University employees were the second highest contributors to the campaign of newly elected Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Charlottesville, according to statistics from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics based in Washington, D.C.
The statistics reveal that 88 percent of Perriello’s total funding came solely from individuals, and that many more University employees supported the Ivy, Va. native during last year’s campaign than Republican incumbent Virgil Goode. Of the $1,582,385 that Perriello received from individuals, $44,399 came from donors who identified themselves as affiliated with the University. Ninety University professors, Medical School employees, Law professors and other employees contributed to the local Democrat’s campaign.
Psychology Prof. Nicholas Reppucci said he donated to Perriello’s campaign because he shares views similar to Perriello’s about war, education and energy issues.
“I think he’s very progressive and I think he’s going to be an excellent representative for this whole district,” Reppucci said.
The Perriello campaign only accepted donations from individuals and community groups, Perriello press secretary Jessica Barba said. The campaign relied on “everyday people” and used a funding model that aimed to open up the democratic process to as many individuals as possible, Barba added.
The top contributor to Perriello’s campaign was ActBlue, a Democratic fundraising Web site that donated $268,117. Sharing the spot for the third-highest donor were affiliates of chemical company International Specialty Products, Connecticut-based investment company Silver Point Capital and Perriello’s former high school, St. Anne’s-Belfield.
Strong financial support for Democratic candidates from people working in higher education is not limited to the Fifth District and was common leading up to the November elections, said Massie Ritsch, Center for Responsive Politics spokesperson.
“The education industry in particular ... is one of the most Democratic industries out there,” Ritsch said, noting that 82 percent of donations from those working in education went to Democratic candidates running for office in 2008.
College educators, Ritsch said, are “free agents” because they usually do not coordinate their giving efforts with each other. Their donations also tend to be ideologically driven, rather than economically driven; Ritsch said most professors and administrators who donate to campaigns do not expect large levels of additional government funding in return.
Barba said, though, that Perriello — a University Law School lecturer in 2007 — has made efforts to reach out to and to address issues in the higher education community. One of his goals, she said, is to ensure “affordable and accessible college education and vocational training.” During his first weeks in office, Perriello pushed for a bill that aims to make higher education more affordable, Barba said. His College Learning Access Simplicity and Savings Act of 2009, if passed, could make it easier to receive tax credits during a qualified student’s four years of undergraduate study and two years of graduate school and would cover the cost of textbooks, Barba said.
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