The Reform Institute

The Reform Institute describes itself as “a nonpartisan, not-for-profit educational organization working to strengthen the foundations of our democracy and build a resilient society. The Institute formulates and advocates valuable, solutions-based reform in vital areas of public policy.” A 2008 version of the group's website decribed itself as "a multi-issue think tank that champions the national interest by formulating and advocating meaningful reform in vital areas of public policy, including campaign finance and election reform, energy and climate stewardship, homeland security, immigration reform and economic policy."

The Institute, which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit group, was founded after the failure of the Arizona Senator John McCain's bid to win the 2000 Republican presidential nomination in 2001 to help push for campaign finance and election reform. In recent years it has broadened its scope to include other pubic policy issues. McCain and former Democrat Senator Bob Kerrey were the two founding co-chairman of the institute's Advisory Committee. McCain resigned his position in 2005.

Background
According to its website the Institute “is a centrist think tank committed to achieving fundamental reform towards making America more resilient. The Institute provides objective research and analysis in critical areas of public policy, including homeland and national security, energy and environmental progress, economic opportunity and competitiveness, immigration policy, and governance and election reform.”

The organization has been criticized by both sides of the political spectrum. It has been assailed by entities on the right largely because of its support for campaign finance reform and comprehensive immigration reform. Attacks from the left focus primarily on its past affiliation with Senator McCain, the Republican Party nominee for president in 2008. Common critiques from these sources are that it is an astroturf organization and phony think tank, and that it "primarily seems to be the 2008 McCain-for-President campaign-in-waiting." In August 2005, the Institute was "housed in the same Old Towne office building as McCain's re-election committee (Friends of John McCain)," his Straight Talk America PAC, and "his adviser's lobbying firm" Davis, Manafort & Freedman, Inc.

A top critic is Bradley A. Smith. Senator McCain voted against his nomination to the Federal Election Commission because Mr. Smith is an outspoken foe of the campaign finance laws the FEC is supposed to enforce. Mr. Smith is now chairman and co-founder of the Center for Competitive Politics, an organization that seeks to reverse campaign finance laws. "The chairman of the board of the Reform Institute is ... John McCain," Mr. Smith wrote in 2005. "If you go to look at the press releases at reforminstitute.org, you will see that virtually every release mentions Sen. McCain in the first sentence. Not paragraph, sentence. Who runs the Reform Institute? Well, the president is Richard Davis, who is paid over $110,000 a year. Who is Richard Davis? He was John McCain’s 2000 campaign manager. The counsel to the Reform Institute is Trevor Potter, whose law firm is paid more than $50,000 a year for the work. Who is Trevor Potter? Why, he was legal counsel to McCain 2000! The finance director of the Reform Institute is a woman named Carla Eudy. She was finance director for McCain 2000. The communications director is Crystal Benton; she was McCain’s press secretary.

"Recently the Reform Institute, which bills itself as 'a thoughtful, moderate voice for reform in the campaign finance and election administration debates,' launched what it calls the Natural Resources Stewardship Project. And what does natural resources stewardship have to do with 'campaign finance and election administration'? As near as I can tell, its only connection to campaign finance and election administration is, as the institute’s site tells us, that 'Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman have introduced the Climate Stewardship Act' in Congress. And, of course, John McCain is planning to run for president again, and his signature issue, other than campaign finance regulation, is global warming. To run the Natural Resources Stewardship Project, the institute hired John Raidt, who, you guessed it, served 15 years working on 'environmental initiatives' for Sen. McCain," Smith wrote.

"And how is the Reform Institute funded? With contributions, in six figures or more, from individuals and corporations, including the cable company Cablevision. Cable companies are constantly before the Senate Commerce Committee, which Sen. McCain chaired at the time of Cablevision’s contribution. In fact, Cablevision gave $200,000 to the Reform Institute around the same time its officials were testifying before the Senate Commerce Committee. Appearance of corruption, anyone?", Smith asked.

