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SEPTEMBER 7, 2018HEDGEPAPERSNo. 62DAN MCKEE AND THE RIGHT-WINGBILLIONAIRES WHO BACK HIM

Dan McKee has made somevery powerful and verywealthy friends. It’s workedout well for him—but notso great for regular familiesin Rhode Island.DAN MCKEEAs the former Mayor of Cumberlandand current Lieutenant Governor,McKee has pushed policies that haveundermined Rhode Island’s publicschools and thrown into question hiscommitment to holding accountablethose who profited from the opioidcrisis.BETSY DEVOSMcKee’s biggest campaign backersinclude the Walton family, heirs tothe Wal-Mart fortune and patrons ofthe Betsy DeVos education agenda.It’s no mystery why—BillionaireBetsy herself has praised McKee atclosed-door meetings in Washington,DC.JONATHAN SACKLERTroublingly, McKee has also takenthousands of dollars from theSackler family, heirs to the OxyContinfortune.September 7, 2018 — Hedge Papers No. 622

DAN MCKEE AND HISRIGHT-WING BILLIONAIREBUDDIESDan McKee is a flat-out pro-charter school politician,pushing for privatization of our public schools.He is running for re-election as Lt. Governor ofRhode Island.A supporter of DeVos-style education privatization,McKee has earned praise from Trump EducationSecretary DeVos who referred to him as a championand thanked him for promoting her reform agenda.1Just like McKee, the Walton family is also sweet onBetsy DeVos.The Walton Family Foundation has donated a total of 24,740,501 to Betsy DeVos’s school privatizationgroup, the Alliance for School Choice. In the past tenyears for which data is available, Walton FamilyFoundation contributions to Alliance for SchoolChoice have amounted to an average of 32.29% ofthe organization’s annual revenue.2014 WALTON & 2018 PENNER SPENDING:But McKee’s ties to DeVos don’t end there—DanMcKee is being boosted by several other supportersof Betsy DeVos and the Trump agenda.WALTON BILLIONAIRESPUSH RI WORKERS INTOPOVERTY—AND MCKEEINTO POLITICSMcKee’s biggest patron is the Walton family,the multi-billionaire heirs and heiresses to theWal-Mart fortune.Wal-Mart treats Rhode Islanders terribly—in 2014,Americans for Tax Fairness estimated that Wal-Martpay for its Rhode Island workers was so low thatemployees were forced to rely on 11 MILLION inpublic assistance—but the Walton family couldn’t loveDan McKee more.In 2014 alone, Walton family members supportedMcKee to the tune of 100,000. In the 2018 race,McKee has accepted contributions from Wal-Martheiress Carrie Walton Penner, a major charter schoolproponent.1JUST LIKE MCKEE, THEWALTON FAMILY IS ALSOSWEET ON BETSY DEVOS.The Walton Family Foundation has donated a total of 24,740,501 to Betsy DeVos’s school privatizationgroup, the Alliance for School Choice. In the past tenyears for which data is available, Walton FamilyFoundation contributions to Alliance for SchoolChoice have amounted to an average of 32.29% ofthe organization’s annual ieutenant-governors-associationSeptember 7, 2018 — Hedge Papers No. 623

The Walton Family Foundation has donated a total of 24,740,501 to Betsy DeVos’s school privatization group,the Alliance for School Choice. Walton Family Foundationcontributions to Alliance for School a Choice haveamounted to an average of 32.29% of the organization’sannual revenue.CONTRIBUTIONSYEARCONTRIBUTION TOTALWFF TOTALPERCENT WFF2014 9,311,753.00 3,540,000.0038.02%2013 9,360,660.00 3,163,500.0033.80%2012 5,193,313.00 1,700,000.0032.73%2011 6,309,253.00 1,202,000.0019.05%2010 3,906,508.00 2,308,376.0059.09%2009 3,232,978.00 1,350,379.0041.77%2008 5,766,683.00 2,231,880.0038.70%2007 10,443,330.00 1,624,686.0015.56%2006 6,855,656.00 2,247,095.0032.78%2005 6,883,856.00 1,862,034.0027.05%2004 4,181,879.00 695,551.0016.63%Average:32.29%September 7, 2018 — Hedge Papers No. 624

