Portsmouth Herald
RAN 2/13/96 Pg. A10
By Steve Haberman
Herald Staff
   HAMPTON - Through September of last year, a Seacoast conglomerate had
contributed 18 percent of all the money raised in New Hampshire by this
year's crop of presidential candidates.
   The corporations of Wheelabrator Technologies, Fisher Scientific
International, and Abex Inc., all based on Liberty Lane in Hampton,
contributed almost $29,000. Most of it went to three candidates, according to
a study released by New Hampshire Citizen Action yesterday. President Bill
Clinton got just under $13,000, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole got $6,000
and former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander got $6,000.
   Most of the contributions were ``bundled,'' meaning that they were sent by
individuals working for these organizations so as to avoid the
$1,000-per-person federal limit on campaign contributions.
   The Wheelabrator conglomerate has been active in local, state and national
politics for years, the Citizen Action report noted. The report quoted
Wheelabrator President Michael Dingman as telling the Wall Street Journal in
1979, that one of the reasons he moved his company from New York to New
Hampshire in the mid-1970s was because, ``We want to participate. In New
Hampshire, a little money goes a long way.''
   The report concluded that it appears the ``Wheelabrator conglomerate is
not willing to spend the money required to change the outcome of the
elections, but, instead, wants to be sure that whoever wins will look upon
them favorably.''
   ``The Wheelabrator conglomerate is making sure that they have access
regardless of who is in power,'' said Citizen Action Executive Director Karen
Hicks. ``They see it as a strategic business investment.''
   The Wheelabrator contributions appear even larger when taken within the
context of the amount presidential candidates receive from New Hampshire
individuals and businesses. Citizen Action reported that of the $95 million
raised by presidential candidates as of September 1995, only $159,000 came
from New Hampshire. Only about .03 percent of the state's population
contributed to primary candidates.
   ``The `Wealth Primary' in New Hampshire follows the national trend,''
Hicks said. ``Less than one half of one percent of the population
participates in this critical primary.''
   Hicks defined the Wealth Primary as the results of candidates'
fund-raising efforts before any primary or caucus takes place. She said that
in the last four presidential cycles, the candidate who raised the most money
by Jan. 1 became his party's nominee.
   In New Hampshire, Dole won the fund-raising battle as of September,
raising $47,500. Clinton came in second with $30,750, Citizen Action
reported.