Policy initiatives
The early work of the Institute involved banning “soft money” contributions, reforming federal and state 527 committees, reforming the Federal Election Commission , and enacting public campaign funding programs in the states. Recent work on governance and election reform includes supporting a national voter hotline in 2008, redistricting reform at the state and federal levels , lobbying and ethics reform in congress , judicial election reform and campaign finance reform at the state and federal levels.

On immigration policy the Institute supports comprehensive immigration reform and sponsored in 2007 an online campaign with social media company BrickFish that asked participants to express the message they thought the border fence conveyed by virtually designing a portion of it. The campaign was recognized with the Forrester Groundswell Award for “social impact.” The Institute has also espoused what it sees as the economic benefits of immigration.

In the area of homeland security policy the Institute has been an advocate of the concept of resilience -- the ability of the country to quickly bounce back after a catastrophic event. The Institute has advanced the approach through events, a report , and congressional testimony.

The Institute’s energy and environment policy work has focused on implementing a “smart grid”, encouraging the wider use of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, diminishing U.S. reliance on foreign energy, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Its efforts have included a national symposium and related report that, according to the Institute, seek to advance bipartisan, comprehensive energy and climate reform. Conservative blogger Bob McCarty criticized the symposium for not adequately representing “nation’s largest oil and natural gas exploration and production firms.” While New Energy News faulted the event for a lack of prominent speakers from the Democratic party.

Funding
Funding for the Institute comes from a combination of individual, foundation, and corporate supporters. It has been criticized by conservative blogs for accepting grants from liberal foundations such as the Open Society Institute, which is closely tied to progressive icon George Soros. It also has been tweaked by liberal media for past contributions from corporations like AIG.

The Reform Institute's 2005 annual return to the Internal Revenue Service reported total revenue of $1,156,354 and total expenditure of $1,131,768. On its website it provides a detailed historical list of contributors to the group. However, it is not possible to identify current donors.

Foundation supporters
The foundations listed as having supported the institute since its foundation include:
 * Joseph Hoyt Foundation less than $5,000
 * Allison Family Foundation, between $5,000 and $49,999
 * The David Geffen Foundation, between $5,000 and $49,999
 * Manafort Family Foundation, between $5,000 and $49,999
 * Rockefeller Brothers Foundation, between $5,000 and $49,999
 * The Educational Foundation of America, above $50,000
 * The JEHT Foundation, above $50,000
 * Jerome Kohlberg, Jr. Revocable Trust, above $50,000
 * McMullen Family Foundation, above $50,000
 * Proteus Fund, above $50,000
 * Stuart Family Foundation, above $50,000
 * Tides Foundation, above $50,000

Corporate supporters

 * Carnegie Corporation of New York, above $50,000
 * CSC Holdings, Inc, above $50,000
 * American International Group, above $50,000

Board of Directors

 * Paul Bateman, Klein & Saks Group
 * Charles Kolb, Committee for Economic Development
 * Pam Pryor, Convoy of Hope
 * Lawrence Hebert, Dominion Advisory Group
 * Cecilia Martinez, Executive Director

Staff

 * Cecilia Martinez, Executive Director
 * Daniel Ortiz, Legal Advisor
 * Robert W. Kelly, Senior Advisor for Homeland/National Security
 * Kenneth Nahigian, Senior Advisor on Energy and Environmental Policy
 * Chris Dreibelbis serves as the Communications and Economic Policy Director for the Reform Institute.
 * Sarah Lieu, Director of Operations and Events.

