Local Politicians' Asset Reports Released

Sen. George Allen, a likely contender for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, listed assets of between $1.8 million and $3.6 million, according to financial disclosure reports filed by Virginia, Maryland and District lawmakers that were released yesterday.

The annual reports, which cover calendar year 2005, show that the bulk of Allen's wealth comes from commercial rental property in Charlottesville valued at more than $1 million and 98.5 undeveloped acres in Albermarle County valued at between $250,000 and $500,000.

The rest is held in stocks and bonds, including shares in Dominion Resources Inc. that are held by Allen's wife, Susan, and are worth between $100,000 and $250,000, according to the filings.

Susan Allen resigned her seat on the board of directors of the Richmond-based electric and natural gas utility last year after Allen's appointment to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee raised conflict-of-interest questions. The company is one of Allen's steadiest campaign contributors.

Allen (R-Va.), in a reelection fight against Republican-turned-Democrat James Webb in November, listed as his sole liability a mortgage on investment property in Winston-Salem, N.C., valued at between $50,000 and $100,000. Lawmakers are required to provide ranges of dollar values instead of precise amounts.

The report also shows that Allen took relatively few privately funded trips last year, traveling to Palm Springs, Colorado Springs, Las Vegas and Florida for speeches and conferences for the Heritage Foundation, the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, the Consumer Electronics Association and the Faith and Politics Institute.

Virginia's senior senator, John W. Warner (R), reported assets of between $780,000 and $1.7 million, a sharp drop from past disclosures. A spokesman for Warner said the dip is attributable to his purchase of a home in Alexandria, which is not listed as an asset.

Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), who reported assets of between $435,000 and $1.2 million, received perhaps the most lavish gift reported by a member of the region's congressional delegation. He and his wife, state Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-Fairfax), were flown to Italy last year by real estate developer Robert F. Pence, who was celebrating his 60th birthday and is a longtime friend of Rep. Davis and a prominent GOP campaign contributor. The trip included a chartered cruise along the Amalfi coast and a visit to Venice.

Davis said that he initially thought the trip, valued at $13,110, was "a stretch" of House ethics rules. But it was cleared by the House Ethics Committee.

Among Maryland lawmakers, Paul S. Sarbanes (D), 73, who is retiring after 30 years in the Senate, reported assets of between $167,000 and $430,000, in addition to a house valued between $250,000 and $500,000. Long active in Greek American groups, Sarbanes received a marble vase valued at $837 from Hellenic Public Radio-Cosmos FM as part of an award for public service, according to the filing. A member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he reported six privately funded trips last year to Princeton University, his alma mater, where he serves as a trustee.

Barbara A. Mikulski (D), first elected to the Senate in 1986, reported assets of between $172,000 and $572,000. She did not report the value of any real estate.

In the House, Maryland's two Republicans and six Democrats reported taking few privately financed trips. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin (D), who is vying to succeed Sarbanes, took what has become an annual trip funded by the Commonwealth Fund and Harvard in January 2005, attending a weekend health policy conference in January in Florida. Cardin's room and board were paid for, but not airfare. The costs were not disclosed.

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D) disclosed 11 privately funded trips, many of them to appear before African American groups or on behalf of the Democratic Party. He reported donating speaking fees totaling about $8,000 to charity.

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D), the House minority whip, traveled to New Orleans, Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma, Ala., and to Israel on privately funded trips. The travel tabs were picked up by the Democratic Leadership Council, the Faith and Politics Institute, and the American Israel Education Fund, respectively.

Other Maryland lawmakers -- Democratic Reps. Chris Van Hollen and Albert R. Wynn, C. A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger, and Republican Reps. Roscoe G. Bartlett and Wayne T. Gilchrest, reported no privately subsidized trips.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) reported assets of between $843,000 and $2.2 million. She listed four privately financed trips: to Queenstown, Md.; Hartford, Conn.; and two to New York. The trips were sponsored by the Public Governance Institute, Yale University, the American Federation of Teachers and the New York Human Rights Commission.