06/04/2006

Editorial

Secret political accounts suggest other agendas

So just who does Sen. Jason Allen represent in Lansing? Supposedly, it's the people in the 37th state Senate district who elected him.

But Record-Eagle revelations that Allen has established at least two secret, unregulated funds through which he has accepted thousands of dollars from casino, tobacco and landfill interests raise questions: Do his best interests parallel those of his constituents? Who has access to and influence over Allen and how did they get it? Whose welfare comes first, his constituents' or his donors'?

These are troubling questions, made all the more troubling by the fact that Allen won't reveal who has donated to one of the funds or how much money they have given.

Why have secret accounts in the first place? The only possible reason is a desire to keep some dealings — ostensibly the people's business — out of the public eye.

State and federal campaign laws, as flawed as they are, give voters a sense of who gives money to whom, who is seeking influence, who is offering support.

Giving cash in secret negates that public oversight.

A series of donations to one of Allen's accounts during hearings over a bill to ban smoking in restaurants makes the point.

In 2004 Allen, as chairman of the Commerce and Labor Committee, refused to hold a vote on the bill, which was opposed by the tobacco lobby as well as the Michigan Restaurant Association and the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association.

A tobacco company donated $2,000 to a hidden Allen account within a month of Record-Eagle stories and editorials about the bill.

The Michigan Restaurant Association made a $150 donation to Allen's public campaign accounts that year, then gave $2,500 to his private account 10 days before Allen held a hearing on the bill. Restaurant and bar associations have given Allen $7,700 since 2003.

So despite heavy support from a host of public health advocates — and the fact that only about 25 percent of Americans smoke — the bill went nowhere.

It must be said that Allen provided a list of donors to his administrative fund after numerous requests from the Record-Eagle. Access to the records of a second fund was denied.

But it must also be said that it's obvious why some donations were made in secret.

Although casino gambling interests are banned from making campaign donations, operators of the Greektown Casino in Detroit contributed $1,000 to one of Allen's secret accounts. He is chairman of the Senate Gaming and Casino Oversight Committee.

The Carleton Farms Landfill in Sumpter Township in southwest Wayne County, a subsidiary of Republic Waste Inc., gets more Canadian trash than any landfill in Michigan. Because Canadian trash is such a heated issue here, donations can be troublesome.

A Record-Eagle search of the Secretary of State's database to 2003 found zero political contributions by Republic Waste or Carleton Farms to any Michigan lawmaker. But one Allen fund got $1,000 from them.

"These are pretty radioactive donors, and people don't want that as part of the public record," Rich Robinson of the nonpartisan Michigan Campaign Finance Network told the Record-Eagle.

It is no secret that Allen is on a quest to become Senate Majority Leader after the November elections. He is seen by many political observers as the odds-on favorite.

His wife, Suzanne Miller Allen, just last week stepped down as chief of staff for current Majority Leader Ken Sikkema, for whom she has worked for years.

With the major Senate leadership post seemingly in his grasp, why does Allen do business with "radioactive" donors like Big Tobacco or casinos or landfills?

While most of us would hardly consider $1,000 here or there pocket change, donations of that size are piddling on the statewide stage. (A downstate woman who listed herself as a "homemaker" — she's the wife of a major roads contractor — donated $40,000 to Allen's public campaign fund.)

So why do it?

That's the question. One obvious answer is the old quid pro quo, the "I'll scratch your back" mentality that drives so much of what is supposed to be public policy in Lansing. Back-door donations don't come without strings. As Majority Leader, Allen would have tremendous influence and be a man to know.

Perhaps the only question left is whether northern Michigan will get lost in his ambitions.