Their donations revealed

Of faculty members who donate to presidential campaigns most of their dollars go to Democrats following the national trend

By: Melissa Daniels

Posted: 4/11/08

The faculty of Syracuse University is making its contribution to democracy this election cycle - a sum of at least $28,000.

And 39 of the 45 contributions made by employees of Syracuse since Jan. 2007 have gone toward Democratic candidates, according to the U.S. Federal Election Commission records.

David Murray, an assistant dean of advancement at SU, became a supporter of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Jan. 3 after the Iowa caucus, causing him to donate $500 to Obama's campaign the next day. He continues to support Obama, remaining particularly impressed after listening to a speech the candidate gave about race.

"His speech on race was the first in my lifetime that anyone had talked about race to the American public as if we were adults," Murray said.

Going by the numbers, it's the education industry - not just SU - that leans left.

Massie Ritsch, communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics, said donations from the educators are usually largely Democratic.

"The education industry is as Democratic as the oil industry is Republican," Ritsch said.

The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-partisan, non-profit research group that tracks political donations and analyzes its effects on elections and public policy, according to its Web site.

So far in the 2008 presidential campaign, 75 percent of donations from educators have gone to Democratic candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics Web site. The field is ranked 10th out of 80 tracked industries, contributing almost $18 million so far.

"Democrats can count on money from college professors and other educators," Ritsch said.

Here's the breakdown of contributions since Jan. 2007 from Syracuse University employees to the 2008 presidential candidates:

*$8,850 went to Sen. Hillary Clinton (D.-N.Y.) from 17 individual donations

*$7,500 went to Obama from 13 individual donations

*$500 went to Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz.) from two individual donations

*$250 went to Republican Mitt Romney from one donation

*$250 went to Gov. Bill Richardson from one donation

*$200 went to Sen. John Edwards from one donation

An additional $1,800 was donated to the Democratic National Committee from three separate donations.

Rosemary O'Leary, a professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, is one of Clinton's top supporters at Syracuse with a donation of $1,000 in Nov. 2007. It's the largest donation she's ever made to a candidate.

Though she's a registered Democrat, O'Leary said she doesn't support candidates along party lines - she votes for who she thinks is the best person for the job. In this election, that's Clinton.

"I support her because she's already smashed the first-lady stereotype," O'Leary said in an e-mail interview. "I believe she will continue to make history not only as the first U.S. woman president, but as a great U.S. president."

Edward Russell, an advertising professor in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and registered independent, now considers his $250 donation to Richardson in March of 2007 a waste of money.

He had never contributed to a presidential campaign before. But when Richardson threw his hat into the ring, Russell initially felt he found the candidate to back.

But when Richardson made a comment about his position on the war in the Iraq that was different than what Russell understood his position to be, Russell was completely turned off.

"It struck me as pandering for votes," Russell said. "Completely irresponsible, something like an, 'I'd pull (the troops) all out tomorrow' comment. It was a change from what he'd said earlier. And I thought it was terribly irresponsible for a country that's caused so many issues."

Though he may donate to a candidate in the future, and he's glad he made the contribution for personal reasons, Russell thought this time he was throwing his money away.

"I'd rather give it to some homeless guy standing on the street," he said.

Russell said he's shocked by the quantity of money that goes into presidential campaigns.

"When it gets down to whoever raises the most money wins," he said. "That's just wrong."

This election season, fundraising records were shattered with more than $800 million raised so far. A projected $500 million more will be raised once the nominees for each party are in place, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The 2004 presidential campaign funds totaled more than $528 million. It was during that season that the education industry had such a prolific role in political donations.

In 2000, the education field ranked 26th among 80 tracked industries, with a donation amount of almost $17 million. But the contributions spiked and hit a high at just over $37 million in the last presidential election. Seventy-eight percent of campaign contributions from educators went to Democrats.

"There were big supporters of Howard Dean, then John Kerry once he became the Democratic nominee," said Ritsch, of the Center for Responsive Politics, "seems they almost universally shared the singular goal of getting George Bush out of the White House."

In this election, the associate SU dean Murray, a registered Democrat, said he thinks Obama will bring about the kind of change he'd like to see. Murray is passionate about Obama's personality, intellect and perspective on the world.

While Murray consistently donates to political campaigns and charities, there's something different about his contribution to Obama.

"Those donations were more out of duty or intellectual desire, rather than out of passion."

mdanie01@syr.edu