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Williams’ voucher donors staying on the sidelines

The millionaire investors from suburban Philadelphia who largely funded Democrat Anthony Williams’ brief campaign for governor earlier this year are unlikely to deploy any more significant campaign cash into the gubernatorial race, according to people close to the business partners.

The founders of Susquehanna Investment Group—Jeffrey Yass, Arthur Dantchik, and Joel Greenberg—do not intend to write substantial checks to Dan Onorato’s campaign despite the Democratic nominee’s newly announced support for school vouchers, one person said close to the investors said. It’s unlikely the donors will make a big splash for GOP nominee Tom Corbett, either.

The three gave millions of dollars to Williams, most of it funneled through a new school choice political action committee, in the hopes that an urban Democrat outside his party’s political mold on school choice could elevate the issue’s public profile.

“They are gun-shy now because they did not enjoy the scrutiny that came their way after their donations became public,” one person familiar with their plans said. “In principle, they are neither Democratic nor Republican. … While Onorato’s plan is a step in the right direction, it does not go far enough.”

Despite the lack of any big influx of cash from them, political consultant Larry Ceisler said neither candidate is in dire need heading into the last two months of campaigning.

“I know that Onorato met with the donors from Susquehanna, but it does not surprise me that they are not going to contribute to him,” Ceisler said. “They had a long-term relationship with Williams.”

This article was originally published in Metro Philadelphia, a pa2010.com partner.

Correction: This article originally carried an incorrect byline. It was written by Laura Goldman, not Rikard Larma.

August 20, 2010 at 12:30 pm

--Laura Goldman

Tags: Anthony Williams, Dan Onorato, Tom Corbett

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