Obama's Bid Doesn't Have Support of Most Black Corporate Elite

By Jonathan D. Salant

March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama's quest to become the first African-American president is being run without the financial support of much of the black corporate elite.

Less than one-third of the 191 black members of the boards of the largest 250 U.S. companies have contributed to the Illinois senator's campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records. The list of board members was compiled by Black Enterprise magazine.

Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, who is backing Obama, said the relative lack of support reflects a systemic problem: black corporate leaders haven't yet developed the habit of opening their wallets for candidates. Kirk said he encountered a similar reticence in his failed bid as the Democratic nominee for a Texas U.S. Senate seat in 2002.

``Political giving in the African-American and Hispanic communities is very much in its infancy,'' said Kirk, 53, a partner in the law firm of Vinson & Elkins LLP and board member of Dallas-based Brinker International Inc., Phoenix-based Petsmart Inc. and Dallas-based Dean Foods Co.

Maximum Givers

Kirk contributed the maximum $2,300 to Obama in March 2007. Other $2,300 givers include Cleve Killingsworth, chairman of Boston-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts; and Linda Johnson Rice, president of Chicago-based Johnson Publishing Co., the publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines.

Many others, though, are sitting out the race. Of the corporate board members on the list, 62 contributed to Obama and 30 to his rival, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York. Some gave to both candidates.

Ronald Walters, a professor of government and politics and director of the African American Leadership Center at the University of Maryland in College Park, said many corporate board members aren't willing to give to a ``change'' candidate such as Obama, 46.

``To the extent they're not Republican, they have been part of the establishment wing of the Democratic Party, not so much a part of the change wing,'' said Walters, a deputy campaign manager for Jesse Jackson's 1984 presidential run.

Clinton Ties

Some prominent black corporate directors have long ties to Clinton, 60. These include Vernon Jordan, senior managing director at New York-based Lazard Capital Markets Ltd., and Rodney Slater, a former transportation secretary who is now a partner in the Washington law-lobbying firm Patton Boggs LLP.

Some have supported Republican presidential candidates. Herman Cain, president of T.H.E. New Voice Inc. in Stockbridge, Georgia, gave $2,300 to former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in January. Giving to Arizona Senator John McCain was former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell, the son of former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Michael Powell is senior adviser to Providence-based Providence Equity Partners and member of board of San Jose, California-based Cisco Systems Inc.

Many others haven't made any donations at all.

Some black executives gave to Clinton's and Obama's congressional races, though not their presidential campaigns, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington- based research group.

Michele Hooper, managing partner of the Chicago-based Directors Council, which helps find minorities to serve on corporate boards, gave to Obama's 2004 Senate race. Kenneth Chenault, chief executive officer of New York-based American Express Co., gave $2,000 to Obama's Senate campaign and $4,000 to Clinton's 2006 re-election bid.

Not Giving

Other chief executives, including Samuel Scott III, chairman of Westchester, Illinois-based Corn Products International Inc., and W. Roy Dunbar, president of Herndon, Virginia-based Network Solutions Inc., have stayed on the sidelines.

Chenault and Dunbar declined comment. Scott, along with most other executives, didn't respond to requests for comment.

In response to the lack of black corporate support, Jen Psaki, a campaign spokeswoman, said Obama has ``a group of donors'' that ``will continue to grow.''

Harvey Gantt, who ran against ran against Jesse Helms for a U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina in a contest that aroused racial animosities, said he planned to give to Obama.

``It's time to pass the torch,'' said Gantt, 65, now on the board of directors of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Nucor Corp.

Younger Donors

Walters said there may be generational differences, with the younger executives more likely to give to Obama.

The more senior corporate leaders ``have to look out for the interests of their firms and their associations,'' Walters said.

Obama's business support may be coming from owners of small companies, said Robert Smith, a political science professor at San Francisco State University and author of the Encyclopedia of African American Politics.

``An independent businessman might feel a bit freer to contribute than one connected to a major corporation,'' Smith said. There is now way to estimate such giving as the FEC doesn't disclose the race of donors.

The support of the black corporate elite would be more symbolic than financial for Obama, who has built an unprecedented fundraising machine that has brought in close to $200 million from more than 1 million donors. More than a third of that has been raised in contributions of $200 or less.

Obama ``hasn't been doing the traditional dinners and events because he has such a powerful on-line fundraising base,'' said Anthony Corrado, a campaign-finance expert at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan D. Salant in Washington at jsalant@bloomberg.net .

Last Updated: March 18, 2008 00:01 EDT

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