Businessmen, PACs Head List of Quayle Donors

What do Los Angeles Raiders owner Al Davis and Texas-based corporate raider T. Boone Pickens have in common?

Both contributed $1,000 to the 1986 reelection campaign of Indiana’s junior senator, Dan Quayle, now the Republican candidate for vice president.

Those donations are hardly atypical. Quayle has been a highly successful fund-raiser in his 12 years in public office--particularly in generating cash from rich out-of-state businessmen and corporate political action committees from around the nation.

Quayle spent $2.2 million to unseat incumbent Sen. Birch Bayh in 1980 and $1.9 million while drubbing Valparaiso city councilwoman Jill Long in the 1986 race.

Personal Information Sketchy

Although federal records provide a detailed picture of the results of Quayle’s fund raising, information about his personal wealth, rumored be in the millions, is considerably more sketchy.

And while the primary scrutiny of the senator in the short-run apparently will be on how he got into the National Guard in 1969, it seems likely that his finances will be thoroughly examined, particularly since the Democrats are already criticizing Republican presidential candidate George Bush and his running mate as “two millionaires” who are out of touch with the needs of ordinary people.

It has been estimated that Quayle is worth up to $200 million. In an interview over the weekend in the senator’s hometown of Huntington, Ind., Quayle’s father, James, said that figure is “silly” and added emphatically that it is much too high. “Dan is not very rich,” his father said.

Quayle listed holdings exceeding $250,000 in Central Newspapers Inc. of Indianapolis in disclosure statements he filed with the U.S. Senate. Those filings also show that Quayle’s wife, Marilyn, has holdings of $100,000 to $250,000 in Central Newspapers.

Frank E. Russell, president of the company, said in an interview that he would not further quantify the amounts. But it is widely believed that Quayle’s holdings in the corporation are much greater than $250,000. “More than $250,000” is the top category used in listing assets on Senate disclosure forms.

Central Newspapers, the media company founded by his maternal grandfather, Eugene C. Pulliam, publishes seven newspapers, including the Indianapolis Star, the dominant newspaper in Indiana, and the Arizona Republic, the paper with the largest circulation in its state.

Russell said other relatives, including Quayle’s father, own large blocks of stock in their own names. Additionally, a family trust holds enough shares of stock to control Central Newspapers, even if all the relatives sold all their personal shares. The trust was established by Pulliam and runs in perpetuity until 2060. “Nobody can touch it before then,” Russell said.

Retirement, Bank Accounts

Besides his stock holdings, Quayle also listed on his most recent set of disclosure forms two retirement accounts totaling a maximum of $65,000, a bank account worth up to $15,000 and an account in the House of Representatives credit union of “$1,000 to $5,000.”

Last week, Quayle said that his principal source of income last year was his Senate salary--$89,500. He also was paid $2,625 in fees for his role as a director of the Huntington Herald-Press, the hometown newspaper owned by his family.

And Quayle collected honorariums of $49,255, for numerous speeches and a smattering of articles he wrote. He donated $14,302 of that to charity because he had exceeded Senate limits on the amount he could keep.

He spoke to business groups ranging from General Electric Co. to the International Ice Cream Co. In 1986, he earned almost the same amount for speaking and writing--$49,985, of which $19,991 was donated to charity. Among those who heard him speak that year were the Semiconductor Industry Assn. of San Jose, the San Francisco-based Wine Institute and Bristol-Myers Co. in Washington.

Boesky Among Donors

Corporate political action committees and executives provided the bulk of his contributions. Among the donors to his 1986 campaign was stock swindler Ivan F. Boesky, who contributed $1,000 to Quayle’s primary campaign and another $1,000 for the general election. Boesky’s wife, Seema, also chipped in $2,000.

The contributions were made in October, 1985, a full year before the Justice Department disclosed its prosecution of Boesky. Ironically, Nicholas F. Brady, recently nominated to be secretary of the Treasury and previously head of the special commission that recommended securities industry reforms, also gave to Quayle in 1986.

Among the out-of-state executives who have contributed in one or both of the Senate campaigns are John B. Ashmon of Wainoco Oil Corp. in Houston, Joseph Coors of Coors Brewery in Golden, Colo., Howard B. Keck of Superior Oil in Los Angeles and Gerald V. Dirvin of Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati.

In 1986, Quayle also got $1,000 from William H. Hecht of Vienna, Va. Hecht was a lobbyist for the Tobacco Institute when he and Quayle shared a bedroom during a golfing weekend in Florida in 1980. Among the other occupants of the house that weekend were lobbyist Paula Parkinson and then Reps. Thomas Evans (D-Del.) and Tom Railsback (R-Ill.).

In 1981, the Justice Department investigated whether the congressmen had voted against a bill in accord with Parkinson’s wishes in exchange for sexual favors. Quayle denied any involvement with Parkinson and no charges were ever lodged against him or the other lawmakers. However, Evans was defeated for reelection after it was revealed that he had had an affair with Parkinson.

In both of his Senate races, Quayle has received contributions from several executives of Eli Lilly, one of the most powerful companies in Indiana. In fact, he also has received $9,000 over the last two campaigns from political action committees associated with Eli Lilly. Many ordinary citizens chipped in too, according to federal records. A long list of several thousand Indiana givers ranged from housewives to shoe store owners.

Committees Give Funds

Among the political action committees that have helped fill Quayle’s reelection coffers are those representing Abbott Laboratories, the American Optometric Assn., American Bankers Assn., Associated Builders & Contractors, E. F. Hutton, Eli Lilly, Fluor Corp., General Dynamics, Litton Industries, Lockheed, Morton Thiokol, National Cable Television Assn., National Rifle Assn., National Right to Life, Texas Air Corp. and the Tobacco Institute.

Quayle has a conservative voting record, and his supporters and critics say his votes generally are based on his long-held conservative views. He has been a strong supporter of increasing U.S. military strength and has received substantial contributions from the political action committees of defense contractors, including at least $92,000 before his 1986 reelection bid.

Shortly after Quayle was elected to Congress, he and his wife bought a house in McLean, Va. Sandy Cook, an old family friend who lives in Huntington and has been to the house, said that it had cost $125,000. “Marilyn was aghast at the price,” considering it much too high, Cook said. The house has four bedrooms and a pool has been expanded since the Quayles acquired it.

“It’s not a fancy house, it’s a home,” Cook said. “There are no signs of excessive affluence at all.” She also said that Marilyn is “a bargain shopper who likes to go to discount stores and always looks for a bargain.”

Staff writer Douglas Frantz contributed to this story.