OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — If Starbucks chief Howard Schultz
wants voters to withhold campaign cash from federal politicians, he may
need to start with trying to halt the flow of donations coming from the
people who work for him.
Starbucks leadership, employees and the
company’s lobbying firm have continued to contribute thousands of
dollars to federal officeholders despite Schultz’s urging, according to
campaign records reviewed by The Associated Press. He had invited
Americans to join him in withholding campaign contributions until
politicians could reach a bipartisan deal to stabilize the nation’s
fiscal situation — an appeal that Fortune magazine cited in naming
Schultz its "Businessperson of the Year" last week.
There’s no
evidence the "withhold" movement has had any impact on the flow of money
in politics, as third-quarter donations to congressional campaigns were
actually higher than during the last election cycle. In just the six
weeks after the coffee guru announced his pledge with the support of
dozens of other business executives, the donations continued among many
of those companies, including AOL, Juniper Networks and NASDAQ.
Walter
Robb, the co-CEO of Whole Foods and a top supporter of the movement,
gave an in-kind donation to a congressional campaign in September after
taking Schultz’s vow. He said through a spokeswoman that he had
committed to providing food and beverage to Jared Huffman, a candidate
in California’s 2nd Congressional District, earlier in the summer and
that he decided to stick with it even though it had been delayed until
after the Schultz pledge.
The lobbying firm that handles much of
Starbucks’ work in the nation’s capital, K&L Gates, has continued to
donate through its political action committee to current and
prospective members of Congress — some $40,000 from the start of the
pledge through the end of September.
Meanwhile, two members of the
company’s board of directors, which Schultz leads as chairman, also
gave donations after the vow was announced. Mellody Hobson, a Starbucks
board member who donated $1,500 to U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, said she has
not signed the pledge. Sheryl Sandberg, a Facebook executive who serves
on the Starbucks board and recently gave donations to House Minority
Leader Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, declined comment
through a spokesman.
Schultz himself donated campaign cash in the
months before his announcement, giving $5,000 to U.S. Sen. Maria
Cantwell, D-Wash. He has not given since, according to campaign records.
Arthur Rubinfeld, one of Schultz’s closest aides as president of global
development at Starbucks, gave a $500 donation to Cantwell just a few
days before Schultz went public with his plan.
At least three
other Starbucks employees have given donations since Schultz promoted
the pledge, including Steve Johannesen, a director of international
development at Starbucks who gave $2,000 to President Barack Obama’s
re-election campaign in September.
Jim Olson, a Starbucks spokesman, said Schultz fully respects the personal decisions of employees and
board members.
"Howard’s pledge was a personal request, not a company initiative," Olson said.
In
mid-August, after Congress struggled for a compromise plan to raise the
debt ceiling, Schultz said in a public letter that elected officials
from both parties had failed to lead and threatened the economy. He
sought to encourage elected officials to act with civility and seek a
deal on debt and spending long before the fall super-committee deadline
that this week ended in failure.
There’s no sign that the pledge
slowed the flow of money in the third quarter. Congressional candidates
brought in some $177 million, up slightly from the same quarter in 2009,
according to an AP analysis of FEC records. Obama raised $43 million
for his campaign and an additional $27 million for the national party.
Olson said the effort was designed to increase confidence and draw attention to accountability.
"We
have never claimed we would turn this country around by ourselves and
know we still have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are very proud of
the progress we are making and that we are trying to do something and
setting an example for others," Olson said.
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Mike Baker can be reached at http://twitter.com/MikeBakerAP
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.