Tis the season to give, so yesterday we took a look at Dominion Power's recent giving habits - specifically how much they've been contributing to Virginia's politicians during the past four years.
To follow up, perhaps even finish up, this theme, today we're going to slice and dice the donation data to see what pops up. And, to be sure not to leave anyone off, the full list of Dominion donations by year will be available at the tail of this post - be sure to look up your favorite politicians.
1. Buying Votes?
When looking at such donations a big question is usually something along the lines of "Did company X buy influence through it's donations?". Well, the answer to this question is either very easy or very difficult given recent donation and voting data.
Last year, Dominion pretty much wrote their own bill, (SB 1416), which went on to become law with overwhelming support in both the House and the Senate. In the primary votes (before minor substitutions by the Governor) there were a total of 19 NO votes between the House (16) and Senate(3). Since Dominion has given money to just about everyone (more on this shortly), and just about everyone voted for Dominion's hand crafted bill, the easy conclusion is that Dominion bought its bill (now law).
However, in looking at the NO votes, there isn't a strong correlation between the NO's and Dominion's donations. Some NO's have done well by Dominion for the past four years while others have benefited much less so. What does stand out about the House NO votes is that it's a gaggle of Republicans - certainly not a group that's making an environmental stand. All Democrats, save two, voted in favor of the bill with the two not voting at all. Off the top of my head I don't recall why the group of Republicans stood against the bill, but given that there isn't a strong correlation between Dominion's donations and their votes, their rationale for opposition isn't particularly relevant to this discussion.
Furthermore, from the handful of politicians who recorded no donations from Dominion the past four years, the votes were evenly split. So getting into the weeds there isn't a clear cut dollars-for-votes situation here. While it does look suspicious, I'd be willing to bet that Dominion simply scared the crap out of everyone by predicting dire energy consequences should their bill not pass. And our legislators, lacking expert knowledge of the power industry, capitulated out of sheer terror.
Before we drop this look at dollars-for-votes due to lack of evidence, let's take a peek at Dominion's reaction by comparing their donations from 2006 to 2007.
Of the 19 NO votes, 2 did not receive any money from Dominion during the past four years so there's no change there. Of the remaining 17 NO votes, Dominion increased donations to 3, made the same donation to 1, and decreased donations to 13. That's about three quarters (76%) of the NO voters receiving less from Dominion this year than the previous.
Of the 116 YES votes, Dominion increased donations to 69, made the same donation to 23, and decreased the donation to 24. That works out to just shy of 60% of the YES votes getting more money.
While the proof of a direct buy-off of votes for SB 1416 is questionable, there is much stronger evidence that Dominion is punishing those who voted against their hand crafted bill and rewarding those who voted for it. A clear message to members of the House and Senate who are always on the lookout for more money.
2. Who's NOT on the donation list?
By my count, based on the votes for SB 1416 combined with the VPAP data, only four House members have not received money from Dominion in the past four years. Toping this list is Republican Speaker of the House Bill Howell!?!?! Weird. Also missing are Tom Wright(R), Allen Dudley(R), and Joseph Johnson(D). But that's it. Makes me wonder if they turned down the Dominion money or if, for some odd reason, Dominion never offered it.
3. Top Recipients in 2007
While this is a variation on the main theme, donations received during the past 4 four years, it holds the important distinction of being the most recent year. This is more of an indicator of who Dominion is targeting right now, as opposed to who they've been after recently.
