Health care, insurance PACS help fuel local legislators

Political action committees are putting big bucks behind Caddo's legislative delegation.

According to annual and supplemental campaign finance reports, the committees, also known as PACS, funneled at least $81,119 into the campaign coffers of local state representatives and senators last year.

Those donating represent various politically-minded industries such as banking, health care and insurance.

Under the state's campaign finance law, PACS are limited to giving $5,000 to major office candidates or committees and $2,500 to district office candidates or committees.

Below is a snapshot of the campaign contributions and spending of various Caddo state legislators and representatives.

• Richard "Ritchie" Burford

• Party: Republican

House District 7 Rep. Richard Burford received $12,528 from political action committees last year. With those donations as well as others from special interest groups and individual donors, he was able to raise a total of $37,728which include in-kind donations.

Burford began the year with money. He had $40,105 prior to raising the additional contributions. After spending $22,999 on donations, banquet tickets, advertisements, and other items, he had $53,307 left at the end of the year.

Some of his biggest individual donors include the Louisiana Bankers Association State PAC, the Louisiana Nursing Home Political Action Committee, and Louisiana State Farm Agents and Associates PAC.

Another notable contribution from last year, though not a PAC, include: $500 from Altria Client Services, a subsidiary of Altria Group, Inc. — the parent company of tobacco giant, Philip Morris USA. It gave Burford's campaign a total of $1,500 for the entire election cycle.

He also received a $250 contribution from Koch Industries Inc., the second largest privately-owned company in the United States. Charles Koch, its CEO, is one half of the infamous billionaire Koch brothers, who bankrolled the Tea Party.

• Roy Burrell

• Party: Democrat

Once a hopeful for the Shreveport mayor's office, La. House District 2 Rep. Roy Burrell received $4,051 from political action committees last year. The Louisiana State Farm Agents and Associates PAC also contributed to his campaign coffer.

He also received a $250 donation from the Louisiana Oil and Gas PAC and $1,250 in contributions from the Louisiana Dental PAC, which also gave political contributions to other local state legislators.

Burrell began the year with $5,534 in funds. He was able to raised $31,811 in contributions but spent most of his money on fuel, website development, parade fees, membership dues and to refund a campaign contribution. Burrell ended the year with $12,572.

His campaign also spent $2,669 on legal services from Blanchard, Walker, O'Quin and Roberts to challenge the residency of an opponent.

Other notable donors include the campaign of former Shreveport Mayor Keith Hightower which contributed $1,000. The Beer Industry League of Louisiana donated food and beverage totaling $209 to his campaign in February 2014.

He opted not to qualify for the Shreveport mayoral race.

• Thomas G. Carmody, Jr.

• Party: Republican

Rep. Thomas Carmody, House District 6 representative received $12,340 — the majority of his receipts last year resulted from donations political action committees made.

Louisiana State Farm Agents and Associates PAC and the AgriPAC, which has interests in agriculture and farming, CenterPoint Energy Inc. PAC and the Louisiana Restaurant Association–Hospitality PAC contributed to his campaign chest.

He also received donations from the Louisiana Nursing Home political action committee as well as Kansas City Southern Rail PAC and Union Pacific Railroad.

Carmody also had $61,186 at the beginning of 2014.He raised an additional $18,659.

After spending $11,053 on campaign dues, membership photos, lodging and subscriptions to political publications, Carmody had $67,953 remaining at the end of the year.

Other notable donors include: Check Into Cash of Louisiana, Exxon Mobil Corporation.

• James H. "Jim" Morris

• Party: Republican

Donations from political action committees make up a small portion of La. House district 1 James H. "Jim" Morris' 2014 contributions which totaled $7,050.

He received just $2,750 from political action committees such as Chesapeake Energy Corporation Federal PAC, Louisiana Dental PAC and the Louisiana Oil Marketers and Convenience Store Association. He also received $250 from Koch Industries Inc.

Morris had $20,147 in his campaign coffers at the beginning of 2014. He spent $13,523 on computer services at Best Buy, on energy bills for his legislative apartment, membership dues, dry cleaning, maid services for his legislative apartment and another legislative apartment rental at The Reserve at Cedar Lodge in Baton Rouge.

He ended the year with $13,674 in his coffer. Other notable donor include: Dow Chemical, United Health Care Group and Phillips 66, an energy manufacturing and logistics company.

• Barbara Norton

• Party: Democrat

Unlike her counterparts, House District 3 Rep. Barbara Norton's annual campaign finance reports do not reflect donations from political action committees in 2014.

