Meehan has $1.8 Million in War Chest
WASHINGTON– He earned a national reputation by battling the influence of big money on politics. But being the king of campaign-finance reform has not hurt Congressman Martin T. Meehan’s ability to raise money for his own campaigns: his $1.8 million year-end war chest was larger than that of any other member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts.
Unlike most members of Congress, Meehan doesn’t take money from corporations or special-interest groups. To keep his campaign coffers brimming, the Democrat from Lowell relies on his roots.
“It seemed that a better way to raise money would be from individuals back home rather than individuals inside the (capital) Beltway,” Meehan said in an interview.
Of the nearly $600,000 that Meehan’s campaign raised for his re-election last year, almost all of it — $597,438 — came from individual donations, rather than from political action committees, or PACs, according to campaign finance reports Meehan filed with the Federal Election Commission.
The Center for Responsive Politics, which monitors federal campaign spending, reported that 79 percent of Meehan’s contributions came from Bay State residents during 2001-2002. The independent, Washington-based center analyzes FEC reports and posts summaries on its Web site, www.opensecrets.org. According to the site, Meehan received $10,500 from New Yorkers and $25,000 from his Washington-based supporters.
Unlike his opponents in last year’s election – Republican Chuck McCarthy Jr., and Libertarian Ilana Freedman – Meehan did not take any money from political action committees.
Meehan said he doesn’t want to run for Congress on the backs of interest groups that lobby him on legislation. He said he returns any PAC contributions that might slip through; and the Center for Responsive Politics confirmed that he returned $2,000 from communication and technology PACs during his last campaign.
Instead of rubbing elbows with lobbyists at cocktail-party fundraisers, Meehan goes home.
“I never realized that not taking PAC money would keep me so plugged in to the people in Massachusetts,” he said. “It keeps me in Massachusetts more than most members. I think that’s a good thing. It keeps me in touch.”
Most other Massachusetts Congress members also receive the majority of their campaign money from residents of the state, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Democratic Congressman John Tierney topped the list for 2001-2002 with 95.9 percent of his money coming from Bay State residents. Meehan ranked sixth on the list with 79 percent, and Democratic Congressman Edward J. Markey was last with 39 percent.
Meehan’s press secretary, Stacy Kerr, said Meehan wants most of his money to come from Bay State residents because “those are the people he represents.
“He comes to Washington to vote, but he spends his time in the district,” she said. “The contributors are people who see him at home, and who share their problems with him when they see him on the street.”
Even reformers need money
Meehan worked for more than seven years to convince Congress to reform the way campaigns are financed because he wanted to remove the influence of special-interest money on politics, Kerr said.
Last year, after several false starts, Congress passed sweeping legislation that banned the use of so-called “soft money,” previously unlimited contributions to political parties. The bill increased from $2,000 to $4,000 the amount individuals can donate to a candidate.
The law, which took effect the day after the November 2002 election, was sponsored in the House by Meehan and Christopher Shays, R-Conn., and in the Senate by John McCain, R-Ariz., and Russell Feingold, D-Wisc.
Soft money was supposed to be used for generic purposes, like voter registration drives, but it became common practice for the national parties to spend it on campaign ads for their candidates, said Steven Weiss, spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics. The fight for campaign-finance reform was one of the most bitter for many years on Capitol Hill – after all, it affects every member of Congress – and some lawmakers have filed lawsuits claiming it is unconstitutional.
Members of Congress also have complained that the legislation has many unintended consequences that could affect elections, and that even Meehan and the other authors of the reform measure don’t fully realize all of the things it could do.
Reform advocates say the new law will not harm candidates’ ability to raise money.
“What’s interesting about Meehan and the other supporters of campaign-finance reform is that they still have to raise money, and they do it entirely legally,” Weiss said. “And among those who are trying to remove money from the system, you find those who are very good fundraisers.”
A knack for bringing in the cash
People who know Meehan well say he has a knack for fundraising. A former teacher of his, Marie Sweeney, said people are drawn to his down-to-earth personality and candid demeanor.
“People gravitate toward him because he’s pretty direct,” said Sweeney, who lives in Tewksbury. “He’s smart about representing the community. He understands the big issues and the small issues.”
Sweeney has attended many Meehan fundraisers and political events. She said her former English student delivers A-list guests, such as former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. His most recent fundraiser, a two-day event in conjunction with St. Patrick’s Day, included John Hume, who shared a Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 for working for a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland. The event, in Haverhill and Dracut, drew 1,200 people.
Because he doesn’t take PAC money, Meehan said he has to be a more aggressive fundraiser than some of his colleagues and it can be more difficult and time consuming to raise money. He typically holds five fundraisers a year, and said he tries to make the events entertaining. One of his most popular events is a whale watching cruise, which he booked out of Newburyport last year. Meehan plans to set sail again this summer and, with tickets priced at $50 apiece, he hopes to bring in at least $15,000. He also is planning a golf tournament and a comedy night this year.
Leon C. Asadoorian, president of Methuen Construction, is a large donor to Meehan’s campaigns. A resident of North Hampton, N.H., Asadoorian gave $2,000 to Meehan’s 2002 election and made another $1,000 donation in December for the 2004 race.
Asadoorian said he supports Meehan because he works hard for his district.
“Lawrence needs a lot of help, it needs a strong presence in Washington,” he said in a phone interview. “Past congressmen have done OK, but Marty’s doing an outstanding job.”
Meehan is especially popular with members of the business community, which Kerr said is no surprise since “economic development is his top priority.” Lawyers gave Meehan, a former prosecutor, $57,014 for his 2002 campaign; real estate agents donated $35,475, and contractors gave him $16,700, according to a list of top industry donors compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.
When asked why he thinks Meehan gets so much support from the business community, Asadoorian said the congressman has continually supported local businesses like Malden Mills, which supplies the United States military with Polartec uniforms.
Giving back to the community
Meehan also maintains visibility in his district by donating excess campaign money to charities and civic groups. Last year, he gave $200 to the Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell and $100 to the Haverhill Chamber of Commerce, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
With the next election more than a year-and-a-half away, Meehan has more money socked away than his House colleagues from Massachusetts. After Meehan, Congressman William Delahunt, a Democrat representing the 10th District, had the largest war chest, with $1.37 million. Congressman Richard Neal, a Democrat representing the 2nd District, had $1 million, according to the center.
Political insiders speculate that Meehan is stockpiling money to prepare for a possible future bid for the Senate. Massachusetts democratic Sen. John F. Kerry is running for president next year, and if he wins, his Senate seat will open in 2006. Meehan told the Eagle-Tribune last October that he can’t predict what he’ll be doing in four years, but said he would consider running if there was an opening “some day down the road.”
When asked recently what he’s saving for, Meehan said he wants to be prepared for the possibility of a closely contested House re-election race.
“Sometimes,” he said, “millionaires run.”
Published in The Lawrence Eagle Tribune, in Massachusetts.
