The 20 People from Worcester That Spend the Most Money on Politics
Friday, May 29, 2015
GoLocalWorcester News Team
In 2014, 183 Worcester residents contributed more than $172,000 with donations between $200 and nearly $20,000 to political campaign committees during the election year. According to 2014 data from the Center for Responsive Politics and Insidegov.com, the 20 individuals that spent the most on political committees gave just over a combined $90,000.
SEE SLIDES BELOW: 20 People from Worcester that Spent the Most Money on Politics in 2014
The Individual Campaign Contribution Database from Insidegov.com contains each contribution of $200 or more from an individual to a political campaign committee.
The average donation by a person in Worcester to a campaign committee was $940. According to the data, the average amount of money an individual in the United States spent in 2014 on a campaign committee was $2,265. Across Massachusetts, the average was $1,068.
Who Spends the Most on Politics in Worcester?
According to the data, George Phillies, a physicist from WPI has contributed nearly $86,000 to political committees since 2006 - all of which went to third party committees. In 2008 alone, Phillies gave more than $76,000 - to his own campaign. Phillies ran as the candidate for the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire and was placed on the Presidential Ballot.
Behind Phillies on the list is Anastasios Parafestas, Managing Member of the Bollard Group in Boston. Unlike Phillies, Parafestas never ran for President. He did, however, substantially back Scott Brown's U.S. Senate campaign with nearly $30,000 and another $12,500 to Mitt Romney's 2012 Presidential campaign.
Parafestas has supported 16 political committees, contributing $64,400 over his lifetime.
Rounding out the top three contributors is former Harr Motors CEO Charles Ribakoff. Over his lifetime, Ribakoff has contributed nearly $50,000 to 14 different committees. Like Parafestas, Ribakoff strongly backed both Brown and Romney. In 2012, Ribakoff contributed $25,000 to Brown's campaign and $10,000 to Romney's. Ribakoff recently sold Harr Motors over to current CEO Michael Gross.
Full List of Worcester Residents with Highest Total Lifetime Political Contributions:
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