ROANOKE TIMES Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times DATE: Friday, February 2, 1996 TAG: 9602020023 SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO DATELINE: RICHMOND SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
WHAT DO BUSINESS INTERESTS do when the officeholders they've backed are defeated? They quickly contribute to the candidates who defeated them.
Powerful corporations and business groups that ignored state Sen. John Edwards when he was running as a challenger last fall have given him nearly $10,000 in campaign contributions since his victory in November.
Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield gave $1,000; Appalachian Power Co. contributed $500; the Virginia Health Care Association provided $500.
All told, some two dozen business-related political action committees have taken a new-found interest in the Roanoke Democrat since he unseated Republican Brandon Bell.
``I don't know if you'd call it the power of incumbency,'' said Edwards, who was sworn into office less than month ago, ``but since I've been elected, there have been a lot of people who have paid attention to me.''
Post-election corporate contributions to Edwards and other General Assembly freshmen underscore the co-dependent relationship between lawmakers and the state's business establishment.
Banks, utilities, insurance companies and other corporate political action committees give money almost exclusively to sitting lawmakers, regardless of party or ideology. Incumbents are a safe investment, because they almost always win. When a sitting lawmaker loses, business PACs simply shift their money to the winning challenger.
``What that change means is there is no change: It's business as usual. These PACs want access and influence over legislation,'' said Josh Goldstein, research director for the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that studies the influence of money in policy decisions.
CSX lobbyist Rob Shinn offers another reason why businesses give money as they do:
``If a company gives to an incumbent, it is generally a reflection that the legislator has been supportive of the company's issues. It is not to say that if an incumbent loses, the challenger will not also be understanding of their position.''
December campaign finance reports show that corporate PACs began to make amends even before Edwards and eight other incumbent-vanquishing challengers were sworn into office.
Sen. Emily Couric, D-Charlottesville, said she held no grudge when a lobbyist for CSX Corp. called a few days after her victory with an offer of $750 to help retire her campaign debt.
Some of her campaign staff were miffed that CSX, just a few weeks earlier, had turned down a request for help. The rail and transportation giant had backed her opponent, incumbent Ed Robb.
Couric took what she called the CSX ``about-face'' in stride.
``Some industry lobbyists told me that it was in their interests to give money only to incumbents because they have better odds of winning,'' she said.
``Let's assume it wasn't a vote against me before the election; it's simply a statement of the power of incumbency.''
Freshman Ed Schrock, R-Virginia Beach, flexed this new-found power last month as money started rolling in from business PACs that had bankrolled former Sen. Clarence Holland.
``I kind of felt that would happen, because Clancy Holland was here a long time and he was good to them,'' Schrock said.
In December, Schrock's campaign collected a total of $23,580 from such big-hitters as Bell Atlantic, $300; Circuit City, $500; Crestar Bank, $500; Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield, $1,000; and the Virginia Coal Association, $500.
What are these PACs getting for their money?
Schrock said they are buying his willingness to listen to what they have to say about legislation affecting a company's or industry's bottom line.
``I've got their ear and they have mine; it's great fun,'' Schrock said.
Goldstein said that ``access'' is far from an innocuous concept. ``The public's on the sidelines at best,'' he said. ``Access is how lobbyists get a seat at the table and get influence. Getting the ear of a sitting legislator is more than half the battle.''
Freshman Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta County, was so busy catching up with private matters after the Nov. 7 election that he had no time to solicit business PACs that had supported former Sen. Frank Nolen.
Hanger reported no campaign contributions in December.
``It's just an oversight on my part,'' he said. ``I'm going to make a push in the next month.''
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart: Money follows power. color. KEYWORDS: POLITICSby CNB