Instead, Norton's donors include Altria Client Services Inc ($1,000), R&W Consumer Grocery in Shreveport ($1,500) and Bossier City's Venkat or Sreedevi Yerrapragada ($1,500).

Local Attorney Ron Miciotto also contributed $500 to her campaign coffer.

Norton began the year with $13,090 in funds. She raised $5,600 and spent $1,597. Her expenditures include radio spots to encourage people to vote, membership dues, payments to persons hired to help set up community meetings and ads for souvenir books.

Norton ended the year with $17,094.

• Alan Seabaugh

• Party: Republican

House District 5 Rep. Alan Seabaugh also began the year with a healthy war chest totaling $63,571. Seabaugh raised $23,006 last year, of which $8,089 came from political action committees. He also reported an additional $750 in political action committee funding on a supplemental report.

Like his legislative counterparts, Seabaugh also received funding from the Louisiana State Farm Agents and Associates PAC. Other PAC donors include: American Electrical Power PAC, Adams & Reese PAC, ABC Pelican PAC, Chesapeake Energy Corporation Federal PAC and Louisiana Dental PAC.

Seabaugh spent $19,354 last year on campaign lodging expenses at the Capital Hilton in Washington D.C., a $500 campaign contribution to Charles Tutt, who ran for and won a First Judicial District Court bench last year and football tickets for a constituent.

Other notable donors include: $250 from Franks Management Company LLC, $500 from Koch Industries Inc. and $250 from local Margaret Shehee.

• Patrick C. Williams

• Party Democrat

Patrick Williams' annual campaign finance reports reflect his depleted state representative coffers and war chest from his spirited run in Shreveport's mayoral race, which he lost in the November primary. He was the biggest fundraiser during the mayoral race.

Williams ended the year with $750 in his state representative coffer and $487 in his mayoral campaign war chest.

His campaign finance reports filed during Shreveport's mayoral race list $10,401 in contributions from political action committees.

Unlike the other legislators, Williams annual reports cover the period of Nov. 20 through Dec. 31.

He reported having no funds in his state representative coffers at the beginning of that period. He received a $750 contribution from David Moore & Associates.

His mayoral coffer — the latest supplemental report covered Nov. 17 through Dec. 31 — reported having $1, 870 at the beginning of the reporting period. He raised and was refunded monies totaling an additional $1,027. Williams spent $2,410 on campaign labor, utilities, lawn services and other items.

According to the report, he ended the reporting period with $487.70

Senators

• Sherri Smith Cheek Buffington

• Party: Republican

According to her annual campaign finance report, political action committees infused state Sen. Sherri Smith Cheek Buffington's coffer with $10,939 in contributions.

She also received numerous donations from healthcare-oriented businesses such as the DeSoto Retirement and Rehabilitation Center ($1,500), Lake Charles Care Center ($1,000) and Lacombe Nursing Centre ($1,250).

Political action committees such as the Louisiana Dealers Election Action Network and Louisiana Nursing Home PAC contributed to her campaign chest.

Buffington began the year with $12,481 and her recipts totals $63,539 which include in-kind donations. She spent $26,417 on campaign consulting, donations and membership dues. Minus her expenditures, Buffington had $48,913 at the end of the year.

• Greg Tarver

• Party: Democrat

State Sen. Greg Tarver also received funding from Altria Client Services. The subsidiary, based out of Virginia, gave his campaign $1,000 on Oct. 16.

According to his annual campaign finance report, $10,500 of the $47,250 in contributions received last year came from political action committees. Those include: Louisiana Dental PAC, Louisiana State Farm Agents and Associates PAC, Inc., Adams & Reese PAC, and the American Electric Power Committee for Responsible Government.

Tarver began the year with $61,684 in funds. He spent $26,081 on donations, tickets to the premiere for "At Mamu's Feet," cable bills, a campaign donation for Shreveport City Council hopeful Billy Wayne and Lynn Cawthorne. He also donated to Caddo Parish School Board member Dottie Bell.

Tarver ended the year with $82,852, according to his annual report.

• Barrow Peacock

• Party: Republican

State Sen. Barrow Peacock loaned his campaign $325,000 on Dec. 11.

He also received donations from Altria Client Services ($1,000), Anheuser-Busch Companies ($500), Koch Industries Inc. ($500) and Exxon Mobil Corporation ($500).

Political Action Committees contributed $8,771 to his state senate coffers last year. Peacock began the year with $2,075. He only spent $347. Peacock had $340, 249 in his coffers at the end of 2014.