Largess Preceded Md. Vote on Wal-Mart

"There's no question. If you had eyes, you could see the sea of purple here," said Alan Friedman, Ehrlich's director of legislative relations, referring to the purple T-shirts worn by SEIU members present during debate over the bill, which was also championed by health care advocates.

The union efforts extended beyond campaign contributions. Days before the veto-override vote, the state chapter of the AFL-CIO announced that it would not endorse any lawmaker who did not support the override.

Other groups active in the debate included Wake-Up Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart Watch, two national organizations that monitor the company's business practices. Wake-Up Wal-Mart is funded by the UCFW, and Wal-Mart Watch receives money from the SEIU.

Among the lawmakers who received union contributions in the month before the session began was Del. Norman H. Conway (D-Wicomico), who said he sided with the unions last spring because of concerns about the state's rising Medicaid costs. But, he said, he was open to hearing Wal-Mart's case.

The day before the House voted to override the bill, he received a call from a Wal-Mart vice president in Arkansas. Conway wanted a guarantee that the company would build a proposed distribution plant with the potential to create hundreds of jobs in the county next to his rural district.

Conway said that he did not get the commitment and that he decided to stick with his original position.

Conway attributed the $1,500 in donations from two SEIU chapters more to his status as chairman of the Appropriations Committee than to his vote on the "Wal-Mart bill."

"Money doesn't influence me," he said. "I look at the issue and try to understand the impacts. I'm going to do what I ultimately think is the right thing."

Just before the session began Jan. 11, Del. Murray D. Levy (D-Charles), who voted against the bill last spring, received $100 apiece from SEIU and UFCW chapters.

Levy said he was bombarded with phone calls and e-mails from both sides of the debate. Despite the pressure, Levy did not change his mind, because he said that going after one company was not a solution to the massive problem of health care.

Wal-Mart delivered just a handful of contributions, totaling $1,650, leading up to the session. And, in one case, the company's check was returned.

Del. Joseph J. Minnick (D-Baltimore County), who did not vote in April, said he was receptive to Wal-Mart's case that "government should not be in business's business."

He ultimately voted to override the veto, however, because he said companies should help pick up the cost of health care. When he realized that Wal-Mart had written him a check for a fundraiser just before the session began, he decided to give it back.

"If I don't support their issue, I shouldn't be accepting a contribution, plain and simple -- not only Wal-Mart, but anyone else."