Jim Alesi is known well for spreading member item pork around the district like a Boy Scout in a 4th of July Parade throwing candy to kids on the side of the road.

So I wondered… does Mr. Alesi get his money from constituents who believe he’s a good guy and want to see him re-elected, or is it a select few special interests that drive his campaign. I decided to look into where Mr. Alesi gets his money. I used sources such as followthemoney.org and sunlightny.org to do this research.

Here’s what I found. Alesi has raised $232,778 in the 2007/2008 Election Cycle. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story.

Let me take a side trip and introduce you to the Sands Family. Marvin Sands was the CEO of Canandaigua Wines (now Constellation Brands) from 1945 to 1993, and died in 1999. His Sons, Richard and Robert, are CEO and COO of Constellation.

In August 2007, Richard and Robert Sands, along with wives, family members, and Marvin Sand’s Trust Fund donated a total of $25,000 to Alesi’s Campaign Fund. This, combined with a Constellation Brands corporate donation of $2,400 in September 2007 means the total Sands Family donation for 2007 was $27,400.

A single family funded more than 11% of Alesi’s 2007 contributions

Now let me be clear, I’m not saying anything illegal about this. The Sands family, both indiviudally and through the Constellation Brands Corporation have made sizable political donations in the past, to both Republicans and Democrats.

What I have a problem with is the number, size, and timing of these donations. Why give so much in a non-election year (2007), to a candidate that has historically had little trouble getting re-elected, and no known 2008 opposition at the time of the contributions? Could it have anything to do with specific legislation?

So my question to Mr. Alesi is this: Why so much money all at once from a single family? Does an amount of money like this make you more or less objective when introducing alcohol-lobby pushed legislation such as Senate Bill 1914 and Senate Bill 1915, both introduced earlier in 2007, and Bill 6883, introduced in early 2008.

If you look in Project Sunlight to see who lobbied for Alesi-introduced bills 1914 and 1915, it’s Anheuser Busch, the Beer Wholesalers Association, Metropolitan Package Store Association (a liquor retailer alliance), and the Wine Institute.

Who also donated to Alesi’s campaign? Anheuser Busch, the Beer Wholesalers Association, Metropolitan Package Store Association, and a Wine Wholesalers Association.

I’m not passing judgment on the specific legislation introduced here. It may very well be good stuff. What I’m questioning here is the appropriateness of a single family with a special interest donating so much all at once, and if that influences legislation.

This is why we need Clean Money / Clean Elections.