SCHOOL PRIVATIZERSSWARM DAN MCKEEAnother McKee backer, tech entrepreneur AngusDavis, donated 10,000 to a PAC supporting McKee’scandidacy in 2014.Despite the word ‘Democrats’ in their name, whichstate Democratic parties in Colorado and Californiahave attempted to prevent them from using,4 DFERhas close ties to Betsy DeVos’s Alliance for SchoolChoice, with their 501(c)4 arm donating 25,000 toDeVos’s school privatization organization in 2010.5DAN MCKEE AND THEBILLIONAIRES WHOBROUGHT US THE OPIOIDCRISISBETSY DEVOSDavis is a former board member of the Center forEducation Reform, a pro-voucher organizationheaded by Heritage Foundation alumn Jeanne Allen.Jeanne Allen has repeatedly acted as a DeVossurrogate, defending Trump’s embattled secretary ofeducation in the media,2 and the Center forEducation Reform has been one of the few schoolchoice organizations that hasn’t condemned theTrump/DeVos school privatization agenda.McKee is also being supported by 50CAN, a nationaleducation reform organization whose former director,Jim Blew, leads DeVos’s office of planning,evaluation and policy analysis.3 50CAN has raised 125,000 to date to support McKee’s candidacy.McKee is also being boosted by the so-calledDemocrats for Education Reform (‘DFER’) and theiraffiliates, to the tune of at least 6,500 since 2012.To hear Dan McKee tell it, he’s been the state’sstaunchest fighter of the opioid manufacturers. Butthe truth is very different.His own website claims that McKee “is leadingRhode Island communities in the fight against theprescription opioid epidemic by filing a suit againstthe companies responsible for fueling the epidemicacross Rhode Island.”6 That probably makes forawkward table talk with one of his largest campaigndonors, the billionaire heirs to the OxyContin fortune.McKee has accepted thousands of dollars in directcontributions from the Sackler family and theiremployees.The Sacklers are the billionaire heirs to theOxyContin fortune, and their company, PurduePharmaceuticals, is being sued by several statesattorneys general (including Rhode Island), for theirrole in fueling the opioid crisis.2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v 5mvzrFTLKuI ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v aulr-eYK1aY3 09/trump taps school choice champion jim blew education post.html4 ducation-reform-at-state-assembly/ ; gs/7/attachments/original/CDP Fracking.pdf?13711351695 af/6 http://ltgov.ri.gov/opioid/September 7, 2018 — Hedge Papers No. 625

DATE12/10/2012DONORDFER RI PAC(DEMOCRATS FOR EDUCATION REFORM)AMOUNTDFER CONNECTION 500.00DFER’s PAC10/21/2013Tilson, Whitney R 500.00DFER founder5/4/2014Williams, Joeseph 1,000.00FER exec. Director3/30/2013Williams, Joseph Clarke 1,000.00DFER exec. Director3/30/2013Williams, Anne Martin 1,000.00Joe Williams’ wife6/25/2014Tilson, Susan 250.00Tilson’s wife3/5/2013Tilson, Whitney R 250.00DFER founder3/12/2014Tilson, Whitney R 1,000.00DFER founder3/30/2013Curry IV, Ravenel Boykin 500.00DFER member 500.00DFER3/23/2012DFER RI PAC(DEMOCRATS FOR EDUCATION REFORM)McKee has accepted a total of 6,500 from JonathanSackler, Sackler’s spouse, and two of the employeesof the company that manages his private fortune.Dan McKee got the backing of billionaires — charterschool billionaires, poverty-wage billionaires, opioidbillionaires — while regular families in Rhode Islandgot hurt.Voters in this year’s Democratic primaries shouldconsider going in a different direction: away fromopioids and school privatization, and towards electedofficials that put the interests of regular Rhode Islandfamilies ahead of the pet projects of the wealthy andpowerful.September 7, 2018 — Hedge Papers No. 626

DATECONTRIBUTOREMPLOYERAMOUNT6/28/2013Olson, BrianKokino LLC 1,000.004/2/2014Olsen, BrianKokino LLC 500.0012/26/2013Olsen, JillKokino LLC 1,000.006/24/2013Sackler, Jonathan DPurdue Pharma 1,000.0010/1/2015Sackler, Jonathan DPurdue Pharma 1,000.004/1/2014Sackler, JonathanNorth Bay Associates 1,000.0006/24/2013Corson, MaryNot Employed 1,000.00September 7, 2018 — Hedge Papers No. 627

WHO ARE THE HEDGE CLIPPERS?Every day, the most unscrupulous hedge fundmanagers, private equity firms and Wall Streetspeculators impact the lives of Americans. They playan outsized role in our political process, our educationsystem, and our economy. Hedge Clippers is anational campaign focused on unmasking the darkmoney schemes and strategies the billionaire eliteuses to expand their wealth, consolidate power andobscure accountability for their misdeeds. Throughhard-hitting research, war-room communications,aggressive direct action and robust digitalengagement, Hedge Clippers unites working people,communities, racial justice organizations, grassrootsactivists, students and progressive policy leaders in abold effort to expose and combat the greed-drivenagenda that threatens basic fairness at all levels ofAmerican society.The Hedge Papers are researched, written, edited,reviewed and designed by a distributed, networkedteam of researchers, writers, academics, attorneys,industry experts, community organizers and designersfrom around the United States, with contributionsfrom international activists.We welcome contributions from whistleblowers,industry insiders, journalists, lawmakers andregulatory officials as well as from regular Americanswho have felt the destructive impact of hedge funds,private equity funds and the billionaire class in theirdaily lives.Our collective includes individuals associated withlabor unions, community organizations, think tanks,universities, non-governmental organizations, nationaland international organizing and advocacy networks,student and faith groups as well as non-profit andfor-profit organizations.The Hedge Clippers campaign includes leadershipand collaborative contributions from labor unions,community groups, coalitions, digital activists andorganizing networks around the country, including:the Strong Economy for All Coalition, New YorkCommunities for Change, Alliance for QualityEducation, VOCAL-NY and Citizen Action of NewYork; Make the Road New York andMake the Road Connecticut; New JerseyCommunities United; the Alliance of Californians forCommunity Empowerment (ACCE) and CourageCampaign; the Grassroots Collaborative in Illinois; theOhio Organizing Collaborative; ISAIAH in Minnesota;Organize Now in Florida; Rootstrikers, Every Voice,Color of Change, 350.org, Greenpeace, the ReFundAmerica Project and United Students AgainstSweatshops; the Center for Popular Democracy andthe Working Families Party; the United Federation ofTeachers and New York State United Teachers; theAmerican Federation of Teachers, the NationalEducation Association, and the CommunicationWorkers of America.September 7, 2018 — Hedge Papers No. 628

PRESS GENERAL INQUIRYCONTACTSFor information onthis report:For general press inquiries onthe Hedge Clipperscampaign:Charles KhanStrong Economy For All Coalition/Hedge Clippers charles.e.khan@strongforall.orgMichael KinkStrong Economy For All Coalition/Hedge Clippers michael.kink@strongforall.orgDan MorrisProgressive Cities dan.morris@progressivecities.com 917-952-8920Marlene PeraltaProgressive Cities marlene@progressivecities.comJoe DinkinWorking Families Party 978-223-5868 jdinkin@workingfamiliesparty.orgAugust, 2018 — Hedge Papers No. 619

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The Walton Family Foundation has donated a total of 24,740,501 to Betsy DeVos’s school privatization group, the Alliance for School Choice. In the past ten years for which data is available, Walton Family Foundation contributions to Alliance for School Choice have amounted to an average of 32.29% of the organization’s annual revenue. JUST LIKE MCKEE, THE WALTON FAMILY IS ALSO SWEET ON .