RALEIGH -- Behind closed doors in the Triangle's most luxurious hotel last spring, political and business power came together in ways usually seen in places such as Washington or L.A.
Gov. Bev Perdue had called the board rooms of North Carolina's biggest corporations and asked them to ante up for a fundraiser for the nation's Democratic governors' political kitty. They delivered $1.2 million, the largest fundraiser of its kind ever held by the Democratic Governors Association.
It was a sign that Perdue wants to be more of a player on the national stage while also hoping to raise North Carolina's profile.
And it provides a brief glimpse of how big money flows in politics - the kind of money that does not show up in the campaign finance reports.
The event allowed corporate executives and lobbyists to rub elbows with several of the nation's governors. And it allowed the Democratic governors to collect large checks directly from corporations, legally bypassing the usual restrictions on political donations.
Power companies, a railroad, banks, health care companies, telecommunications companies, computer software companies, the motion picture industry, lobbying firms, and a prison provider all anted up, according to tax records recently made public by the governors' group.
The gathering at Cary's upscale Umstead Hotel and Spa on April 6 and 7 was both a fundraiser and a "regional policy conference" held by the Democratic Governors Association.
The Washington-based association, whose purpose is to elect Democratic state chief executives, raises money around the country by holding fundraisers that also double as policy conferences. The group is helping raise money in 37 races for governor this year.
Perdue is increasingly active in the Democratic governors' group. She hosted one of a series of regional policy conferences in Cary that included a fundraising reception on Tuesday night, a policy discussion on "emerging technologies'' the following Wednesday morning and a closing lunch.
Attending the event besides Perdue were Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, the chairman and vice chairman of the group, and Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen.
"The DGA event was a terrific opportunity to showcase North Carolina to governors and business leaders from across the nation," said Marc Farinella, a spokesman for Perdue's political committee.
"It was also an opportunity to help position North Carolina as a leader in the development of effective public policy at the state level," Farinella said.
Both the Democratic and Republican governors associations are so-called 527 nonprofit organizations which are not regulated by the Federal Election Commission and can accept unlimited contributions directly from corporations and unions - not just from their political committees. In some instances, corporations pay dues ranging from $10,000 to $250,000 to meet regularly with the governors.
Perdue called a number of major North Carolina companies asking them to donate to the fundraiser/conference, according to executives with several companies.
The governor, for example, called Gene Upchurch, lobbyist for Progress Energy, the Raleigh-based utility company. The firm gave $50,000, and its CEO, Bill Johnson, spoke at the conference.
"We evaluated the governor's request and determined that was a good opportunity to support economic investments [as most participants came from out of state] and to discuss important energy policy issues with policymakers from across the South and elsewhere," said Mike Hughes, a Progress Energy spokesman.
Charlotte-based Duke Energy gave $100,000 after being contacted by the governor.
"Any time we can bring leaders of that caliber to the state, it is a good showcase for the technology and innovations in the state," said Jason Walls, a Duke spokesman. "We were proud to be a sponsor of the conference."
Other major corporate donations reported to the Democratic governors' group at the time of the Cary conference included $100,000 from AT&T, $35,0000 from the CSX Corp., a railroad that is working with the state to expand rail service; $10,000 from the Charlotte-based Bank of America; $25,000 from Wells Fargo; and $10,000 from Time-Warner Cable.
Policy Studies Inc. of Denver which has won $1.6 million in state contracts for child enforcement dating to 2004, gave $25,000.
James Dunn, a spokesman for the firm, said the $25,000 donation was an annual membership fee to the Democratic Governors Association that was made at the same time as the Cary conference. He said Policy Studies also makes similar payments to the Republican Governors Association and the nonpartisan National Governors Association.
"As a member of organizations like these," Dunn said, "our experts are given the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the issues government leaders face and to share our expertise and ideas as they consider alternatives for the solutions they require."
Prison Health Services of Brentwood, Tenn., which has not had a contract with the state since 2002, gave $25,000.
At a time when Perdue has been pushing for more tax-paid incentives to make more movies in North Carolina, the Motion Picture Association of America, headquartered in Encino, Calif., contributed $15,000.
Also contributing were various law firms that do lobbying, such as McGuire Woods PAC of Richmond, Va., which gave $10,000.
The Democratic Governors Association also reported a number of sizable contributions from companies with North Carolina connections that were not connected with the Cary fundraiser. They include:
GlaxoSmithKline, with a major facility in Research Triangle Park, reported giving $250,031 this year.
Allscripts, a medical electronics records firm with more than 1,000 employees in Raleigh, reported giving $25,500 this year.
Charlotte-based Bank of America reported giving $111,093 this year.
SAS Institute Inc., the Cary software company, contributed $26,000 this year.
Cisco Systems, a software company with a major facility in the Triangle, reported giving $5,750 this year.
Duke Energy has reported giving a total of $200,000 this year.
Integrated Laboratory Systems Inc. in Research Triangle Park gave $10,500.
The raising of such large sums gives pause to those who monitor political money.
"I think this is politics 2010," said Bob Hall, executive director Democracy North Carolina, a campaign finance watchdog. "If it makes you sick, you should be for public financing or some other alternative that will address the money chase.
"It is a competitive marketplace where special interests win favor by supplying cash. And the politicians have no alternative but to go to private interests for their money, unless the public comes up with a better solution," Hall said.
