Champion @melissahortman rallying at the Capitol for clean energy #EarthDay cc: @MEPartnership #mnleg pic.twitter.com/fwiewnYjT2
— Dave Pinto (@davepinto) April 22, 2015
In Merchants of Daudt I: flipping the MN house on the rising plume of North Dakota oil money, Bluestem looked at one oil financier's influence on the 2014 Minnesota House elections.
With a new and dirtier Jobs and Energy Omnibus Finance Bill up for debate on the Minnesota House floor Wednesday afternoon, Bluestem thought we'd examine part of that earlier story from a different prism: which energy special interests paid to try to defeat Rep. Melissa Hortman (DFL-Fridley), a clean energy advocate who chaired the Minnesota House Energy Policy Committee in 2013-2014.
[North Dakota oil lease company Northern Oil and Gas] contributed $25,000 to the Republican State Leadership Committee on January 6, 2014; the RSLC gave a total of $325,000 to the Minnesota Jobs Coalition Legislative Fund PAC in 2014 before the November election.
The company also gave $25,000 directly to the Minnesotan Jobs Coalition Legislative Fund PAC on August 15, 2014 (p. 6, year end report). That's at least $25,000 and perhaps as much $50,000 of good Bakken crude flowing into Minnesota politics for independent expenditures.
It's hard not to envision at least some of that oozing into the hands of the venders MJC chair (now House Majority executive director) Ben Golnik hired to craft $58,640 worth of attacks against DFL state representative Melissa Hortman in House District 36B (page 18, year end report).
That's one possible source of independent expenditure cash from the energy industry to work against Hortman. Here's the list of all the IE above $1000 that were spent against Hortman in 2014, via the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board:
HRCC (MN House GOP campaign committee) $91,328.00
Minn Jobs Coalition Legislative Fund $68,140.00
Republican Party of Minn $14,338.83
MN Action Network IE PAC $9,009.32
As we noted in Merchants of Daudt I:
After all, in the 2013-2014 session when the DFL held the majority in the Minnesota House, the Fridley Democrat chaired the Energy Policy Committee, helping to shepherd through clean energy policy.
Northern Oil and Gas Inc Chair and CEO Micheal Reger also gave big to the HRCC, the campaign committee for Minnesota House Republicans. Reger dropped $10,000 into the HRCC kitty on October 14, 2014, (p. 48 year end report) after giving the committee $25,000.00 on December 31, 2013 (p. 26 year-end report), or $35,000 for the cycle.
HRCC Energy Money
So perhaps some of that Northern Oil and Gas cash got spent against Hortman by the HRCC. The $91,328 Independent Expenditure spending by the HRCC against Hortman was the committee's highest IE figure in 2014.
From whence else in the energy industry do we find money flowing to the Jobs Coalition Legislative fund and the HRCC?
Clearly, energy policy mattered to the HRCC, and to current Jobs and Energy chair Pat Garofalo, whose campaign committee contributed $60,000 to the HRCC (page 18, year end report). This contribution appears to be the largest gift to the HRCC by a GOP House candidate's committee; other high-rolling committee chairs, such as McNamara and Loon, contributed between $32,000-35,000 each.
Xcel Energy Employees PAC gave the HRCC $12,000 (page 60). The Rural Electric PAC gave $1900.
Republican State Leadership Committee funds to Jobs Coalition
While some funds shifted to the from the Jobs Coalition to its legislative fund, we don't know where the thought leader organization got most of that money. The biggest contributor to the IE spending was the Republican State Leadership Committee as we'd noted in February's Feb 2015 update: MJC received $325,000 from the RSLC; where'd that money trickle down from?. We noted a few energy industry and industry ally contributors to the RSLC:
The American Coalition For Clean Coal Electricity gave $299 for a year-to-date total of $22,299.
Koch Industries gave $25,000, for a year-to-date total of $179,305.
Noble Energy, an oil and gas exploration company, gave $25,000, for a year-to-date total of $175,000.
Marathon Oil, $100,000, for a year-to-date total of $101,073.
Alliance Resource Management GP, LLC, a mining and coal company, gave $150,000.
The US Chamber of Commerce, $150,000, for a year-to-date total of $2,751,710.