| Who | 2007 Donation |
| Saslaw, Richard L (D-S035) | $25,000.00 |
| Armstrong, Ward L (D-H010) | $20,000.00 |
| Hall, Franklin P (D-H069) | $12,500.00 |
| Herring, Mark (D-S033) | $10,500.00 |
| Stosch, Walter A (R-S012) | $10,500.00 |
| Deeds, Creigh (D-S025) | $10,000.00 |
| Plum, Kenneth R (D-H036) | $10,000.00 |
| Watkins, John C (R-S010) | $9,000.00 |
| Cuccinelli, Ken (R-S037) | $9,000.00 |
| Stolle, Kenneth W (R-S008) | $7,650.00 |
| Kilgore, Terry G (R-H001) | $7,500.00 |
| Shannon, Stephen (D-H035) | $7,000.00 |
| Hugo, Timothy D (R-H040) | $6,500.00 |
| Miller, Yvonne B (D-S005) | $6,000.00 |
| McEachin, A Donald (D-H074/D-S009) | $6,000.00 |
| Jones, Dwight C (D-H070) | $6,000.00 |
| Wagner, Frank W (R-S007) | $5,500.00 |
| Moran, Brian J (D-H046) | $5,000.00 |
| Whipple, Mary M (D-S031) | $5,000.00 |
| Wampler, William C Jr (R-S040) | $5,000.00 |
4. The House - Full List
| Delegate | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | TOTAL |
| Abbitt Jr, Watkins M (I-H059) | $0 | $0 | $250 | $0 | $250 |
| Albo, David B (R-H042) | $500 | $2500 | $1500 | $1000 | $5500 |
| Alexander, Kenneth C (D-H089) | $1500 | $1500 | $1500 | $1500 | $6000 |
| Amundson, Kristen (D-H044) | $1555 | $1500 | $1000 | $4000 | $8055 |
| Armstrong, Ward L (D-H010) | $0 | $0 | $500 | $20000 | $20500 |
| Athey, Clifford Clay Jr (R-H018) | $0 | $500 | $0 | $0 | $500 |
| BaCote, Mamye (D-H095) | $1400 | $1000 | $1000 | $1500 | $4900 |
| Barlow, William K (D-H064) | $1000 | $1500 | $1000 | $1000 | $4500 |
| Baskerville, Viola O (D-H071) | $1500 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1500 |
| Bell, Rob (R-H058) | $0 | $500 | $500 | $500 | $1500 |
| Black, Richard (R-H032) | $500 | $500 | $0 | $0 | $1000 |
| Bland, Fenton L Jr (D-H063) | $1000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1000 |
| Bowling, Dan (D-H003) | $0 | $0 | $1000 | $1000 | $2000 |
| Brink, Robert H (D-H048) | $1000 | $500 | $500 | $0 | $2000 |
| Bryant, L Preston Jr (R-H023) | $2000 | $2000 | $0 | $0 | $4000 |
| Bulova, David (D-H037) | $0 | $500 | $1000 | $1000 | $2500 |
| Byron, Kathy J (R-H022) | $0 | $250 | $1000 | $1000 | $2250 |
| Callahan Jr, Vincent F (R-H034) | $5000 | $3500 | $2500 | $2500 | $13500 |
| Caputo, Chuck (D-H067) | $0 | $500 | $1000 | $2000 | $3500 |
| Carrico, Bill (R-H005) | $700 | $1000 | $0 | $1500 | $3200 |
| Cline, Ben (R-H024) | $0 | $0 | $1000 | $1000 | $2000 |
| Cole, Mark (R-H088) | $750 | $0 | $750 | $0 | $1500 |
| Cosgrove, John (R-H078) | $1850 | $1500 | $1700 | $1500 | $6550 |
| Cox, M Kirkland (R-H066) | $2000 | $2500 | $2500 | $2500 | $9500 |
| Craddock, Chris (R-H067) | $0 | $500 | $0 | $0 | $500 |
| Crockett-Stark, Anne (R-H006) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1000 | $1000 |
| Dance, Rosalyn R (D-H063) | $0 | $1000 | $1000 | $1500 | $3500 |
| Ebbin, Adam (D-H049) | $3729 | $500 | $4900 | $1500 | $10629 |
| Eisenberg, Albert (D-H047) | $250 | $250 | $750 | $1000 | $2250 |
| Englin, David (D-H045) | $0 | $500 | $500 | $1500 | $2500 |
| Fralin, William H Jr (R-H017) | $1500 | $0 | $250 | $0 | $1750 |