Former staff and Board presidents

 * Crystal Benton, Communications Director
 * Winnie Strzelecki, Field Director
 * Daniel Prieto, Director and Senior Fellow of the Homeland Security Center
 * Tina Guthrie, Program and Research Associate on Homeland Security
 * Kate Falchi, Program and Research Associate
 * Steven Bogden, Research Assistant to Homeland Security
 * Nichole Remmert serves as the development director for the Reform Institute.
 * Kerry Buker, Coordinator on Climate and Energy Policy and Executive Assistant
 * Dr. Juan Hernandez, Senior Fellow of the Institute's Comprehensive Immigration Reform Initiative
 * Herb Allison (2001-2003)
 * Richard Davis (2003-2005)
 * Amo Houghton 2005-2006
 * John Gardner (2006-2007)
 * Charles Bass (2007-2008)
 * Arianna Huffington

Consultants

 * Tony Corrado is a professor at Colby College and assists the Institute with research that involves money in politics.
 * Sam Hirsch is a partner in Jenner & Block's Washington, D.C. office. With Ortiz he was project director for the Institute's publication, Beyond Party Lines: Principles for Redistricting Reform.
 * BJ Martino is a Vice President with The Tarrance Group, a political research and strategy firm that conducts polling on behalf of the Institute.
 * Ken Nahigian, Senior Advisor to the Institute's Center for Energy and Environmental Progress.
 * Don Murphy, Senior Advisor to the Institute's State Strategies Initiative
 * Kristen Murray, Project Director for the Institute’s 2007 publication Playing Fair: 527 Reforms in the States.
 * Ken Smukler, InforVoter Technlogies.
 * Tim Crawford, development and networking strategies.

Advisory committee
According to the Institute's website, is a "bipartisan group of notable academics, legal experts, election administrators, and public officials."

Homeland and national security advisory committee

 * Mary Arnold, Arnold Consulting
 * Rich Cooper, Olive, Edwards and Cooper
 * Phil Emmer, Emmer Development Corp
 * Timothy Farrell, Bank of America
 * Matthew Freedman, Global Impact, Inc.
 * Hon. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina
 * Scott Greiper, Secure Strategy Group
 * Robert Kelly, Centauri Solutions
 * David McIntyre, TRIWEST
 * Marie Royce, Alcatel-Lucent
 * Ray Shepherd, Venable LLP
 * William Tenney, Target Corp.

Energy and environment advisory committee

 * Robbie Aiken, Pinnacle West Capital Corp.
 * Mary Arnold, Arnold Consulting
 * Hon. Charles Bass, New Hampshire
 * Alex Beehler, Plexus Logistics International
 * Hon. David Boren, University of Oklahoma
 * Lance Bultena, Hogan & Hartson
 * Timothy Farrell, Bank of America
 * Matthew Freedman, Global Impact, Inc.
 * Steven Lynn, Tucson Electric Power Co.
 * Bob Martin, Accenture, LLP (Retired)
 * Ken Nahigian, Nahigian Strategies
 * Cindy Ortega, MGM MIRAGE
 * David Pottruck, Red Eagle Ventures
 * David Russell, Bryan Cave Strategies
 * Marc Spitzer, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Governance and election reform advisory committee

 * Michael Alvarez, California Institute of Technology
 * Tami Buhr, Harvard University
 * Anthony Corrado, Colby College
 * Hon. William Gardner, New Hampshire
 * Marion Just, Wellesley College
 * Steven Lynn, Tucson Electric Power Co.
 * Thomas Mann, Brookings Institute
 * Ron Michaelson, Illinois
 * Hon. Ralph Munro, State of Washington
 * Hon. Don Murphy, Genn and Murphy
 * Kristen Murray, Temple University Law School
 * Norman Ornstein, American Enterprise Institute
 * Dan Ortiz, University of Virginia School of Law
 * Marc Spitzer, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
 * Raymond Wolfinger, University of California

Economic policy advisory committee

 * Robbie Aiken, Pinnacle West Capital Corp.
 * Lance Bultena, Hogan & Hartson
 * David McIntyre, TRIWEST
 * David Pottruck, Red Eagle Ventures
 * Col. Eric Rojo, U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce
 * Joseph Schmuckler, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities
 * Kim Binkley-Seyer, The Seyer Group
 * Al Zapanta, U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce

