With the proponents of Jackson County Question 1 having lost what little momentum they had early on, I’ve been watching closely to see if the eye-popping contributions to the Citizens for Research, Treatments and Cures campaign committee would fall off.
You know, at some point, even the very rich people and well-to-do companies have to wonder if they’re throwing good money after bad.
But, no, it appears that the big bucks are continuing to flow fairly steadily.
The largest, recent contribution to the cures committee came from Children’s Mercy Hospital, which tossed an additional $100,000 into the kitty last Friday, after a September contribution of $100,000.
Children’s Mercy, of course, is poised to be one of three major beneficiaries, should Jackson County voters approve a new half-cent sales tax for “translational medical research” on Nov. 5. (The other chief beneficiaries would be St. Luke’s Health System and UMKC.)
O’Donnell with CMH patient
Children’s CEO Randall O’Donnell has contributed $15,000 personally…And he can afford it. His salary is about $1 million a year, and in 2009 he received a $6 million bonus. (“Honey, we’ve hit the jackpot!)
Another recent, significant contribution came from the Burns & McDonnell engineering company,, which added $25,000 to an earlier gift of $50,000.
The cures committee is now well over $1.5 million in contributions.
The leading, single contributor remains the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City, the organization of top area business leaders that is spearheading the push for a new half-cent, countywide sales tax for “translational medical research.”
Interestingly, even though these hefty individuals and wealthy corporations (uh, I mean, wealthy individuals and hefty corporations) have put in hundreds of thousands of dollars, the Civic Council leaders themselves never appear at neighborhood meetings to explain why they want the taxpayers to fund their extravagant pet project.
Instead, they send out their minions, often lawyers and others who are expecting to get business deals or advisory board appointments, if the measure passes.
The civic leaders don’t like a street fight, which this campaign has become. They’d rather sit back in their homes — several of which are in Mission Hills and Leawood — and throw more money onto the pyre.
And, yes, that money will be going up in flames; this monster is headed for a hard fall.
As of today, here’s the latest list of five- and six-figure contributors to the cures committee:
- Civic Council of Greater Kansas City, $600,00;
- Children’s Mercy Hospital, $200,000;
- Donald Hall Jr., $100,000;
- Hallmark Global Services, $100,000;
- J.E. Dunn Construction, $100,000;
- John G. Sherman, chairman and c.e.o of Inergy L.P., $100,000;
- Burns and McDonnell, engineering company, $75,000
- Robert Kipp, former Crown Center Development president, $50,000;
- St. Luke’s Health System, $40,000;
- KCP&L, $25,000;
- Mariner Holdings, $25,000.
- Tom McDonnell, retired DST c.e.o., $25,000;
- Irvine O. Hockaday Jr., former Hallmark Cards c.e.o., $20,000;
- Randall O’Donnell, Children’s Mercy CEO, $15,000
- William Gautreaux, a top Inergy LP officer, $10,000;
- Wagstaff & Cartmell law firm, $10,000;
- St. Luke’s Foundation, $10,000;
- Kansas City Southern Railway, $10,000
- Husch Blackwell law firm, $10,000;
- Dr. L. Patrick James, of the KC Area Life Sciences Institute, $10,000;
- The Polsinelli law firm, $10,000;
- Lockton Companies, $10,000
Long ago, a wise editor told me, “Never make the reader do the math.”
Those contributions total $1,555,000.
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See this post and much more at stopabadcure.org
