Baker Inaugural Committee Returning Donations That Exceeded Limit
Gov. Charlie Baker’s inauguration committee will return donations from two lobbying firms, because Boston.com found that they donated well over a limit he imposed for lobbyist contributions.
The committee declined to confirm the exact amount it will return to the firms, but records filed with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance showed that one firm donated $10,000 and the second donated $2,500.
When Baker took office, he had a huge inaugural ball that was projected to cost $1.6 million. None of the money came from public funds: The bill was footed by donations from companies and individuals, which gave at least $2.3 million.
Baker set a self-imposed limit on lobbyist contributions, saying they could only give a maximum of $250. But at least five firms registered as lobbyists with the state gave well over that limit. Boston.com’s review of fundraising records found that in two cases, they gave 40 times more than the governor said they were supposed to.
Brown Rudnick, which is listed as a lobbyist for Uber and MGM Resorts, among other companies, donated $10,000. Bay State Strategies Group, which is registered as a lobbyist for Lyft, Liberty Mutual Insurance, and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, where Baker was once CEO, also gave $10,000. (Harvard Pilgrim separately gave $25,000 to the fund.)
Keegan Werlin, which represents Spectra Energy, gave $2,500. McDermott, Quilty & Miller, which lobbies for the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of MA and the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, also gave $2,500. And Beacon Strategies group, which also represents Uber as well as 3M and Steward Health Care, gave $2,500 to the fund in March.
Informed that the firms had given more than Baker said they were allowed to, the inaugural committee pledged to return the $2,500 to Beacon Strategies Group and $10,000 to Bay State Strategies Group.
“Though the contributions by Bay State and Beacon Strategies are permissible by law, the inaugural committee mistakenly failed to flag them while self-imposing a limit on donations affiliated with lobbyists and has arranged to refund them,’’ said Jim Conroy, a senior advisor to the inaugural committee.
Neither Beacon nor Bay State responded to multiple requests for comment on why they exceeded Baker’s self-imposed limit.
Baker’s inaugural committee declined to comment on the record on why the three other firms — Brown Rudnick, Keegan Werlin, and McDermott, Quilty & Miller — would not have their contributions returned.
Inaugural funds are not subject to campaign finance law, which severely limits how much lobbyists can give — just $200 to candidates, candidate committees, or PACs.
“It’s a problem,’’ said Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, a non-partisan watchdog group. “We’re not wild about this loophole, essentially, that allows raising of unlimited funds for events like the inaugural.’’
Wilmot said she thought Baker’s committee is doing the right thing by returning the money.
“Returning the money is an appropriate solution to innocent mistakes, which it sounds like these were,’’ Wilmot said.
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