Following my post of “Who is the Group, Ask Damascus“, further research has yielded the following information.
The following provides and abbreviated version of the news story, “Following the Money“. Following the abbreviated section is the full story.
Abbreviated Section:
Ask Damascus is a self-proclaimed grassroots, locally-inspired citizen-created movement to right local wrongs. However, it is in fact bankrolled by a few outsiders. These outside groups, intent on using Damascus as a vehicle for spreading a national, special-interest group agenda into small towns, have poured thousands of dollars into our local elections via the shell that is Ask Damascus.
Of the $3,352.99 spent to get the 2008 measures on the 2008 ballot, Ask Damascus received:
• $1,500 from Washington D.C. based Americans for Prosperity
• $300 from the Taxpayers Association of Oregon
• $1,000 from the Taxpayers Association of Oregon (after which Damascus citizen Dan Phegley was reimbursed for his loan of $1,110)
• $850 from three non-Damascus residents
Another way to look at this is:
45% from Americans for Prosperity
39% from Taxpayers Association of Oregon
25% from three non-Damascus residents
——
109%
====
The total from outside Damascus and out of state sources equaled $3,750 which is $396.01 more that it cost to get the 2008 measures to the ballot.
Here is Information on contributions made from the Washington D.C. based group, “Americans for Prosperity” to Ask Damascus.
Here are the Ask Damascus political action committee financials.
As a follow-up to the story, when looking at the financials for Ask Damascus, a cash contribution of $1,900 was made by the Washington D.C. based organization, Americans for Prosperity. Also, an in-kind contribution, also from Americans for Prosperity, for $685.06 was made in the same time frame. Coincidentally the $685.06 is the same amount that was paid to the local newspaper, The Outlook a week earlier.
The Full story:
In 2004 the Oregon State Legislature passed HB3458, directing the Secretary of State to develop a searchable electronic filing system to be used by committees to file contribution and expenditure information online, accessible by the public. The system became operative in 2007 and is available by accessing http://www.sos.state.or.us. (A sample search appears at left.)
It’s a fascinating site for anyone interested in how money is raised and spent on behalf of candidates and issues in the state. In mid-February, the Observer used it to conduct research into AskDamascus, the political action committee behind the four ballot measures that comprise the Damascus March election. Whether one is right, left, or in the middle politically, the source of AskDamascus funding is disturbing.
AskDamascus – an organization whose tagline is “Giving power back to the citizens of Damascus Oregon” – is a self-proclaimed grassroots, locally-inspired, citizen-created movement to right local wrongs. However, it is in fact bankrolled by a few outsiders who bought control of the election in 2008 and seek to buy control of this election as well. These outside groups, intent on using Damascus as a vehicle for spreading a national, special-interest group agenda into small towns, have poured thousands of dollars into our local elections via the shell that is AskDamasus.
In this article, we will examine AskDamascus’s funding for the 2008 election. Data for the current election wasn’t available at press time – much of any electioneering income and expenses are paid after an election concludes – but we will provide that information in a subsequent article.
How was the 2008 Damascus election funded? Of the $3,352.99 actually spent to get measures on the 2008 ballot, AskDamascus received $1,500 from Washington D.C. based Americans for Prosperity; it received $300 from the Taxpayer Association of Oregon; and it received a $1,110 loan from Dan Phegley, one of its two director. (The Phegley loan was returned in early 2008 after Taxpayers Association of Oregon contributed another $1,000.) Three non-Damascus residents contributed a total of $850. The total described here — $3,750 – is more than enough to pay for the 2008 election, and none was derived from local sources.
Since its inception in early 2006 and through November of 2009, AskDamascus has received $19,312.44 in either direct or in-kind contributions. Of that sum, $10,724.68 – approximately 56% — was contributed by Americans for Prosperity.
Americans for Prosperity was founded in 2004 by David H. Koch, of Koch Industries. Koch Industries is the larges privately owned energy company in the United States, driving its income from the oil business, primarily oil refining. Presently, it holds stakes in pipelines, refineries, fertilizer, forest products, and chemical technology. Mr. Koch contributed more than $12 million to the Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation, the precursor to Americans for Prosperity. An additional $2.5 million was contributed by the Scaife Family Foundations, under the direction of reclusive billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, whose wealth was inherited from the Mellon industrial, oil uranium, and banking fortune. According to ExxonSecrets (a Greenpeace organization), between the years 1998-2001, Citizens for a Sound Economy received $380,250 from Exxon-Mobil. Americans for Prosperity was one of the lead organizations behind the recent Tax Day Tea Party protests, and last year launched an advertising an advocacy campaign opposing U.S. health care reform. It also advocates pro-tobacco industry positions on issues like cigarette taxes and clean indoor air laws.
The extensive oil-industry connections may help explain the appearance of Measure 3-350 on the March ballot, which permanently prohibits light rail in Damasucs. This measure has perplexed the Observer every since it was filed, as Tri-Met (light rail operator in the Portland metro area) only hints at the possibility of a Damascus MAX line, at thirty or more years into the future (see “Damascus Measures Observed,” in the February, 2010 Observer, available online at http://www.damascusobserver.com).
The second largest contribution to AskDamascus ($2,250, or 12%) is the Taxpayers Association of Oregon (TAO). TAO is also primarily supported by out-of-state backers, especially Americans for Tax Reform, which is funded by the Scaife Family Foundations (see above), R.J. Reynolds, Philip Morris, and the Tobacco Institute. TAO’s principals are Don McIntire and Bill Sizemore. McIntire is the father of Measure 5 (the 1990 property tax limitation measure) Sizemore has announced his intention to run for governor in 2010, but has since been indicted by the state on charges of tax evasion. Visiting the Secretary of State’s website again, the Observer counts 28 major cach contributions to TAO in 2009 totaling $18,721, all filed as “Miscellaneous Cash Contributions #100 or Under.” In spite of this category’s name, the average contribution to TAO in this category was $668. In other words, the sources of funding for TAO are difficult to ascertain.
In search for contributors to AskDamascus who are local, the Observer discovered three contributions totaling $900 from Paul and Virginia Bleeg. Under Measure 37, Virginia Bleeg sought compensation for $11,537,010 from the State of Oregon for the reduction in fair market value of their property at 8883 SE 222nd Drive in Damascus. The state denied the claim, but both parties claim victory on appeal.
The Elections Division Elections Reporting System, as noted earlier, can be accessed at http://www.sos.state.or.us, but a more convenient method of access is realized by Googling the system’s acronym, ORESTAR (Oregon Elections System for Tracking and Reporting). It is a secure web-based application that can be accessed from any computer with access to the Internet. In 2005 and 2007 the Oregon Legislature adopted legislation making significant changes to the way campaign finance information is reported. The legislation requires that all political committees and chief petitioner committees file campaign finance transactions electronically. It also requires that the Secretary of State provide an electronic filing system to committees free of charge to comply with this requirement. The system accepts multiple search criteria. We found data on AskDamascus by entering “AskDamascus” in the “Filer/Committee Name” field. Data can be exported to a spreadsheet for more extensive examination and analysis.
Source:
“Following the Money”
The Observer
March, 2010
Volume 16, Number 3
Damascus Citizen 