Normandy Group lobbyist Louis Dupart, who specializes in seeking earmarks and federal funding for clients, is hosting a fundraiser on July 20 for Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.

As we reported in February, the Normandy Group represents the Aurora Economic Development Council (AEDC), a public-private partnership between the City of Aurora and local businesses.  AEDC hired the firm to seek funding to build an interchange at a Colorado highway to help ease traffic near the Fitzsimons/Anschutz Medical campus. The Normandy Group also represents Forest City Enterprises, the developer of the massive 184 acre bioscience park. This is the second fundraiser that Dupart has hosted for Bennet this year. The lobbyist and his wife, Theresa, have given the senator a total of $1,500 since 2008, the most recent a $1,000 contribution in March, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Bennet lists the project here in his 2011 appropriations requests as a “request not submitted,” stating, “Please note there are a limited number of requests I can effectively make every year. There will be worthy projects that do not make the list, but are eligible to submit a funding request the following year.” Bennet campaign spokesman Trevor Kincaid said that the senator has a policy of not seeking any local highway funding because it “interferes with state and local decisions,” adding that Dupart hosted the fundraiser because he is “just a supporter.”

Earmarks are a hot election issue for Sen. Bennet, who has introduced a bill that would ban earmarks to private, for-profit entities, as well as “make improvements to web disclosures of earmarks, including earmarks searchable by any lobbyist associated with them.” His would-be GOP opponent in the Senate race, Jane Norton, has criticized him for not supporting an all-out moratorium on these projects. (Note: the Sunlight Foundation supports legislation that would create a centralized, online, searchable database of earmarks.)

Dupart has hosted at least a dozen fundraisers for Colorado politicians since 2006. On the House side, Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., who has also been feted by Dupart (See this fundraiser in March and this one from 2009) took credit in an April newsletter, stating “Getting funding for this project and getting it moving is one of my top priorities in Congress.” Perlmutter has  requested an earmark for $8.5 million for the completion of the final phase of the project, as we reported here.

Dupart’s fundraising goes beyond the Colorado delegation. In 2010, he’s hosted at least 19 parties, all but three at the eatery Bistro Bis. His clients include a range of entities seeking federal funding for various projects, including American Systems Corporation, Central College, and the City of Pensacola.  In February, Dupart told the Pennsacola News Journal (subscription required) that the firm has a goal of getting clients a minimum of 10-to-1 return on investment. Dupart did not return a call requesting comment.

Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) has requested an earmark for $8.5 million for the completion of the final phase of a construction project on Colorado’s Interstate 225, as detailed in a previous post. The project will widen areas of the interchange of I-225 and Colfax Ave and lessen traffic to the Anschultz Medical Campus.

Last week, Perlmutter held a fundraiser hosted by the Normandy Group’s Louis Dupart, a lobbyist who has sought for several Colorado politicians. Dupart represents the Aurora Economic Development Council, which listed funding work on the interchange as a legislative priority.

Perlmutter has already secured $1.4 million in funding for the project at the interchange of I-225 and Colfax Ave.

Lobbyist Louis Dupart of the Normandy Group has hosted several fundraisers for Colorado politicians in the past, lobbying on their behalf for earmarks such as the construction of Colorado’s I-225 interchange, as detailed in a previous post. Dupart will host another fundraiser on March 11 for Rep. Betsy Markey (D-Colo.), to whom Dupart’s wife, Theresa,  donated $500 in 2009.

Later this month, on March 18, Dupart will host yet another party for Colorado Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D). Perlmutter has secured more than $1.4 million in funding for the interchange. The construction project is currently in its final stage of completion.

The Normandy Group also represents Forest City Enterprises, the developer of a 184-acre bioscience park in Aurora, Colo. In this last election cycle, Forest City’s PAC has donated $2,000 to Perlmutter’s campaign. Also, in the 2008 election cycle, Forest City’s PAC contributed $2,500 to Markey’s campaign.

Albert Ratner, co-Chairman of the board of Forest City, donated $2,000 to Markey last year. James Ratner, chairman and CEO of the Forest City Commercial Group, and Ronald Ratner, an executive vice president and director of Forest City, each donated $500 to Perlmutter in 2006.