Gilroy/Morgan Hill
– In a political season marked by bitter partisan shouting and a
stream of negative campaign ads, a few local residents decided to
let their money do their talking – in a big way.
Gilroy/Morgan Hill – In a political season marked by bitter partisan shouting and a stream of negative campaign ads, a few local residents decided to let their money do their talking – in a big way.
Donations by two local families – the Curries and Goldsmiths – accounted for more than half of the $173,000 that Gilroyans contributed to candidates and political action committees (PACs) this election season, according to figures from the federal election commission.
Venture capitalist Robert Curry and his wife, Winifred, topped the list by giving a combined $84,025 to various Republican groups. The couple gave more this year than in past elections in part because of their strong feelings on key issues.
“International policy is a very important thing from our perspective,” Robert Curry said. “The U.S. needs to play roles that really move the world toward a democratic society. It really means that each human being can reach their fulfillment.”
He suggested that fighting terrorism and spreading democracy are the challenges of this generation – “in the Nixon years we had China … In the Reagan years, we had the Soviet Union. Now the situation is in the Middle East.”
During this election cycle, Robert and Winifred Curry each gave $25,000 to the Republican National Committee, $15,000 to the California Republican Party, and $2,000 to the Bush-Cheney campaign. Robert also gave $1,000 to a Democratic congressional candidate from Oregon.
A fundamental philosophy has led the couple to favor Republican candidates, according to Curry.
“The whole concept that people need to help each other to do things rather than counting on the government to help,” he said.
For the last 20 years, Curry has earned his living in the venture capitalist business. He currently handles health care and information technology investment for Alliance Technology Ventures. He said money has not been his primary form of political participation.
“As a kid, I grew up as a son of a coal miner in central Illinois,” Curry said. “While at that point we didn’t have a lot of money, my folks and my family were highly participatory in elections in terms of passing out flyers, getting people to go out and vote … My parents were very much of the philosophy that you got the government that you deserve and, in whatever way that you could, you participate. [The] money is another way for us to participate.”
Joel Goldsmith gave the second largest amount of money this election, sending $25,000 to the campaign coffers of defeated Democratic challengers John Kerry and John Edwards. But Goldsmith said practical concerns – not ideology – motivated his donation.
In the last few years, Goldsmith has learned the hard way that money and influence go hand in hand in Washington. He said that overly strict and unscientific regulations passed after the Sept. 11 attacks have cost him $11 million and forced the closure of Goldsmith’s Plants, which operated in tandem with the family’s seed company.
Their problems began in 2003, a year after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) added a strain of the Ralstonia bacteria to a list of banned substances as part of the Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act.
Shortly after, the bacteria cropped up in geranium cuttings that Goldsmith distributed to hundreds of growers around the country. USDA policy led to a mass quarantine and destruction of plants and millions of dollars in compensation to buyers at Goldsmith’s expense.
While the bacteria is deadly to potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and tobacco, the likelihood of cross contamination is minimal, according to Goldsmith. Further, he said the bacteria is not harmful to humans. He sees the stringent policies to combat Ralstonia less as a safety issue than a symptom of power politics in the nation’s capital.
“The production of seed potatoes is a big business,” Goldsmith said. “It’s important to the U.S. seed potato producers to be able to state that their seed potatoes are produced in a country free of Ralstonia. That gives them a marketplace advantage over Mexico, Holland, or anyplace else that’s producing seed potatoes, because they can’t make a similar claim. It’s about money.”
That lesson has not been lost on Goldsmith, who said he has spent as much as he gave to Kerry and Edwards on Washington lobbyists, hoping to convince federal lawmakers and regulators either to revise their policies or at least compensate for the resulting losses.
“Trying to do anything to counter the federal government is not an inexpensive undertaking,” Goldsmith said. “We’ve got so much invested already, we have to spend a little bit more.”
As for his contribution, Goldsmith joked: “In light of the fact that the people I gave it to lost, it didn’t do too much.”
Nationally, John Kerry’s presidential campaign collected $246 million, of which $45 million went unused, according to Political MoneyLine, an online company that tracks federal campaign contributions. President George W. Bush raised $273 million and has $16 million remaining. Half a billion dollars went to 527 organizations – advocacy groups that work independently of specific campaigns.
Aside from the Curry and Goldsmith contributions, Republican groups narrowly outpaced Democrats for local contributions. Overall, residents gave $31,227 to Republican groups, including state and local candidates and federal congressional and senatorial campaign committees. They gave $25,780 to similar groups on the Democratic side.
The list of political contributions included $2,000 from local teachers, $400 from a Target cashier and $220 from a local pastor.
While topping the list of contributors, Curry holds fast to an optimism that sees money as just one form of involvement.
“I would hope everyone can participate in the process in their own way,” he said. “The fundamental level, of course, is to go vote. There’s [rarely] an excuse to miss voting. Then, beyond that, to the extent that you’re motivated by candidates or issues, people should participate in the process. That’s how we get the best results.”