| Frederick, Jeff (R-H052) | $1250 | $1000 | $1000 | $0 | $3250 |
| Gear, Thomas D. (R-H091) | $0 | $250 | $250 | $1000 | $1500 |
| Gilbert, Todd (R-H015) | $0 | $0 | $500 | $0 | $500 |
| Golden, Michael J (R-H041) | $0 | $500 | $0 | $0 | $500 |
| Griffith, H Morgan (R-H008) | $0 | $2500 | $2500 | $0 | $5000 |
| Hall, Franklin P (D-H069) | $11000 | $30000 | $18750 | $12500 | $72250 |
| Hamilton, Phillip A (R-H093) | $1800 | $1500 | $2000 | $3000 | $8300 |
| Hargrove Sr, Frank D (R-H055) | $0 | $500 | $1250 | $1500 | $3250 |
| Hogan, Clarke N (R-H060) | $0 | $500 | $0 | $0 | $500 |
| Howell, Algie (D-H090) | $1000 | $500 | $1000 | $500 | $3000 |
| Hugo, Timothy D (R-H040) | $2000 | $2236 | $2257 | $6500 | $12993 |
| Hull, Robert D (D-H038) | $1000 | $1000 | $1500 | $1000 | $4500 |
| Hurt, Robert (R-H016) | $0 | $500 | $0 | $2500 | $3000 |
| Iaquinto, Salvatore (R-H084) | $0 | $500 | $1000 | $250 | $1750 |
| Ingram, Riley Edward (R-H062) | $0 | $250 | $750 | $1000 | $2000 |
| Jackson, Jackie (D-H074) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $500 | $500 |
| Janis, Bill (R-H056) | $2000 | $2000 | $1500 | $2000 | $7500 |
| Joannou, Johnny S (D-H079) | $2000 | $1000 | $1000 | $3500 | $7500 |
| Jones, Chris (R-H076) | $500 | $500 | $1000 | $1000 | $3000 |
| Jones, Dwight C (D-H070) | $1000 | $3500 | $1000 | $6000 | $11500 |
| Keister, Benny (D-H006) | $1000 | $1500 | $0 | $0 | $2500 |
| Kilgore, Terry G (R-H001) | $0 | $7500 | $2500 | $7500 | $17500 |
| Landes, R Steven (R-H025) | $0 | $2000 | $1000 | $1000 | $4000 |
| Law, Melvin (D-H071) | $0 | $1000 | $0 | $0 | $1000 |
| Lewis, Lynwood W Jr (D-H100) | $500 | $250 | $500 | $1500 | $2750 |
| Lingamfelter, Scott L (R-H031) | $2250 | $1000 | $2000 | $1000 | $6250 |
| Lohr, Matt (R-H026) | $0 | $250 | $1000 | $1000 | $2250 |
| Marrs, Bradley (R-H068) | $750 | $750 | $0 | $0 | $1500 |
| Marsden, David (D-H041) | $0 | $500 | $1000 | $1500 | $3000 |
| Marshall, Danny (R-H014) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $2000 | $2000 |
| Marshall, Robert G (R-H013) | $1000 | $1000 | $1000 | $0 | $3000 |
| Mason, John (R-H037) | $0 | $500 | $0 | $0 | $500 |
| Massie, James (R-H072) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $2000 | $2000 |
| May, Joe T (R-H033) | $0 | $1750 | $2000 | $1000 | $4750 |
| McClellan, Jennifer (D-H071) | $0 | $1000 | $2000 | $4500 | $7500 |
| McEachin, A Donald (D-H074/D-S009) | $0 | $1000 | $1500 | $6000 | $8500 |
| McQuigg, Michele (R-H051) | $1000 | $750 | $2000 | $0 | $3750 |
| Melvin, Kenneth R (D-H080) | $1250 | $1500 | $1000 | $1500 | $5250 |
| Miles, Floyd H (D-H074) | $1000 | $3500 | $0 | $1000 | $5500 |
| Miller, Jackson H (R-H050) | $0 | $0 | $1000 | $1500 | $2500 |
| Miller, Paula (D-H087) | $0 | $1500 | $1000 | $2500 | $5000 |
| Montgomery, John (D-H097) | $0 | $0 | $250 | $0 | $250 |
| Moran, Brian J (D-H046) | $2500 | $2500 | $5500 | $5000 | $15500 |
| Morgan, Harvey B (R-H098) | $0 | $0 | $500 | $1000 | $1500 |
| Morrissey, Joseph (D-H074) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $2000 | $2000 |
