Posted on 10/26/2013 9:10:16 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the state Democratic Party have said as little as possible about Malloy's weekend fundraising trip to California Oct. 18-20, despite demands by the Senate Republican leader for details after a politician's tweet suggested the governor met with a state contractor out there.
But Government Watch has pieced together a rough picture of what went on as Malloy panned for California gold for Connecticut Democrats and the Democratic Governors Association – a national group that can make independent campaign expenditures in all states to help Democrats.
First of all, it turns out that Malloy did, indeed, encounter Lenny Mendonca, a top executive at state contractor McKinsey & Co. in San Francisco – just as a California politician indicated in a Twitter post that sparked controversy after it surfaced in a Courant blog Tuesday.
McKinsey & Co. – a global management consulting firm with offices throughout the U.S., including Stamford – has had two contracts with the state of Connecticut worth $6.3 million since 2010.
The first, costing nearly $4 million, was for a report issued in 2011 on cost-saving at the University of Connecticut.
The second – a $2.3-million contract with the Office of the Health Care Advocate to study the redesign of health-care delivery and payment systems in Connecticut – began April 1 and runs through Nov. 30, according to records released Friday.
Mendonca, a major Democratic political contributor, met Malloy at an Oct. 18 gun-policy forum at a San Francisco restaurant, sources said. At that event Malloy and Gavin Newsom – the former San Francisco mayor who now is the Democratic lieutenant governor of California – both spoke to an audience filled with active Democrats including at least a couple of big financial rainmakers for the party, the sources said.
Later that evening, a Friday, Malloy also spoke at an event at a different San Francisco restaurant – this one a fund-raising reception for the Democratic Governors Association, the sources said. The next day, Malloy and the state Democratic Party's executive director, Jonathan Harris, had at least one meeting with an individual Democratic contributor, the sources said.
In an interview on Friday, state Democratic Party spokesman James Hallinan confirmed a few of the details that the sources provided. He said that Malloy met Mendonca at the gun-policy forum, which he said was not a fund-raising event. Hallinan said Mendonca did not attend the DGA fundraiser and made no donation to the state Democratic Party. He said Malloy also had "fundraising meetings for the state party."
Mendonca did not return Courant phone calls this past week.
His name first came up in this Twitter post from California Democratic congressional candidate David Peterson from Oct. 20: "@Lenny_Mendonca Pleasure to meet you. Thank you so much for hosting CT Gov. Dan Malloy!"
Mendonca, in addition to his executive capacity at McKinsey & Co., also owns owns a harbor-front brew pub in the coastal community of Half Moon Bay, some 30 miles south of San Francisco.
Hallinan, the state party spokesman, said that he was not aware of any setting where Mendonca played host to Malloy. He said Malloy did not travel to Half Moon Bay.
Peterson, like Mendonca, did not return Courant phone calls to explain what he was tweeting about.
Contractor Contacts
Mendonca wasn't the only McKinsey executive Malloy associated with in California, sources said. Another was Lorna Randlett, McKinsey's & Co's. external relations manager in the San Francisco office. She is a major Democratic fundraiser, along with her husband, Wade Randlett, a bio-fuels businessman who founded the political group Bay Area Democrats -- on whose board of directors both he and Mendonca both serve.
As a couple, the Randletts gathered -- or "bundled" -- more than $500,000 in contributions from others for the 2012 Obama campaign, records show. The Bay Area Democrats' website says Wade Randlett, a big Democratic donor himself, "has hosted events for dozens of national Democratic leaders, including President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, former President Bill Clinton, all of the current Senate leadership and over 50 sitting Senators and House members."
The Randletts were at one or more of the events where Malloy talked on his California trip, sources said. Neither of the Randletts could be reached for comment. Asked Friday what contact Malloy may have had with them, Hallinan said he had no information about that.
After Malloy returned from California, he was asked by reporters last Monday how the fund-raising trip had gone, and all he said was that "it was nice."
Then came Tuesday and the disclosure of Peterson's Twitter post about Mendonca – which prompted a demand for details by state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, who is seeking the Republican Party nomination to run for governor next year.
"Taxpayers have a right to know who the governor met with and who was solicited for donations," McKinney said Tuesday night. "Left unanswered, this matter gives the state and the governor, quite frankly, the appearance of being for sale."
Other than saying all laws were followed, and that Mendonca has not hosted a fundraiser he attended, Malloy was mum on details on the trip. Hallinan said the party does not reveal specifics of Democratic fundraising activities. "We don't comment about [Democratic Party] finance issues. That's just our protocol. The governor always follows all rules and regulations.''
After Hallinan confirmed the new travel and fundraising details Friday, McKinney said he still wasn't satisfied. "It was the governor and his office who indicated he would be out in California," McKinney said. "I'm still at a loss as to why the governor won't reveal what he events he went to and where he was. I think he owes the people of Connecticut at least that. I don't know why he's refused to give out that information."
Malloy's expenses for travel and accommodations were covered by the state Democratic Party on the trip – but his state police security detail, which travels with him everywhere he goes, is funded by taxpayers. No figures were released, but it will be in the thousands of dollars based on past accountings.
Asked about the expense to taxpayers for his political fundraising, Malloy said: "There's a reality: that I – like I think just about every other governor, or the vast majority of governors -- have 24 hour protection. There's a reason for that. I generally don't comment on that. Nor does our office generally comment on that."
Malloy justified his fund-raising travels by saying he and other Democrats need to counteract what he called the "terrible" 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission – which said that said that the First Amendment prohibits government restrictions on political independent expenditures by organizations, corporations, and unions.
"I want to be very clear. I'm a Democrat. I'm going to raise money for Democratic causes," Malloy said. "I'm going to support Democratic causes throughout the time that I'm governor and well after."
Hallinan elaborated Friday on Malloy's comments about the Citizens United decision, saying: "We will continue to aggressively fund-raise … in the face of unprecedented millions and millions of dollars that will come into the state of Connecticut from Tea Party groups and from outside PACs."
Oops! I guess he forgot that the IRS has been withholding tax exempt status for Tea Party and other Conservative groups. Where in the He** does he think they are going to get that kind of money when Obama’s IRS audits anyone who contributes to Republicans/Conservatives? They cannot even form PACs and get the tax exempt status needed. Phew! The Dems are covering ALL the bases aren't they?
A governor raises campaign funds in another state. I’d call this person swine, but why insult the pig?
In other words, be supported by the people in your own state.
“Where in the He** does he think they are going to get that kind of money when Obama’s IRS audits anyone who contributes to Republicans/Conservatives? They cannot even form PACs and get the tax exempt status needed. Phew! The Dems are covering ALL the bases aren’t they?’
The defunding of the opposition is part of the Democrat master plan to transform the US into a one party marxist/progressive state. Wall Street and multinationals are increasingly steering their campaign contributions to Democrat candidates and Democrat allied political groups. This is why the Republican establishment caved on Obamacare and will cave on amnesty. No doubt Obama’s minions are letting well heeled Republican donors know they face IRS audits and regulatory scrutiny if they give to Republicans or conservative causes. If Hillary is elected in 2016 by the 2020 elections we can expect anyone whose business is regulated by the government or who is dependent on the federal government in any way to be contributing only to Democrat causes.
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