| Donor No. 4: Virginia Medical Society - $227,733 |
By Chad Bernard
The Medical Society of Virginia is the largest non-partisan donor in state politics.
The group gave legislators $227,733 during the 1999 election cycle. Only three contributors gave more, and they all are arms of political parties: the Democrats’ Commonwealth Victory Fund, the Republicans’ New Majority Project Political Action Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee.
The biggest beneficiary of the Medical Society’s generosity was Delegate George Broman Jr., R-Culpeper: He reaped $16,038 from the doctors’ group. Next came Sen. H. Russell Potts, R-Winchester, with $5,526.
Mary Kessler, a legislative aide at the Medical Society of Virginia, didn’t have a definitive answer why Broman got so much, but she said, "Delegate Broman is a doctor, so that could have something to do with it. This was also his first time running, and new candidates require some extra funding."
The donations may give the Medical Society a sympathetic ear on a key legislative panel: Broman landed a spot on the House Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee, which screens legislation involving the medical profession.
Being a doctor may help, but it certainly isn’t the only way to secure funds from the Medical Society. The group donated to 88 of the 100 House members and 37 of the 40 senators. The smallest contributions were $250.
"We definitely try to spread it out," Kessler said. "The medical field spans the state, so we have a lot of people to represent."
Kessler said the donations actually are made by the society’s political arm – the Virginia Medical Political Action Committee. VAMPAC’s board of directors considers various factors in deciding which legislators and candidates to support.
"They look at what committees they are on, their past voting records and things like that," Kessler said.
House members received about $50,000 more than senators – $138,923 to $88,810.
Also, Republicans garnered $123,941, while Democrats got $103,292. (The Legislature’s lone Independent, Delegate Lacey Putney, received $500.) But Kessler said the party distribution was not done on purpose.
"They don’t set out saying we need to give so-and-so this and so-and-so that," Kessler said. "It’s a process, and that is how it turns out sometimes."
Other legislators who received large donations from the Medical Society last year were Delegate C. Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, with $5,500; and Delegate Thomas W. Moss Jr., D-Norfolk, with $5,000.
That was no surprise, as both hold high positions in the Democratic Party. Cranwell is the House minority floor leader. Moss, the previous House speaker, has been a delegate since 1966 and carries significant behind-the-scenes influence.
Besides Potts, five other senators received contributions of $4,000 or more from the Medical Society: