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Documenting the Political Partying Circuit
From the early hours of the morning until late in the evening, politicians are partying. Sunlight's PARTY TIME can help you find out who is partying, where and when.

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PartyTimeData lobbying • POSTED - 06.01.10 BY Lisa Chiu

The scene of the bundle? Top lobbyists found in Party Time database

The top ten lobbyist bundlers of 2010 also hosted plenty of fundraisers when their names and organizations were cross-referenced with Party Time’s database of fundraising invitations.

According to a Washington Post analysis this weekend of fundraising records filed under new Federal Election Commission requirements, nearly 160 lobbyists have raised $9 million for political parties and federal candidates by bundling—a method of donating where lobbyists or other fundraisers funnel multiple contributions to campaigns or political parties without violating individual donation limits.The new requirements instruct filers to disclose reports of contributions of $16,000 or more that are bundled by lobbyists.

According to Party Time’s list of invites, the top bundlers of 2010 hosted more than 80 fundraisers going back to 2006. Here are the top ten bundlers as found by the Post and their fundraising history using our list of invitations:

1. Ben Barnes, Ben Barnes Group lobbying firm: $641,950
Party Time didn’t have an invite for Ben Barnes specifically, but lobbyist Scott Reed represents the Group and hosted a fundraiser in April for George Lemieux’s Protect America’s Future PAC. He also hosted fundraisers for Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., in 2008 and Mike DeWine in 2006.

2. Brian L. Wolff, Edison Electric Institute: $615,500
There was no exact match for Wolff, but we do have two fundraisers on file for the PowerPAC of the Edison Electric Institute this year. The most recent was a May 4th energy industry breakfast for Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., at the American Gas Association. In February, the PAC held a reception for Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, co-hosted by the Nuclear Energy Institute PAC. They also held a June 2009 energy industry reception fundraiser for Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark. Also, in 2009, two fundraisers were held by Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison, and in 2008, the Edison Electric Institute held a fundraiser on the first day of the 2008 Republican National Convention in Minnesota.

3. Tony Podesta, Podesta Group: $420,350
One of the city’s top lobbying firms and a Party Time regular, Tony Podesta has 22 invitations on which he is listed as a host for fundraisers in our database, the latest being an April 23 fundraising breakfast for Rep. Debbie Wasserman, D-Fla. In nearly all cases his wife, Heather Podesta, is also listed, but we did find two invites where she hosted without her husband.

4. Vincent Roberti, Navigators Global: $283,200
Roberti appears on one Party Time invite, a March 11 fundraising reception for Rep. Paul Hodes, D-N.H., however DC Navigators, LLC, appears as host to 18 different fundraisers going back to March 2008. The most recent was a fundraising reception for Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

5. Wilson Pipestem, Ietan Consulting: $202,000
Pipestem does not appear in the Party Time list of invitations, however Ietan Consulting partner Larry Rosenthal hosted a 2006 reception fundraiser, along with several other lobbyists, for Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.

6. Bill Paxon, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: $180,000

There were six fundraisers hosted by Bill Paxon in the Party Time database, the most recent being a March 17th fundraiser for Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C. at the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Paxon’s powerhouse lobbying firm also appears as host on 23 different fundraisers in our database since July 2008.

7. T. Martin Fiorentino, Jacksonville: $173,700
No Party Time invites on file.

8. Association for Advanced Life Underwriters: $162,300
No Party Time invites on file.

9. Aurene M. Martin, Holland & Knight: $156,200
Martin has hosted one fundraiser according to the Party Time list of invites, an October 2009 birthday dinner for Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. The Holland & Knight Committee for Effective Government also hosted an April 26th fundraising reception for Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif.

10. Steve A. Elmendorf, Elmendorf Strategies: $151,400
There are four invitations on file for Steve Elmendorf, the most recent was a March 24th breakfast for Frank Kratovil Jr., D-Md. Invitees could attend the breakfast if they paid $500 per person or they could host the event for $2,500.

Please note: Invitations in the Party Time database only represent a portion of the fundraising events that take place in Washington D.C. The database consists largely of events sent to us by anonymous sources, where we then strip off all possible identifying information. If you know of a fundraiser in D.C. or in your state, please consider uploading it to our anonymous upload system.

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Partytime • POSTED - 01.26.10 BY Nancy Watzman

Opensecrets.org features Party Time data

If you visit the motherlode of all campaign finance data websites, the Center for Responsive Politics’ OpenSecrets.org, you can now find Party Time data about congressional fundraisers. Check out this link, for example, to Rep. Steny Hoyer’s (D-Md.) profile page here, which now shows his upcoming fundraising events. We’re really pleased to see the information from Party Time get around the web, where more people will see it. Note: the Sunlight Foundation helps fund the Center for Responsive Politics.)

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visualizations • POSTED - 11.04.09 BY Nancy Watzman

Party Time Map Mashup

From the folks at LobbyData.com, a commercial site, comes this free Party Time map mashup that shows all the parties in our database on a searchable, interactive map.
Picture 3
It’s a lot of fun to play with. Look at this view, of parties in the DC/MD/VA area. As expected, the great majority of the parties are clustered downtown. however, there is a scattering of festivities in resort locations, along the Chesapeake Bay and Eastern shore and in the mountains of Virginia.

Here’s a view of New York City parties. Most are in Manhattan. Parties for Democrats are far more plentiful than those for Republicans.

Picture 5

Indeed, searching around provides enticing clues of where lawmakers party when they’re outside the nation’s capital (although also a bit frustrating, because we know there must be many more parties in these locales, but we’re not receiving invitations from our current sources.)

Check out Las Vegas. Here’s Alaska. The Colorado mountains (think skiing). And Florida. If you move around the map of the States you see clusters of parties in Denver and Minneapolis/St. Paul (remember the conventions?), Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dallas and Houston. Rare is the state where we have no parties listed at all.

Glenn A. Kirbo of LobbyData.com says the folks there were  inspired by a Sunlight Labs contest to build the site, although they didn’t end up entering the competition. This is the sort of innovation we love to see. Poke around and have fun.

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PARTYFINDER™ Hints

Beneficiary: congressional candidate, lawmaker, or entity which collects funds raised at party

Host: person who is hosting party-often, but not always, a registered federal lobbyist

Venue Name: where the party is

Entertainment Type: type of gathering, such as "breakfast," "ski trip," "bowling"

Other Lawmakers Mentioned: lawmakers mentioned on invitation who are used as a draw for the event

Sunlight's Party Time is a project to track parties for members of Congress or congressional candidates that happen all year round in Washington, D.C. and beyond. (read more)

We also post information we receive about parties where members of Congress are expected to participate—such as convention or inaugural parties.

Since we don't hear about all the parties, you can also tell us if you know where the party is and we don't.