UPDATE: According to Open Secrets, North Dakota's Basin Electric Power Cooperative gave RSLC over $11,000 in the 2013-2014 cycle:
| $510 | BASIN ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE | BEULAH ND | 11/26/13 |
| $10,000 | BASIN ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE | BEULAH ND | 09/20/13 |
| $670 | BASIN ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE | BEULAH ND | 07/12/13 |
| $350 | Basin Electric Power Cooperative | Beulah ND | 03/19/13 |
UPDATE II: According to Open Secrets, Edison Electric Institute, an industry front group that's anti-solar, gave RSLC over $100,000 in the 2013-2014 cycle. How much of that flowed to the $325,000 the RSLC sent to Minnesota Jobs Coalition Legislative Fund for IE against DFLers?
| $25,000 | EDISON ELECTRIC INSTITUTE | WASHINGTON DC | 06/26/14 |
| $25,000 | EDISON ELECTRIC INSTITUTE | WASHINGTON DC | 11/26/13 |
| $295 | EDISON ELECTRIC INSTITUTE | WASHINGTON DC | 11/26/13 |
| $399 | EDISON ELECTRIC INSTITUTE | WASHINGTON DC | 10/14/13 |
| $50,000 | Edison Electric Institute | Washington DC | 03/28/13 |
UPDATE III: According to Open Secrets, the Nuclear Energy Institute gave RSLC $115,000 in the 2013-2014 cycle. How much of that flowed to the $325,000 the RSLC sent to Minnesota Jobs Coalition Legislative Fund for IE against DFLers?
SourceWatch describes the front group in these terms: the "NEI’s objective is to ensure the formation of policies that promote the "beneficial uses" of nuclear energy in the United States and around the world. It has over 280 corporate members in 15 countries, including companies that operate nuclear power plants, as well as design and engineering firms, fuel suppliers and service companies, and labor unions."
| $5,000 | NUCLEAR ENERGY INSTITUTE | WASHINGTON DC | 10/30/14 |
| $50,000 | NUCLEAR ENERGY INSTITUTE | WASHINGTON DC | 02/06/14 |
| $10,000 | Nuclear Energy Institute | Washington DC | 03/15/13 |
| $50,000 | Nuclear Energy Institute | Washington DC | 03/14/13 |
UPDATE IV: According to Open Secrets, Continental Resources, Inc, an Oklahoma based energy company that calls itself the largest acreage holder in the Bakken, gave RSLC $57,000 in the 2013-2014 cycle. How much of that flowed to the $325,000 the RSLC sent to Minnesota Jobs Coalition Legislative Fund for IE against DFLers?
| $5,000 | CONTINENTAL RESOURCES, INC | OKLAHOMA CITY OK | 10/29/14 |
| $27,000 | CONTINENTAL RESOURCES, INC | OKLAHOMA CITY OK | 10/06/14 |
| $25,000 | CONTINENTAL RESOURCES, INC | OKLAHOMA CITY OK | 01/11/13 |
UPDATE V: Paul Singer, whom Mother Jones magazine described as This Vulture-Fund Billionaire Is the GOP's Go-To Guy on Wall Street, gave RSLC $50,000 in the 2013-2014 cycle according to Open Secrets. Singer's Elliott Management hedge fund holds a significant position in the Hess Corporation, an energy company with deep roots in North Dakota.
How much of that $50,000 flowed to the $325,000 the RSLC sent to Minnesota Jobs Coalition Legislative Fund for IE against DFLers?
| $50,000 | PAUL SINGER | NEW YORK NY | 10/29/14 |
UPDATE VI: According to Open Secrets, Cloud Peak Energy Resources LLC, a Powder River company that sends coal to Minnesota, gave $15,000 to the RSLC. Wyoming Mining reported. in 2014 that Cloud Peak Taking More Active Role in Coal Debate. How much of that $15,000 flowed to the $325,000 the RSLC sent to Minnesota Jobs Coalition Legislative Fund for IE against DFLers?
| $15,000 | CLOUD PEAK ENERGY RESOURCES LLC | GILLETTE WY | 10/06/14 |
What proportion of all these contributions trickled into Minnesota? We'll never know how much of the mix came from which industry, but given where the spending was directed, it's likely some energy money flowed to Minnesota.
We'll be updating our findings as we watch the Minnesota House debate Chairman Garofalo's bill; Garofalo, BTW, is the Minnesota public co-chair for the American Legislative Exchange Council, itself the recipient of much energy industry largesse.
Tweet photo: Rep. Melissa Hortman, former Minnesota House Energy Policy Committee chair, who was a big IE target in 2014.
We're conducting our spring fundraising drive. If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:
Email subscribers can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient. Donations are not tax deductible.
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/05/16/hess-and-elliott-settle-fight-over-companys-board/?_r=0
Comments