When Utah state Rep. David N. Cox persuaded fellow Republicans to vote against a school voucher bill last year, he did more than help doom the idea. He became an election-year target.
Through his actions, the lawmaker, who is a 5th grade teacher in Lehi, Utah, angered the school choice movement and caught the attention of a pro-voucher group called All Children Matter.
The group targeted Mr. Cox as part of a more-than-$7-million campaign this year to get supporters of tuition vouchers and other forms of school choice into legislative and governorsâ offices in at least 10 states. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., All Children Matter works with local affiliates to defeat candidates not just on school issues, but also by finding wedge issues, such as taxes, immigration, same-sex marriage, and drugs.
Read the related story,
The strategy worked against Mr. Cox: He lost his primary to a pro-voucher Republican.
âI donât think thereâs anything they wouldnât have done to defeat me,â Mr. Cox said. He said the groupâs local affiliate sent out a postcard that seemed to twist a vote he cast on a resolution urging Congress to help children of illegal immigrants. Mr. Cox said he was painted as a supporter of illegal immigration. âI think theyâre unscrupulous,â he said. Mr. Cox was elected in 1998 and has since worked against school vouchers.
The group defends its tactics, saying they are similar to those of teachersâ unions, the political parties, and other groups that seek to influence elections. âWe try to be politically savvy,â said Greg Brock, All Children Matterâs executive director. âWe donât try to inject our issue into the debate, because that may not be the big issue in the race.â
âA New Gunslingerâ
The national group and its network of local political action committees are targeting not only Utah this year, but also Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, South Carolina, and Wisconsinâstates where they were active during the 2004 elections. This year, theyâre also supporting candidates in Arizona, Ohio, and Iowa, which have recently enacted school choice laws. In Arizonaâs primary last month, the group spent at least $35,000 to help defeat moderate Republican state Sen. Toni Hellon, who is the chairwoman of her chamberâs K-12 legislative committee and has opposed school vouchers.
All Children Matter is also involved in at least one governorâs race. The group donated $10,000 in August to Ohio GOP candidate Kenneth Blackwell, who is currently Ohioâs secretary of state. He has made expanding school choice part of his campaign agenda.
Mr. Brock said the group will spend more than $7.6 million during the 2006 state elections.
Mostly financed by a handful of mega-rich entrepreneursâincluding the founding families of Amway Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.âAll Children Matter is becoming an influential political arm of the school choice movement.
This kind of influence was badly needed, said Clint Bolick, the president of the Alliance for School Choice, a Phoenix-based advocacy organization. âThereâs a new gunslinger in town,â he said. âNow, legislators know the school choice community will not turn its back on those who will take the risk.â
Making an Impact
All Children Matter is a small political action committee with a big bank account. The group was started in 2003, three years after a state voucher initiative failed in Michigan. That effort was led by former Michigan state GOP Chairwoman Betsy DeVos and her husband, Dick DeVos Jr., who is running for governor in Michigan this year against Democratic incumbent Jennifer M. Granholm.
Mr. DeVos, whose family made its fortune with the Amway company, originally known for direct sales of cleaning products, was the founding chairman of All Children Matter before stepping down to run for governor. Betsy DeVos is now its chairwoman.
In 2004, its first major election cycle, All Children Matter reported raising $9.5 million from 34 donors, including members of the family of the late Sam Walton, who founded Wal-Mart. The Waltons gave $6.4 million, according to Internal Revenue Service public records. The donor list also included Dick DeVos and Bruce Kovner, a New York City investor and the board chairman of the Juilliard School, for $500,000 each.
The group is often accused of bringing out-of-state money to local races, running negative ads, and going after candidates on issues other than education. Mr. Brock counters that heâs copying other political-action groups, and lobbying on behalf of families who donât have the time or money to do so.
In Wisconsin this year, the group dug up a possible voting-fraud issue with a state Senate candidate, prompting Democrat Donovan Riley, a voucher foe, to drop out of the primary last month. Two years ago in Indiana, the group ran ads accusing a legislative candidate of supporting same-sex marriage.
One of the groupâs biggest victories, school choice advocates say, came in 2004 in Utah. Then-Gov. Olene Walker, a Republican who had vetoed a voucher bill for special-needs children, was defeated in her primary after All Children Matter worked with its local affiliate to send out critical direct-mail pieces and mobilize grassroots supporters.
âOn Noticeâ
Though All Children Matter bills itself as a counterpart to the teachersâ unions, thereâs a big difference, argues Julie Terbrock, the St. Louis organizer for the Missouri Progressive Vote Coalition, a grassroots group of more than 40 labor unions and community organizations.
âAt least when it comes to teachersâ unions, these groups have members here,â she said. âAnd even though the teachersâ unions may get money from out of state, theyâre acting on behalf of their members here.â
During Missouriâs primary last month, All Children Matter supported seven legislative candidates; four of them won. One was Rep. Rodney R. Hubbard, a St. Louis Democrat elected in 2002 who has supported school vouchers. âAll Children Matter has just started becoming a factor here,â said Mr. Hubbard, who added that the group tends to become involved just before an election. âFor a long time, no one wanted to support school choice, and it was hard to stick your neck out.â
Even when All Children Matter loses a race, itâs not a total loss. Mr. Brock said, âOther legislators are now on notice that weâre not just going to sit idly by.â
