A little more than a year ago, backers of a proposed casino at Underground Atlanta quietly acknowledged that they weren’t going to get anywhere as long as opponent Gov. Sonny Perdue was in office.
Now they're pouring money into both sides of this year’s governor’s race, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of business giving from July 1 through Sept. 30, based on the candidates' first campaign finance filings of the general election.
The analysis found that the Underground gambling group -- including developers Dan O'Leary, John Aderhold and their businesses, employees and family members -- gave $36,600 to Republican Nathan Deal in the past few months, and another $30,900 to Democrat Roy Barnes, in a sign that the dormant gambling issue may be poised to come back.
The analysis also found that Georgia's biggest publicly traded companies also are giving to both major-party candidates, but are giving a bigger proportion of their dollars to Deal.
Deal got $63,670 from corporations ranked as the state's top 30 in terms of revenue. Barnes got $25,600 from the same list. Overall in the July-September period, donors gave a total of $2,692,785 to Deal and $2,869,315 to Barnes.
The campaign filings also show a heavy presence of alcohol distribution and retail business donations to both campaigns. The industries have been heavily involved in the fight -- and not always on the same side -- over ending Georgia's Sunday sales ban. The idea might get new life with opponent Perdue gone.
Deal and Barnes have said they support letting local communities vote on Sunday sales. Companies and individuals with an interest in Sunday sales gave $47,900 to Deal and $29,710 to Barnes.
Jim Tudor, of the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores, confirmed that his members had been talking to both Deal and Barnes on the Sunday sales issue, and that both had been receptive to local votes. He said it was just one of his association's interests, though.
The intent of the Underground-related money is unclear, since both O'Leary and Aderhold have other interests.
The two want the governor-appointed state lottery commission to allow video lottery machines in a casinolike setting at Underground, with half the proceeds going to the state's HOPE scholarship program. Perdue was outspokenly opposed, and the proposal withered last year.
Neither O'Leary nor Aderhold returned calls for comment, but Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall, whose district includes Underground, said he understood they planned another shot with a new governor.
Asked about their stands, the Barnes and Deal campaigns both e-mailed responses with wiggle room.
"It's our understanding that's in the purview of the Georgia Lottery Commission," said Brian Robinson, spokesman for the Deal campaign.
"Roy is against any form of gambling that would hurt lottery proceeds and jeopardize the HOPE scholarship," said Barnes spokesman Emil Runge.
Corporate giving is a given in any big election. And although few businesses will discuss it, the reasons are obvious, said Kennesaw State political scientist Kerwin Swint.
"Businesses are in a better position than most of us to understand that what government does can benefit or hurt their bottom lines," Swint said. "Laws, even small amendments to laws, can affect their business. And one of the best ways to get attention is to give money."
That some business interests are dividing their money is also not surprising, given the dynamics of this year's race, said Chuck Clay, a Republican Cobb County attorney and veteran politics watcher.
Georgia may be a red state, but the Democrat in the race is no stranger, he said. "By dint of having been governor and having years and years in the Legislature, Barnes has got long-standing and deep-seated ties to a number of business entities," Clay said.
Campaign ads notwithstanding, neither candidate is known as a business basher, he said: "I have to be careful here, but this is not a case of a conservative running against a flaming liberal. You can't find a Nancy Pelosi in Georgia."
Deal's givers included Coca-Cola, Flowers Food and Aflac, which gave $13,620, $19,200 and $12,250 respectively, from the companies themselves, their PACs or their executives.
Aflac was also among the big corporate donors to Barnes, with $12,200 in donations. It was the Barnes campaign's most significant corporate giver from the top 30 list.
Of the big donors contacted by the AJC, only one, Robin Loudermilk of Aaron's, had any comment on why.
"Aaron's has a strong track record of supporting both Republican and Democratic state and federal candidates that will work to help U.S. businesses grow and succeed," Loudermilk said through a spokeswoman. The third-quarter filings showed Aaron's money going to Deal.
Business donors who were not among the top 30 in revenue included road builder C.W. Matthews, whose company and executives gave $25,200 to Barnes and $12,000 to Deal in the three months ending Sept. 30.
They also included executives and family members associated with the Sandersville Railroad Co., which is near a proposed new coal plant in Middle Georgia. They gave $36,600 to Deal.
Physicians, hospitals and others in the medical professions gave to both candidates, as did the construction industry, farmers and the retired. Barnes also got a small contribution from a voice-over actor and two people who listed their occupations as unemployed.
As a group, those listing occupations as attorney gave about four times as much money to Barnes ($621,961), a lawyer, as they did to Deal ($166,868). Included in that giving, though, were substantial contributions from Atlanta's heavy hitter law firms, which represent big corporate players in political as well as legal matters.
They gave to both candidates in almost equal measure. McKenna, Long & Aldridge gave $14,350 to Deal and $17,570 to Barnes. Troutman Sanders gave $15,450 to Deal and $16,750 to Barnes. And King & Spalding gave $12,300 to Deal and $11,750 to Barnes.
Money in the governor's race
Below are some of the biggest publicly traded Georgia givers in the first campaign filing of the gubernatorial general election, which tracks donations from July 1 to Sept. 30. The amounts include donations from companies, their employees and executives and their political action committees, when applicable.
Roy Barnes, Democrat
Aflac $12,200
Synovus Financial $7,100
Global Payments $2,000
AGL Resources* $1,525
Total System Services $1,500
Coca-Cola $900
SunTrust Banks $300
Nathan Deal, Republican
Flowers Food $19,200
Coca-Cola $13,620
Aflac $12,250
Aaron's $6,100
Mohawk Industries $5,950
SunTrust Banks $5,200
AGL Resources* $3,750
* Parent of Atlanta Gas Light
