SELIG "PAC"s A PUNCH

Bud's Political Plaything Mostly Funded by MLB Owners
But Gets $2K from Mike Grebe
Sends $25K Sensenbrenner's Way

Exclusive to milwaukeeworld.com

By Michael Horne

Milwaukeean Allan H. "Bud" Selig has arguably become the most powerful baseball commissioner in history. He has been able to navigate in a world of ultra-wealthy team owners, which takes a certain political instinct. Among Bud's accomplishments: he set up his own Political Action Committee, yet another manifestation of sound political instincts.
The Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball Political Action Committee first appeared during the 2001-2002 election cycle according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
T.O.O.T.C.O.M.L.B.P.A.C. shares an address with the Washington power law firm of Baker Hostetler, a firm that counts the American League as among its "heritage clients." The secretary of the PAC is identified as William Schweitzer, the managing partner of the 550-lawyer firm. Baker Hostetler now also represents Major League Baseball and the Republican National Committee.


The PAC was funded largely by hitting up owners and partners of Major League Baseball teams, except, it appears, the Canadian ones. It looks like $5,000 was a fairly standard contribution.
Always sensitive to appearances, the commissioner himself did not donate to his fund, either as commissioner or as owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, which makes the Brewers, once again, an anomaly among MLB teams.
Instead, Bud picked his buddies to be among the 73 donors to the fund that year. These included then-Brewers board members John Canning ($5,000), Francis Croak ($1,000), Richard Strup ($1,000), and Michael W. Grebe ($1,000).
[Interestingly, Grebe identified himself on campaign documents as being a board member of the baseball team. Grebe, a prolific donor to mostly republican causes, is usually writes his affiliation as the Bradley Foundation or his former law firm, Foley and Lardner, but not for this document.]
In its first year, Bud & Co. had $195,450 to spread around the political arena.
Who got the money? Bud spread it around, mostly in a bipartisan fashion. Not much of it made its way to Wisconsin, though. Russ Feingold got $1,000 (you know how much that man loves his PAC money!), Tammy Baldwin also got a grand, Mark Green got $500, while Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. got $5,000. The only other Wisconsin outfit to receive money was the Wisconsin Leadership PAC, which got $1,000. That PAC is listed as a Republican party PAC.
By the 2003-2004 campaign cycle, Bud had more than $343,295 to throw around, and his list of Wisconsin candidates remained the same, although they all got raises. Feingold got $3,500; Green got $2,000 and Sensenbrenner got $10,000 -- tie for the PAC's largest donation that year. The Wisconsin Leadership Fund got $1,000 from the PAC, and got $500 from Michael Grebe who also donated $1,000 to the PAC that cycle.
By the 2005-2006 campaign cycle, according to records filed November 27th, 2006, the fund stood at $330,175. Sensenbrenner, again number 2, got his $10,000, while Sen. Chris Dodd got $12,500. (What's with that?) Grebe didn't give anything to the PAC that cycle (neither did anybody else from Wisconsin) but his precious Wisconsin Leadership PAC got $2,000.
In the end, Sensenbrenner, with his three-election cycle $25,000 total donations, ranks as the favorite of the Commisioner's PAC. There must have been some very important business before the House Judiciary Committee back then.