Patrick benefited from fund-raiser by Big Dig lobbyist
Event raised about $20,000
Democrat Deval L. Patrick, who regularly decries what he calls a ``Big Dig culture" on Beacon Hill, collected thousands of dollars in campaign money at a fund-raiser this month hosted by O'Neill and Associates, a firm that lobbies for the Big Dig's project manager.
The breakfast, which raised more than $20,000, took place Oct. 3, hours before Patrick complained at a debate in Springfield about the state's ``inward-looking political establishment" and referred to special interests as ``people who get to play, no matter who the governor is."
``I bring that outsider perspective," Patrick said at the debate. He has also aired a television ad vowing to clean up the ``Big Dig culture" and cited the Big Dig as ``an example of what's wrong with Beacon Hill today."
Patrick's effort to portray himself as an outsider came under fire from Healey after he held a closed-door meeting last month with Senate President Robert E. Travaglini and House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi to discuss how they might help his campaign. The Republican Governors Association has also aired a television ad accusing Patrick of playing to ``special interests" and questioning whether voters can trust Patrick and ``one-party rule behind closed doors."
O'Neill and Associates -- whose founder, Thomas P. O'Neill III, is the son of former US House Speaker Thomas P. ``Tip" O'Neill -- represents Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the Big Dig's project manager, as well as other companies and agencies that do business on Beacon Hill and Capitol Hill, including the Massachusetts Port Authority, the State Police Association of Massachusetts, and the Back Bay Restaurant Group.
Earlier this year, the firm, working on behalf of Wonderland Dog Track owner Charles Sarkis, aggressively lobbied state lawmakers to legalize slot machines at racetracks.
O'Neill and Associates raises money for many political candidates, mostly Democrats. Earlier this year, firm officials said, O'Neill and Associates held a fund-raiser for Patrick's Republican opponent, Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey. According to Ann Murphy, a former aide to Governor Mitt Romney who now works at O'Neill and Associates, about two-dozen people attended the February fund-raiser.
``We raise money for many candidates," said Andrew Paven, a spokesman for Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff. ``We had a breakfast fund-raiser for [US Representative] Barney Frank today. The contributors are a matter of public record."
Paven said that at Patrick's request, no one associated with the consortium nor any other Big Dig contractor was invited to the Oct. 3 fund-raiser or allowed to contribute. He said that he is the only person at O'Neill and Associates who works with Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff and that he did not attend.
``Nobody who works for any company with any work on the Big Dig was invited," he said. ``They're not taking money from the Big Dig, which is why I didn't make a contribution."
Paven, however, acknowledged that O'Neill and Associates is paid to represent Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff. In addition, an invitation to the fund-raiser said that one of the event's sponsors was John Cahill, who is listed as a congressional lobbyist for Bechtel in 2006. Paven said Cahill did not donate to Patrick.
Paven said the event, hosted by six O'Neill and Associates officials, was well attended, but he would not give details. A Patrick campaign official said the breakfast brought in more than $20,000.
The invitation suggested contributions of $200, $500, or $1,000, saying that the first $500 would go to the Patrick campaign, the next $500 would go to his running mate, Tim Murray, and the remainder, up to a total of $5,000 per person, would go to the Massachusetts Victory 06 committee, which was set up by the state Democratic Party.
Patrick's senior campaign adviser, Doug Rubin, acknowledged that Patrick attended the fund-raiser. But Rubin said that, if elected, Patrick will press for change on Beacon Hill, regardless of who has donated to his campaign.
``Deval has been very clear: We need to make big changes on Beacon Hill, and that is not going to change," Rubin said. ``We have over 20,000 donors to the campaign, and we're happy, obviously, to have new supporters come on every day. It shows the momentum of the campaign."
Pamela Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, described O'Neill and Associates as a major inside player on Beacon Hill.
``It is one of the biggest lobbying firms and one of the most influential and employs many former elected officials, including Mr. O'Neill," said Wilmot, pointing out that O'Neill is a former lieutenant governor.
``These are the folks that open doors on Beacon Hill, who . . . are friends, golf buddies, raise money for political campaigns, and have the golden touch when it comes to getting things done," Wilmot said. ``Unfortunately that is not always to the benefit of voters of Massachusetts, who often have interests at odds with the power brokers and those who can pay firms the high fees they command."
Healey's campaign slammed Patrick yesterday for using O'Neill and Associates.
Asked about Healey's fund-raiser at the O'Neill firm, a Healey spokesman refused to address her event.
``It's another example where Deval Patrick claims he's an outsider, but is following the insider playbook to a tee," said Tim O'Brien, Healey's campaign manager.
He also criticized Patrick because O'Neill and Associates represented the Patriot Majority Fund, an out-of-state group that financed a negative ad that ran in September. The firm is no longer associated with the Patriot Majority Fund, Paven said.
The ad attacked her for an episode in which her State Police driver flashed the emergency lights of her official car to ease through a traffic jam. The ad also included remarks she made last year about tax breaks that might encourage elderly residents to remain ``overhoused and isolated."
The Patriot Majority is a 527 organization, named for the section of the Internal Revenue Service code under which they operate.
``It's very hypocritical for Kerry Healey to criticize 527s when she's taken close to a million dollars from a 527 -- the Republican Governors Association," said Rubin. 