Top Hillary Donor Directly Pressures Dean: "Exercise Some Leadership" On Florida And Michigan
Top fundraisers for Hillary Clinton have begun to exert direct and personal pressure on DNC chair Howard Dean, urging him to show more leadership to bring about some sort of resolution to the Florida and Michigan vote standoffs.
In an interview with Election Central, venture capitalist Alan Patricof, a member of Hillary's finance committee and one of the Democratic Party's most influential fundraisers, said that he'd privately urged Dean to do more to get the Florida and Michigan delegations seated -- something that's crucial to the Hillary camp's hopes of closing the gap with Obama.
"I've expressed to Dean my feeling that it's critical that this matter be resolved on a timely basis," Patricof says. "The voters in Florida and Michgan cannot be disenfranchised."
"He's got to exercise some leadership, and the sooner, the better," Patricof continued. "This is a party issue. We cannot afford to alienate this large a voting population in two very important states."
That such an influential fundraiser is unhappy with the DNC could prove problematic, since the DNC of course relies on such figures to keep the money flowing in.
Indeed, other Hillary donors tell The New York Times that if Dean doesn't resolve the situation, the stream of money to the DNC will dry up.
Pushing to seat the Florida delegates, at least one top Clinton fund-raiser, Paul Cejas, a Miami businessman who has given the Democratic National Committee $63,500 since 2003, has demanded Democratic officials return his 2007 contribution of $28,500, which they have agreed to do.“If you’re not going to count my vote, I’m not going to give you my money,” said Mr. Cejas, who was the United States ambassador to Belgium from 1998 to 2001.
Christopher Korge, a Florida real estate developer who is another top fund-raiser for Mrs. Clinton, held an event last year in his home that brought in about $140,000 for the national party, which was set aside in a special account for the general election battle in Florida. But he told committee officials this week that if Florida’s delegate conundrum was not settled satisfactorily he would be asking for the money back.
“If we do not resolve this issue,” Mr. Korge said, “I think it’s safe to say there will be a request for a return of $140,000.”
In the interview with Election Central, Patricof seemed to suggest that more top donors would be insisting that Dean resolve the situation: "I'm sure there are other like-minded people who want this to happen," he said. "It's critical."
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