. It's up to the host committees to collect the rest.While an individual is barred from writing a check larger than $5,000 directly to a candidate for the primary and general election, federal law imposes no restrictions on what companies, individuals unions and foundations can give to host committees — which are treated as organizations promoting local communities rather than extensions of the candidates' campaigns.Utility giant Duke Energy has emerged as one of the biggest players in the Charlotte convention. It has provided a $10 million line of credit to organizers and has given free office space to the host committee and the Democratic National Convention Committee. Rogers also has donated $100,000 personally.The utility, which spent more than $6.3 million to lobby Congress and federal agencies last year, doesn't "expect any special treatment" in return for its largesse, said Williams, the Duke spokesman. "We're not in this for that.""This is a way to showcase Charlotte in a way we never have before," he said. "When Charlotte is successful, Duke is successful."Other companies helping underwrite convention include the Charlotte-based Bank of America; Time Warner Cable, a top sponsor of the media party in Charlotte; and Hewlett-Packard, which will provide computers and printers at both conventions, company spokesman Michael Thacker confirmed.While a funding shortfall could force Democrats to divert campaign funds to the convention, it's unlikely to have a big impact on public perception or dampen delegates' enthusiasm, said Peter Ubertaccio, a political scientist at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass."When most people tune in," he said, "they will be completely unaware if the Democrats have not raised as much as they had hoped."For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com. 