Back in January,
I wrote a diary covering the open 113th Assembly District race in the Upper Hudson Valley region of Upstate New York and the substantial number of contributions that Republican candidate Steve Stallmer has received from outside of the region, particularly the Washington D.C. area where he worked as Chief of Staff for Congressman Chris Gibson (R - Kinderhook) and has connections from his days serving as a top lobbyist for the Associated General Contractors of New York. Out of curiosity today, I took a closer examination of
Steve Stallmer's contributors and found out that a startling 93% of them came from outside of Saratoga and Washington Counties (55 out of 59 transactions) and that 58% of Stallmer's contributors listed Washington D.C. addresses (25 out of 45 transactions). By contrast, over half of Democratic candidate
Carrie Woerner's contributors came from Saratoga and Washington Counties (25 out of 45 transactions).
Here are the profiles of just a few of Stallmer's many Washington D.C.-area contributors:
Sam Geduldig, a Washington DC lobbyist with Clark, Geduldig, Crawford & Nielsen, a top lobbying firm representing high-profile clients including Goldman Sachs, the American Banking Association and Koch Industries. Sunlight Foundation reports show Geduldig has represented numerous nuclear and energy clients, including Halliburton, Koch and Lennox. Geduldig's firm gained national attention in late 2011 when their well-documented attempts to undermine the Occupy Wall Street movement were exposed.
Geduldig contributed $200 to Steve Stallmer's Assembly campaign, according to records filed at the New York State Board of Elections on January 15, 2014. (Source)
Amy L. Wren, a former aide to President George W. Bush who now works as a lobbyist at Clark, Geduldig, Crawford & Nielsen and has served clients including Hallibuton, Koch and Boeing, in addition to numerous banks and insurance companies.
Wren contributed $100 to Steve Stallmer's Assembly campaign, according to records filed at the New York State Board of Elections on January 15, 2014. (Source)
Danielle Simonetta Maurer, Senior Vice President of Washington DC lobbying firm, Fierce, Isakowitch & Blalock. The Queensbury, New York native began her career in politics in the 1990s as a staffer for the House Rules Committee which was then chaired by Congressman Jerry Solomon (R), also of Queensbury. Maurer previously served as Director of Member Services for House Speaker John Boehner and was Senior Floor Assistant to former House Leader Tom Delay. Maurer's clients has included numerous nuclear and energy firms. In addition, Maurer, was listed on a 2012 Republic Report article as one of "The Lobyists Facebook Hired To Help The Government Spy On You."
Maurer contributed $250 to Steve Stallmer's Assembly campaign on January 15, 2014, according to records filed at the New York State Board of Elections (Source)
Donn Salvosa, Director of Legislative Programs for the Nuclear Energy Institute, an ALEC trade group which represents the nuclear power industry in more than 15 nations worldwide. Sunlight Foundation reports show Salvosa's clients include Entergy, Exelon and the American Gas Association.
Salvoasa contributed $250 to Steve Stallmer's Assembly campaign on January 15, 2014, according to records filed at the New York State Board of Elections. (Source)
Paul Lobo, Senior Vice President of Washington D.C. lobbying firm Mercury/Clark & Weinstock. During the 2013-2014 cycle, many of Lobo's lobbying activities have involved energy and utilities, working with Con Edison of New York, which built the Indian Point Nuclear Reactor and is the dominant gas, electric and utility provider in New York City and Downstate New York.
Lobo contributed $250 to Steve Stallmer's Assembly campaign on January 15, 2014, according to records filed at the New York State Board of Elections. (Source)