Kennealy and Minogue’s Token Donations vs. Shortsleeve’s Full-Scale Funding of Democrats

NOTES BETWEEN PRINTED EDITIONS

by Kristen Brissette

Kennealy and Minogue’s Token Donations vs. Shortsleeve’s Full-Scale Funding of Democrats

After the publishing of the recent Boston Broadside article “Campaign Records Expose GOP Candidate Brian Shortsleeve’s Pattern of Bankrolling Democrats,” the Shortsleeve campaign requested an article on the Democratic donations of gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue.

The contribution records cited below are taken from the official sources of the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF), the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan group run by the Center for Responsive Politics. These organizations compile verified public data on political donations.

Minogue’s Donations to Democrats

Minogue’s Donations to Democrat Political Action Committees

06/13/2013     Markey Grassroots Victory Fund (Primary)             $12,000.00*

Kennealy’s Donations to Democrats

Kennealy’s Donations to Democrat Political Action Committees

None

*Minogue was an unenrolled/independent at the time of these donations. Being unenrolled gives a voter flexibility when voting in primary elections.

In 2013, as CEO of Abiomed, Minogue operated in a highly regulated industry where FDA approvals and Medicare reimbursement were critical. Building relationships across both political parties was a practical business necessity.

In 2006, Abiomed opened a corporate political action committee (PAC) listed by the FEC as a Corporation PAC – Qualified. It was active in 2017, raising about $137K that cycle and split it’s candidate donations roughly evenly; 45% to Democrats, 55% to Republicans. The PAC was terminated in 2014.

Mike Kennealy made only three donations to Democratic candidates over 14 years; a far lower amount and frequency than Shortsleeve. Notably, none of the three candidates Kennealy donated to were running against a Republican.