| Mosqueda, Elsie (D-H045) | $0 | $250 | $0 | $0 | $250 |
| Nixon Jr, Samuel A (R-H027) | $1000 | $1000 | $1250 | $3000 | $6250 |
| Nutter, Dave (R-H007) | $0 | $500 | $0 | $500 | $1000 |
| O'Bannon, John (R-H073) | $1000 | $1000 | $1000 | $1500 | $4500 |
| Oder, Glenn (R-H094) | $2000 | $1000 | $1000 | $1000 | $5000 |
| Orrock, Robert D (R-H054) | $0 | $1000 | $1000 | $1000 | $3000 |
| Parrish, Harry J (R-H050) | $0 | $10000 | $0 | $0 | $10000 |
| Peace, Christopher (R-H097) | $0 | $0 | $2500 | $1000 | $3500 |
| Petersen, J Chapman (D-H037) | $1500 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1500 |
| Phillips, Clarence E (D-H002) | $0 | $1000 | $750 | $750 | $2500 |
| Plum, Kenneth R (D-H036) | $2500 | $3500 | $2500 | $10000 | $18500 |
| Poisson, David (D-H032) | $0 | $500 | $500 | $1500 | $2500 |
| Purkey, Harry R (R-H082) | $2500 | $2500 | $2000 | $3500 | $10500 |
| Putney, Lacey E (I-H019) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1500 | $1500 |
| Rapp, Melanie (R-H096) | $1000 | $500 | $750 | $0 | $2250 |
| Reese, Gary (R-H067) | $500 | $1000 | $0 | $0 | $1500 |
| Reid, John S (R-H072) | $0 | $500 | $1000 | $0 | $1500 |
| Rust, Tom (R-H086) | $1000 | $1500 | $1000 | $4500 | $8000 |
| Saunders, Carson (R-H075) | $0 | $500 | $0 | $0 | $500 |
| Saxman, Christopher (R-H020) | $0 | $1000 | $2000 | $1000 | $4000 |
| Scott, Ed (R-H030) | $0 | $500 | $1500 | $0 | $2000 |
| Scott, James M (D-H053) | $1500 | $1000 | $1000 | $1500 | $5000 |
| Shannon, Stephen (D-H035) | $2500 | $0 | $500 | $7000 | $10000 |
| Sherwood, Beverly J (R-H029) | $500 | $500 | $500 | $0 | $1500 |
| Shuler, James M (D-H012) | $1000 | $1000 | $1000 | $1000 | $4000 |
| Sickles, Mark (D-H043) | $1000 | $1000 | $2250 | $2500 | $6750 |
| Spruill Sr, Lionell (D-H077) | $1000 | $3000 | $2419 | $3300 | $9719 |
| Stump, Jackie T (D-H003) | $500 | $1000 | $0 | $0 | $1500 |
| Suit, Terrie (R-H081) | $2250 | $1500 | $2000 | $2500 | $8250 |
| Tata, Robert (R-H085) | $1000 | $2250 | $1200 | $1500 | $5950 |
| Toscano, David J (D-H057) | $0 | $0 | $1500 | $1000 | $2500 |
| Tyler, Roslyn (D-H075) | $0 | $1000 | $500 | $1000 | $2500 |
| Valentine, Shannon (D-H023) | $0 | $0 | $500 | $1000 | $1500 |
| Van Landingham, Marian A (D-H045) | $1000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1000 |
| Van Yahres, Mitchell (D-H057) | $1000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1000 |
| Waddell, Katherine (I-H068) | $0 | $0 | $2000 | $2000 | $4000 |
| Ward, Jeion A (D-H092) | $1750 | $1250 | $1000 | $1500 | $5500 |
| Wardrup, Leo C Jr (R-H083) | $1500 | $1000 | $1000 | $0 | $3500 |
| Ware, Lee (R-H065) | $0 | $0 | $1000 | $1000 | $2000 |
| Ware, Onzlee (D-H011) | $0 | $500 | $1000 | $1500 | $3000 |
| Watts, Vivian E (D-H039) | $500 | $2000 | $500 | $1500 | $4500 |
| Welch, John J III (R-H021) | $500 | $500 | $1000 | $500 | $2500 |
| Wittman, Robert (R-H099) | $0 | $500 | $500 | $250 | $1250 |
5. The Senate - Full List
| Senator | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | TOTAL |
