Syracuse, NY - Ursula Rozum, Green Party candidate for the 24th Congressional District, thought it was strange when big unsolicited campaign donations started flowing in over PayPal from Florida.



The Grace family, residents of a wealthy ocean-front community in Hobe Sound, had taken a sudden interest in her campaign to tax the rich and other 99 percent sympathies.



Carolyn Grace, a homemaker, gave $2,500. When she hit the maximum, her three children Nicholas, Frederick and Alicia together gave another $1,750.



Some quick research showed the Graces are donors to Rozum's Republican opponent, Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle.



They have a history of giving mostly to conservative candidates and political action committees, including Karl Rove's American Crossroads and the Club for Growth.



Rozum thought the Graces were likely to have only one interest in helping a Green Party candidate in a close Republican-Democrat matchup 1,300 miles away: Helping Buerkle.



"It is apparent that these donations are intended to help me win votes that might otherwise go to Dan Maffei and help Ann Marie Buerkle win the election," she said.



Even though the Graces' contributions would more than triple the amount of money she has to spend in the last week of the campaign, Rozum decided not to keep them.



She held a press conference Thursday to announce that she would give the money to charity. Rozum sat at a table in the Green Party headquarters on South Salina Street and happily gave the Grace's money away to a list of community groups and voter advocacy groups. A few supporters and her dog looked on as she wrote checks.



"It's rare that I have thousands of dollars to give to organizations that I like," she said.



She gave $750 each to the Dunbar Association, the Workers Center of Central New York and the Friends of the Ida Benderson Center, a group hoping to reopen a senior center in downtown Syracuse. She gave $500 each to the voter advocacy groups FairVote, Move to Amend, the Election Defense Alliance and No More Stolen Elections.



Federal law allows candidates to give campaign money to charities that are recognized as non-profits by the IRS.



"People are going nuts," she said. "We have Republicans giving money to me. We have Democrats saying a vote for Ursula is a vote for Ann Marie Buerkle, when it's really a vote on the Green Party line for me, Row F."



The Grace family has been accused in the past of spending money on the Greens to help the Republicans.



A Hartford Courant story from 2004 linked them to both Green presidential candidate Ralph Nader and Swift Boat Veterans, who criticized Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.



An anti-Nader group combed his campaign contributors to find links to conservatives.



Oliver Grace Jr. was listed with $1,000 contributions to both groups – opposing interests, but both working against Kerry.



He contributed $2,400 to Buerkle in 2010 and $2,500 in 2011. Wife Carolyn Grace contributed $2,500 to Buerkle in March this year, Federal Election Commission records show.



The Graces did not return telephone calls or emails seeking comment.



Oliver Grace Jr. is a Wall Street investment banker and descendant of the Grace National Bank family. That bank eventually became Marine Midland Bank. The New York Times obituary for his father, also named Oliver Grace, said his investment business had holdings of hundreds of companies and assets in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The senior Oliver Grace was a co-founder of the Cancer Research Institute in Manhattan and his son is listed on that organization's website as a trustee.



The next generation appears to support Democrats. Nicholas Grace has contributed to John Kerry and President Barack Obama. Frederick Grace gave to John Kerry in 2004. Alicia Grace has supported Howard Dean and his Democracy for America.

David Ray, a Buerkle spokesman, confirmed the Graces are Buerkle contributors. But he said he did not know anything more about them.



"That is not something we would direct any donors to do nor would we encourage it," he said. "I don't have any knowledge of what she's talking about."



Marc Brumer, speaking for Democratic candidate Dan Maffei, said the situation speaks for itself. "Dan thinks Ursula Rozum did the right thing," Brumer said.



Onondaga County Republican Chairman Tom Dadey also said there is no effort underway from the Republican establishment or the local operation to encourage people to donate to Rozum.



"I would encourage our donors, if they want to do something between now and Election Day, to make contributions to our candidates," Dadey said.



Rozum said she decided to give the money to charity, rather than return it to the donors, to send a message that the Green Party "is not a party of the 1 percent. We are a people's party," she said.



Later, she added, the Greens do accept campaign donations from rich individuals who share their values.

Michelle Breidenbach can be reached at (315) 470-3186 or mbreidenbach@syracuse.com or on Twitter @mbreidenbach.

Where do the 24th Congressional District candidates stand on the issues?



Click here to see our series of video interviews with Ann Marie Buerkle, Dan Maffei and Ursula Rozum.





Read transcripts of the 24th Congressional District candidates' online Q&A with syracuse.com readers.