Immigration reform advisory committee

 * Robbie Aiken, Pinnacle West Capital Corp.
 * Hon. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina
 * Cristina Munoz, Coca-Cola Enterprises
 * Dowell Myers, University of Southern California
 * Rev. Sam Rodriguez, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
 * Col. Eric Rojo, U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce
 * Kim Binkley-Seyer, The Seyer Group
 * Al Zapanta, U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce

Former members of the advisory board

 * Former Congressman Amo Houghton (R-NY), Chair
 * Cheryl Perrin, Campaign for America
 * David Pottruck, former CEO, Charles Schwab

Consultants

 * Caplan and Drysdale, The 2005 annual report states that he was paid $51,523.
 * John Raidt. The 2005 annual report states that he was paid $143,000.

Fundraising
The web address for Reform Institute contributions is that for DonationReport.com, plus an extension code for The Reform Institute.

The connection for the DonationReport.com website arrives at a Login page&mdash;requiring both a User ID and Password&mdash;which belongs to eDonation.com, a member of The Donatelli Group, a fundraising company that has raised campaign funds for the Republican National Committee, Republican National Convention, Bush-Cheney '04 Inc., John McCain, the NRA, Vets for Freedom, and an exhaustive list of Republican members of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as other political organizations.

Contact information
The Reform Institute 300 North Washington Street, Suite 600 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone: 703 535-6897 FAX: 866 863-5510 Website: http://www.reforminstitute.org

SourceWatch resources

 * Campaign Finance Institute
 * John McCain
 * John McCain: U.S. presidential election, 2008
 * McCain-Feingold (Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002)
 * Soft money
 * Think tanks

