Since 1998, Dolans gave $2.7M to politicians, causes

BY REID J. EPSTEIN | reid.epstein@newsday.com; Staff writer Eden

May 13, 2008

The Dolan family and its Cablevision political action committee are heavy hitters in the halls of power in Albany and Washington, giving more than $2.7 million to politicians and causes of all stripes since 1998.

The contributions bridge any political divide. Candidates as varied as Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, a Democrat, and former Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) have cashed Cablevision's checks.

"They're certainly in the top tier of political impact players," Blair Horner, the legislative director for the New York Public Interest Research Group, said yesterday from the Capitol in Albany. "They definitely spend a lot of money here."

Like others looking for political influence in Albany and Washington, the Dolans and Cablevision are equal-opportunity givers, filling campaign coffers for Republicans and Democrats alike.

The family and Cablevision's political action committee often give to opposing candidates in the same race - George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000, Bush and John Kerry in 2004, and Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rick Lazio in 2000.

The vast majority of the individual contributions come from patriarch Charles Dolan, Cablevision's founder, and his son James, the company's chief executive. Charles Dolan's wife, Helen, and his son Thomas are also political givers.

Locally, Cablevision and the Dolans are big givers to Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi ($331,750 since 2000) and Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy ($26,100 since 2003). The company regularly contributes to local county political parties and town officials, including town supervisors in Babylon, Brookhaven, Huntington, Oyster Bay and Southampton.

"They contribute to just about everybody on Long Island at one point or another," said Ben Zwirn, the former North Hempstead supervisor who is now an aide to Levy. "Politically, they're certainly major players on Long Island."

The Dolans don't limit political contributions to local races. For example, their political action committee gave to Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) and the South Dakota Democratic Party.

Staff writer Eden Laikin contributed to this story.

DOLAN FAMILY GIVING

TOTAL CHARITABLE GIVING FROM 4 FAMILY FOUNDATIONS IN 2006, ACCORDING TO TAX RECORDS:

$8.1 million

The Huntington Hospital DOLAN FAMILY HEALTH CENTER in Greenlawn - $2.2 million in free medical care in 2006.

Katherine and Peter Dolan Family Foundation - $600,000 to various educational institutions in 2006.

Dolan Family Foundation - $2.1 million in 2006 to groups such as the Art League of Long Island, the NAACP, THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, not to mention a $1.56 million gift to the Catholic Church.

Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, $2.2 million in 2006 to fund cancer studies at GEORGETOWN, John Hopkins, Purdue and many other universities and affiliated hospitals.