Staff report
NEWBURYPORT — No one ran against the city's two state lawmakers in November's elections, but that didn't stop them from emptying a combined total of nearly $290,000 from their war chests.
The money spent by state Rep. Michael Costello, D-Newburyport, and state Sen. Steven Baddour, D-Methuen, came from campaign funds that they raised through private donors and political action groups.
The $290,000 is nearly three times as much as the two lawmakers spent during the 2006 campaign, when, once again, neither faced opposition.
"Not being independently wealthy, you've got to spend money to raise it," said Baddour, whose war chest is rated among the top-10 biggest in the Senate. "Building goodwill inside and outside the (Statehouse) is how you become effective."
They spent some of their war chests on traditional campaign expenses like fliers, advertising, campaign office expenses and fundraising events. They also spent tens of thousands of dollars on things like dinners at fancy Boston restaurants, trips to national political events, gifts, flowers, cookies, "thank you" meals for staffers, a limousine ride, and donations to other candidates' campaigns and local charities.
Those kind of expenses are not uncommon for politicians, says Pam Wilmot, director of Common Cause, a group that advocates for open government.
"This kind of expenditures is perfectly legal under the current law," she said. "You do see a lot of expenditures that are not related to political campaigning."
That's largely because "there's very few things that are prohibited" by election campaign spending laws, she said. Lawmakers can spend campaign money on any expense that furthers "the enhancement of the political future of the candidate." However it can't be spent primarily for the personal use of a candidate or any other person.
Costello, whose district includes Amesbury, Newburyport and Salisbury, spent $96,976 during the period Jan. 1, 2007, and Oct. 18, 2008, according to reports his campaign filed with the state Office of Campaigns and Political Finance.
Baddour, whose district includes Amesbury, Newburyport, Salisbury, Merrimac, Haverhill and Methuen, spent $191,170 during that same period, according to reports he filed.
One of the big-ticket items for both men was food — between them they spent just under $49,000 on meals and food gifts.
Costello spent almost $17,200 on meals. Baddour spent $31,769 on meals. About half of that spending was for food served at campaign events, and most of the rest was spent on restaurant dinners (See related story).
Both men also spread their campaign money to local charities, other politicians, chambers of commerce and political causes. For example, Costello gave his largest single donation, $4,772, to the Jewish Community Relations Council for a 10-day trip to Israel.
"You couldn't have them pay for the trip; that would have been a violation," he said. "Definitely we weren't going to have the taxpayers pay for the trip."
The trip included meetings on homeland security issues and visits to the Israeli State Department, he said.
"It's a trip that's run every year; I think that a majority of elected officials in Boston have been invited to attend," he said.
Locally, Costello gave $6,975 to Newburyport-area charities and organizations. The top three recipients were Yankee Homecoming Committee ($2,000), Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center ($1,000), and the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce ($1,125).
State politicians tend to shun involvement in local politics, preferring to not get involved in mayoral races and council races. Costello held true to that and steered clear of giving any money to local pols.
Not so with Baddour. He gave $100 donations to numerous candidates running for office in his hometown of Methuen.
Most of his charitable donations were made to Methuen and Haverhill-based charities. Locally, his biggest contributions went to Yankee Homecoming Committee ($1,500), the Salisbury Beach Partnership ($1,000), and the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce ($850).
Political donations, and spending on political conferences, accounted for a sizeable chunk of both men's spending.
For instance, Costello gave $3,500 to House Speaker Sal DiMasi's "Committee to Elect a Democratic House" — a fund DiMasi uses to pay for political strategy and polling consultants. Costello, who calls DiMasi a friend and who has been named to a coveted committee chairmanship by DiMasi, was by far the largest single contributor to the fund in 2008.
"I think it's important for me to ensure that Democrats in the House get re-elected, we maintain a strong foothold in the House," Costello said.
Costello has also spent $7,500 on attending legislative conferences and political events in places such as Washington, D.C., Florida and Texas.
The state Office of Campaign and Political Finance, which tracks candidates' campaign funds, compiles a report every election cycle that seeks to find trends in how politicians raise and spend their money. The 2008 report is not yet out, but the 2006 report indicates a counterintuitive trend: Senate candidates like Baddour who ran unopposed tend to spend far more than those in contested races. The average spending for senators was $51,471 in contested races, and $91,203 in uncontested races.
In the House, the average spending in contested races was $28,541, and in uncontested races, $24,573.
Less spending by Stanley, Tarr
State Sen. Bruce Tarr represents several smaller towns in greater Newburyport. He also ran unopposed in November, and he spent $27,031 from his campaign funds. The bulk of his spending was on food and rentals for fundraisers, or for charity meals for the elderly; he did not incur any expenses from dining out.
Greater Newburyport's other House member, state Rep. Harriett L. Stanley, D-West Newbury, also ran unopposed, but limited her $14,834 spending to expenses like phone, printing, donations, and reimbursements to herself. Her spending on food looks like thin soup compared to Costello and Baddour's roast beef — she spent $1,211, a little over half of it on two events at Bistro 45 in Haverhill, and the remainder on Market Basket groceries for Council on Aging dinner events.
Despite all that spending, both Costello and Baddour still had plenty of cash on hand as of Oct. 18. Baddour's war chest had $300,701, and Costello had $28,632. Stanley had $64,110, and Tarr had $105,345.
Reporters Katie Farrell and Crystal Bozek contributed to this story.
BOX
Raising and spending
Rep. Michael Costello:
Raised since Jan. 1, 2007: $100,472
Spent since Jan. 1, 2007: $96,975
Sen. Steven Baddour:
Raised since Jan. 1, 2007: $223,942
Spent since Jan 1, 2007: $191,170