Articles

 * Daniel Seligson, "Poll Shows Little Passion For Election Reform," Stateline.org, June 28, 2001.
 * Jim Drinkard, "Maverick McCain now leads a pack," USA TODAY, July 15, 2001.
 * "Carnegie Forum on Money and Politics," Carnegie Corporation of New York, January 26, 2004.
 * News Release: "Cases: Keep it Clean v. Flake: Intervenor / Amicus Filings. Legal Center & Reform Institute Amicus Brief," Campaign Legal Center, August 2004.
 * Steve Soto, "Mr. McCain Soils Himself," The Left Coaster, March 8, 2005.
 * Winfield Myers, "McCain's Own Loophole, & His Takeover of Local Reporting," Democracy Project, March 8, 2005.
 * Mark Tapscott, "Who is the 'Contributor No. 8, Anonymous' Behind McCain Political Advisor's Tax-Exempt Reform Institute?" Tapscott's Copy Desk Blogspot, March 8, 2005.
 * "McCain has some explaining to do," The Carpetbagger Report, March 8, 2005.
 * Sandi, "McCain Allies Want Reform (and Money)," Vista On Current Events, March 8, 2005.
 * Chris in Paris, "The McCain-Reform Institute wants money out of politics," AMERICAblog, March 8, 2005: "As soon as your check clears into their account. Yes, but will they also provide full sucking up capabilities like we witnessed during the campaign last year?"
 * Doug Ireland, "John McCain, Hypocrite," Common Dreams, March 9, 2005.
 * Captain Ed, "Inside McCain's Reform Institute," Captain's Quarters Blog, March 9, 2005.
 * Richard Poe, "John McCain Gets Soros Cash," Moonbat Central, March 10, 2005.
 * Jacob Sullum, "How John McCain Reformed. The Arizona senator hasn't changed since his Keating days," Reason Online, March 11, 2005.
 * "Scampaign Finance," TheAgitator.com, March 17, 2005.
 * The Skeptic, "McCain 'Leaves' Reform Institute," Skeptic's Eye, July 28, 2005.
 * Jeff Goldstein, "McCain to America: 'Do as I legislate, not as I, uh, violate the spirit of said legislation in an attempt to ready myself for another presidential run in 2008'," protein wisdom, August 5, 2005.
 * Ryan Sager, "The Horse McCain Rode in On," RHSager.com, August 8, 2005.
 * Bradley A. Smith, "John McCain’s War on Political Speech. How the Arizona senator and other campaign finance reformers use the law to muffle critics and trample the First Amendment," Reason Online (posted by Free Republic with comments and 6-page pdf by Heartland Institute), December 2005.
 * Brian C. Anderson, "Shut Up, They Explained. The left's regulatory war against free speech," WSJ OpinionJournal, January 25, 2006.
 * Brad Smith [Bradley A. Smith], "McCain, Obama & Me," Division of Labour, February 9, 2006: "Then there is the 'Reform Institute,' which Senator McCain chairs and which some have called merely a sham McCain campaign front."
 * Bob Bauer, "We guess that lunch is off…," More Soft Money Hard Law, August 14, 2006.
 * Brian C. Anderson, "The Plot to Shush Rush and O’Reilly," City Journal/Manhattan Institute, Winter 2006.
 * Peter Elstrom, “A ‘Failure of Leadership’”, “BusinessWeek Online”, June 8, 2007.
 * David Broder, “A Victory for Free Speech”, “Washington Post”, July 1, 2007.
 * Cecilia Martinez, “Supreme Court Ruling Allows Sham Ads to Tarnish Elections”, “The Hill”, July 29, 2007.
 * “Commercial Technologies Have Security Uses”, “United Press International”, October 15, 2007.
 * Ted Hearn, “Media Errs Again on McCain-Dolan”, “Multichannel News”, January 1, 2008.
 * Pete Abel, “‘Hog tight, horse high, and bull strong’”, “The Moderate Voice”, January 2, 2008.
 * Jo Biddle, “U.S. Voters Flocking to Make History in 2008”, “Agence France Presse”, February 4, 2008.
 * Cecilia Martinez, “Give Voters Better Information”, “Bend Weekly”, February 15, 2008.
 * Robert Kelly and Lawrence Hebert, “Resilience is Key to Strengthening Our Security, Economy”, Copley News Service, March 20, 2008.
 * “Practical Solutions to Increase Awareness of Poll Locations”, “Talk Radio News Service”, April 9, 2008.
 * Pam Fessler, “Provisional Ballots Offer Back-Up for Primary Voters”, “NPR Morning Edition”, April 16, 2008.
 * Robert Kelly, “‘Resilience’ Blooming into its Own”, “Homeland Security Watch”, May 1, 2008.
 * Mickey McCarter, [http://hstoday.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3387&Itemid=149 “Think Tank to Continue Focus on Resiliency,” “Homeland Security Today”, May 16, 2008.
 * Paul Bateman and Lawrence Hebert, “Make ‘Resilience’ a Plan, Not a Plea”, “Desert Local News”, June 30, 2008.
 * Andrew Zajac, Group muddies McCain message The Chicago Tribune, June 17, 2008.
 * “Another Day, Another Smear”, “RedState”, July 2, 2008.
 * Kenneth Nahigian, “Lessons of the 2003 Blackout Cannot be Ignored”, “The Hill Online”, August 13, 2008.
 * Marcia Coyle, “High Court Review Sought on Judicial Recusals” “National Law Journal”, August 4, 2008.
 * Chris Dreibelbis, “Our Aging Power Grid”, “New York Times”, August 23, 2008.
 * Cecilia Martinez, “Navigating Election Day: A Little Preparation Can Go a Long Way”, “New America Media”, October 30, 2008.
 * Jen DiMascio, “Terrorist Acts Common for New Presidents” “Politico”, November 1, 2008.
 * Ken Nahigian, “Nation’s Energy Challenges Demand a Comprehensive Approach”, “The Hill Online”, April 7, 2009.
 * Stephanie Condon, Partisan Discord Weighs Down Energy Policy”, “CNET News”, April 21, 2009.
 * Kyle Trygstad, “Dems Pushing Comprehensive Energy Plan” “Real Clear Politics”, April 22, 2009.
 * Antonio Olivo, “Panel to Consider Immigrants’ Effect on Economy”, “Chicago Tribune”, June 8, 2009.