Follow the Money: Politics and Environmentalism, Part 1

Today's excellent feature on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) follows the money circulating through Democratic-Farmer-Labor-friendly independent political action groups in the state.

The MPR piece focus on two groups, the Alliance for a Better Minnesota (ABM) and WIN Minnesota.  Both supported the narrow victory of current Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Governor Mark Dayton, whose campaign committee is named "Mark Dayton for a Better Minnesota."  These groups are supported financially by members of the Dayton family, including the Governor's ex-wife, Alida Messinger of the Rockefeller family, and the Governor's aunt, Mary Lee Dayton.  MPR's graphic does a good job tracking the $ millions sloshing back and forth amongst these groups.

But casual observers of the Minnesota political scene will be confused by this sentence in the MPR piece,

"All major players in DFL politics, from unions to environmental groups to community organizers, either support ABM financially or are involved in key decisions on Democratic talking points, spending on campaigns and public policy priorities."

What, what, what?  Environmental groups?  I thought that they were just trying to save the planet!  Well it turns out that, while the planet remains unsaved, Minnesota environmental groups are deeply involved in state DFL politics.  A close examination of reports filed at the state's Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board shows just how much.

We pick up the story in 2008, with the formation of the "Vote Yes Minnesota" political action fund, which led the campaign to pass the "Clean Water Legacy" amendment, a constitutional amendment that raised sales taxes to fund environmental and arts projects.  Vote Yes was led by Ken Martin, now the Chair of the state's DFL party.  Vote Yes raised and spent $3.7 million in getting the amendment passed.  Among the contributors to the fund were Alida Rockefeller Messinger ($1,000,000) and Mary Lee Dayton ($250,000) along with other members of the Dayton family (the future governor donated $6,000).

Curiously, among the expenditures made by Vote Yes in 2008 was one for $1,500 to the Alliance for a Better Minnesota for "research/polling."

Jumping ahead to 2010, we find Ken Martin now as the head of the WIN Minnesota organization and its 2010 Fund political contribution arm.  WIN's biggest contributors included Mary Lee Dayton ($250,000) and Alida Messinger ($500,000).  In turn, WIN donates to ABM, Putting Minnesota First, and other political groups.  As I noted back in May, both ABM and WIN received money in the past from the San Francisco-based Tides Foundation, as did Minnesota environmental non-profits Fresh Energy and Conservation Minnesota, among others.  In 2010, Tides also donated to the national Clean Water Action, the national Sierra Club, and the Rockefeller Family fund, where the son of Mark Dayton and Alida Messinger, Eric Dayton, sits on the board of trustees,

During the 2010 race, a number of environmental groups were active politically.  RE-AMP member Clean Water Action Alliance assisted a number of candidates, nearly all Democrats, through its Clean Water Action Voter Education Project and Clean Water Action Independent Fund.  Alida Messinger had donated $15,000 to the Project in 2008 and $35,000 in 2006.  In 2006, 2008 and 2010, the Project in turn donated funds to Putting Minnesota First, another political action group that supported DFL candidates.  The Sierra Club (RE-AMP member) also contributed to Putting Minnesota First in the two most recent election cycles.

Clean Water Action and the Sierra Club also belong to the state environmental coalition Minnesota Environmental Partnership (MEP).  Fellow MEP member Conservation Minnesota is another group with a political action arm, the Conservation Minnesota Voter Fund.  Two of its largest contributors, in both 2010 and 2011, were Alida Messinger and Mary Lee Dayton.  Conservation Minnesota Voter Fund's biggest vendor during the 2010 election was the Conservation Minnesota Voter Center, whose board members include Alida Messinger (Vice President) and Michael Noble, Executive Director of the RE-AMP and MEP member organization Fresh Energy.  For its part, the Conservation Minnesota Voter Center lets us know that, "When it is time for elections, the Conservation Minnesota Voter Fund provides information on candidates across the state."  The Voter Fund shares the same board of directors as the Voter Center.

The Fund endorses candidates for office, mostly Democrats, of course.  In 2008, the fund endorsed 21 Democrats, 4 Republicans, and 1 Independent.  In 2010, the Fund disbursed $15,050 to party units, $14,000 of which went to the DFL.  The remaining $1,050 went to Republicans, with $550 of that amount donated after the party swept the 2010 Legislative elections.  The Fund worked against the election of Mark Dayton's opponent in 2010, spending more than $33,000 on Google ads to defeat Republican Tom Emmer.

The Sierra Club's political activity in 2010 was a more modest affair, spending a little over $10,000 to support DFL candidates.  The group had been more active in 2008, raising and spending more than $25,000.

Putting Minnesota First offers a strange example of the confluence of the various parts of the DFL coalition.  In 2010, it spent only $57,000 on DFL candidates, but its contributors list makes for interesting reading, nonetheless.  As noted above, both the Sierra Club and Clean Water Action contributed, as did several unions and Planned Parenthood.

I hope you are not too dizzy after pinging around the world of DFL campaign finance.  Just keep this analysis in mind the next time you are tempted to donate to save the polar bears.