The Crunch: Minnesota’s Top 100 political donors

Wealthy political donors don’t have the clout they once wielded. Unlimited contributions to political parties were outlawed by the 2002 McCain-Feingold Act and individuals are limited to giving $4,600 to a candidate during each election cycle. While these strictures curtail the influence that individual donors can exert on elected officials, wealthy contributors continue to play an outsized role in political campaigns. To get a better understanding of who these significant players are in the state, the Minnesota Independent commissioned an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics looking at the 100 most generous political donors in Minnesota.

These wealthy families have given a total of $4.1 million to campaigns so far during the 2008 election cycle. That works out to an average of roughly $41,000 each. Republican bigwigs have spread slightly more cash around ($2.3 million) than their Democratic counterparts ($1.8 million). Contributors of all ideological stripes tend to be exceedingly partisan in their political philanthropy. Republican candidates were solely supported by 44 households on the list, while Democrats earned the monogamous backing of 35 big-time donors. Nine of the state’s biggest givers are attorneys; 19 are retired. Minneapolis is home to 32 of the state’s major political donors, while another 14 live in Wayzata.

The roster of bigwigs contains many familiar Minnesota political families. DFL rainmakers Sam and Sylvia Kaplan, GOP telemarketing dynamo Jeff Larson, and former Democratic Sen. Mark Dayton all make the cut. At the top of the heap: Stanley and Karen Hubbard. The owners of local media powerhouse Hubbard Broadcasting have doled out $163,500 to political candidates and causes so far this election cycle. Their benevolence has primarily benefited Republicans, with $130,200 of that sum landing in GOP coffers, including $6,900 for presidential aspirant John McCain.

But the list also contains a few names that at first glance raise eyebrows. Why would Cleo Cafesjian, a retired resident of Naples, Fla., for instance, cut checks for $102,700 to Minnesota political candidates and causes, splitting her benevolence equally between Democrats and Republicans?

In the weeks leading up to the November election, MnIndy will be periodically scrutinizing this list of Minnesota’s most generous political patrons. This first installment looks at the bottom quarter of the list. This series will also inaugurate a new department at the site that we’re calling "The Crunch." It will be devoted to digging into campaign-finance and public-records databases to ferret out compelling Minnesota stories.

Sitting at the bottom of the top 100 is Kathleen Flynn Peterson, an attorney with Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi specializing in medical malpractice cases. The Edina resident has given $23,471 so far this election cycle exclusively to Democrats, including $2,300 to Barack Obama. In 2004 Peterson raised at least $100,000 in bundled contributions for John Kerry’s presidential campaign. She’s a past president of the American Association for Justice (formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America).

Car sales king Paul Walser clocks in at 95th place. The chief executive officer of Walser Automotive Group has written checks totaling $24,700 to Republican candidates so far this election cycle. Rep. Michele Bachmann and congressional challenger Erik Paulsen have each received maximum $4,600 contributions from Walser.

Another prominent GOP donor, Bahram Akradi, comes in a few spots higher on the list. The Life Time Fitness founder and native of Iran has contributed $25,925, with about three-quarters of that money going to Republican candidates. In the current presidential campaign Akradi has cut checks for McCain, Mitt Romney, Rudolph Giuliani and Hillary Clinton.

Akradi started Life Time Fitness in 1992 with a single gym in Brooklyn Park. The company now has 74 locations across the country and amassed revenues of $656 million last year. In 2007 Akradi received a compensation package estimated at $4.6 million, down from $41.3 million two years earlier.

The business executive made headlines in 2006 for a road-rage incident that occurred in the Minnetonka High School parking lot. Prosecutors alleged that Akradi, driving a black Humvee, cut off a teenager in a BMW. The Life Time Fitness CEO proceeded to exit his vehicle and hit the BMW with his fist, leaving a dent. Akradi then allegedly demanded that the teenager get out of his car. When he refused, Akradi attempted to drag him out of the vehicle, tearing his shirt in the process. He was charged with felony damage to property, but subsequently pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of misdemeanor assault. Bakradi expressed no regrets about his actions afterwards. "I am not at all a bit feeling sorry for what I did; I’d do it again," he told the Star Tribune last year.

Other local business bigwigs dot the list as well. William Heyman, vice chairman of The Travelers Companies, has contributed $26,200 this election cycle, primarily to Democrats, while Robert Burwell, a director at TCF Financial Corporation and founder of Xerxes Corporation, doled out an equal amount to Republican candidates.

A pair of Pohlads pop up in the bottom quarter of Minnesota’s top 100 political donors. Chris Pohlad, grandson of billionaire banker and Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad, has contributed $25,000 to campaigns this election cycle, primarily to Obama. He is also a major fundraiser for the presidential candidate, bundling more than $50,000 in contributions for the cause. On most donation disclosure forms Pohlad lists himself as a student at the University of Puget Sound. But his most recent contribution to the Obama campaign states that he works as an analyst for PepsiAmericas. No surprise given that his father, Robert Pohlad, is the CEO of the Minneapolis-based soft-drink distributor.

James Pohlad, an executive with the Twins, has ponied up $28,000 for political causes since the start of 2007, with the money going exclusively to Democrats. He’s provided the $4,600 maximum to Obama, Clinton, Rep. Tim Walz and senate candidate Al Franken.

Here’s the complete list:

76. Walter Barry, Wayzata, retired, $28,900

77. Clifford Olson, National Carpet Equipment, Shakopee, $28,400

78. Elizabeth Driscoll, St. Paul, retired, $28,300

79. Alfred Iversen, Wayzata, PMT Corp., $28,300

80. Rodney Burwell, Wayzata, Xerxes Corp., $28,000

81. Russel Mace, Woodbury, Johnstone Supply, $28,000

82. James Pohlad, Minneapolis, Minnesota Twins, $28,000

83. Norman Hoffman, Waconia, Technical Ordinance, $27,500

84. James Scoville, St. Paul, University of Minnesota, $27,300

85. Ruth Usem, New Sidelines, Minneapolis, $27,050

86. Teri Popp, Wayzata, attorney, $26,700

87. William Heyman, The Travelers Companies, St. Paul, $26,626

88. Vicki Cox, Minneapolis, retired, $26,250

89. Lowell Zitzloff, Wayzata, LNR Properties, $26,150

90. John Trautz, Minneapolis, Reliance Development, $26,050

91. Bahram Akradi, Eden Prairie, Life Time Fitness, $25,925

92. Phyllis Weiner, Minneapolis, Planned Parenthood, $25,600

93. Gordon Asselstine, Edina, retired, $25,575

94. Christopher Pohlad, Edina, University of Puget Sound, $25,000

95. Paul Walser, Hopkins, Walser Automotive Group, $24,700

96. Russel Cowles, Minneapolis, retired, $24,600

97. Janice Hope, Minneapolis, retired, $24,100

98. Matt Entenza, St. Paul, attorney, $23,905

99. Theodore Grindal, Minneapolis, Lockridge Grindal Nauen, $23,819

100. Kathleen Flynn Peterson, Edina, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, $23,471

The second installment of this series, looking at donors 51 through 75, will be posted on Friday.