| Bell II, J Brandon (R-S022) | $1500 | $1000 | $1000 | $2000 | $5500 |
| Blevins, Harry (R-S014) | $0 | $2000 | $1000 | $1500 | $4500 |
| Chichester, John H (R-S028) | $1404 | $0 | $2000 | $0 | $3404 |
| Colgan, Charles J (D-S029) | $5000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $5000 |
| Cuccinelli, Ken (R-S037) | $0 | $0 | $1000 | $9000 | $10000 |
| Deeds, Creigh (D-S025) | $0 | $0 | $1500 | $10000 | $11500 |
| Devolites Davis, Jeannemarie (R-S034) | $1000 | $500 | $0 | $1000 | $2500 |
| Edwards, John S (D-S021) | $1000 | $1000 | $1000 | $1500 | $4500 |
| Hanger, Emmett W Jr (R-S024) | $0 | $0 | $2500 | $2500 | $5000 |
| Hawkins, Charles R (R-S019) | $0 | $1000 | $0 | $0 | $1000 |
| Herring, Mark (D-S033) | $0 | $0 | $500 | $10500 | $11000 |
| Houck, R Edward (D-S017) | $0 | $0 | $1000 | $0 | $1000 |
| Howell, Janet D (D-S032) | $5000 | $1500 | $2500 | $2500 | $11500 |
| Lambert, Benjamin J III (D-S009) | $0 | $1000 | $3500 | $2500 | $7000 |
| Locke, Mamie E (D-S002) | $1500 | $1000 | $1500 | $2000 | $6000 |
| Lucas, L Louise (D-S018) | $1000 | $1000 | $1000 | $0 | $3000 |
| Marsh, Henry L III (D-S016) | $3500 | $1000 | $0 | $4000 | $8500 |
| Martin, Stephen H (R-S011) | $1500 | $500 | $500 | $3000 | $5500 |
| McDougle, Ryan (R-S004) | $0 | $750 | $1500 | $3000 | $5250 |
| Miller, Yvonne B (D-S005) | $1000 | $1000 | $2143 | $6000 | $10143 |
| Mims, William C (R-S033) | $1000 | $1000 | $0 | $0 | $2000 |
| Newman, Stephen D (R-S023) | $0 | $1000 | $500 | $1000 | $2500 |
| Norment, Thomas K Jr (R-S003) | $2200 | $3800 | $4600 | $3959 | $14559 |
| Obenshain, Mark (R-S026) | $0 | $0 | $500 | $0 | $500 |
| O'Brien, James K (R-S039) | $500 | $1000 | $1350 | $4000 | $6850 |
| Potts, H Russell Jr (R-S027) | $3500 | $10000 | $10000 | $0 | $23500 |
| Puckett, Phillip (D-S038) | $500 | $1000 | $2000 | $1500 | $5000 |
| Puller, Linda T (D-S036) | $2500 | $1000 | $1500 | $3500 | $8500 |
| Quayle, Frederick M (R-S013) | $0 | $1000 | $1000 | $4239 | $6239 |
| Rerras, D Nick (R-S006) | $2000 | $2000 | $1500 | $3000 | $8500 |
| Reynolds, W Roscoe (D-S020) | $0 | $0 | $500 | $0 | $500 |
| Ruff, Frank M Jr (R-S015) | $0 | $1000 | $1000 | $2500 | $4500 |
| Saslaw, Richard L (D-S035) | $10000 | $10000 | $10000 | $25000 | $55000 |
| Stolle, Kenneth W (R-S008) | $3000 | $4168 | $4000 | $7650 | $18818 |
| Stosch, Walter A (R-S012) | $5000 | $5000 | $7500 | $10500 | $28000 |
| Ticer, Patricia S (D-S030) | $1000 | $1000 | $2500 | $2500 | $7000 |
| Wagner, Frank W (R-S007) | $2000 | $1000 | $1500 | $5500 | $10000 |
| Wampler, William C Jr (R-S040) | $3000 | $0 | $0 | $5000 | $8000 |
| Watkins, John C (R-S010) | $1500 | $2500 | $2500 | $9000 | $15500 |
| Whipple, Mary M (D-S031) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $5000 | $5000 |
| Williams, Martin E (R-S001) | $2500 | $2500 | $1500 | $2000 | $8500 |
I mean, think about it -- it's like a perpetual money-making machine, dollars going from the rate-payer's pocket to Dominion to politicians' pockets and back to Dominion. We get energy out of the deal, while they retain the power.