Petrelis Files

October 13, 2004

Editor
Daily Cal
UC Berkeley
Berkeley, CA

Dear Editor:

Since April of this year I've been tracking on my blog, mpetrelis.blogspot.com, political donations from journalists and media personalities to candidates running for president and the Democratic and Republican parties, so I am quite familiar with who's funding this year's national races.

Thanks to Google's search engine, I came across your October 8 story on the web about contributions from UC employees and professors in this year's race for the White House.

The article reported one UC Berkeley professor, Mr. Donald A. Glaser, coughed up $25,000 for the Democratic National Committee, but he's not the only campus professor to give so much to the Democrats.

Federal Election Commission files reveal professor Edward E. Penhoet, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, also gave $25,000 to the Democratic National Committee. Penhoet made his hefty contribution on July 28.

If professors can make such hefty gifts to major political parties, it may be because they are very well compensated by the University of California, and have vast sums of cash to throw into the political arena. Or perhaps the professors possess family money or have made wise investments, allowing them to participate in the political process at a level many Americans can only dream about.

In any case, I hope the Daily Cal will investigate further and report on other large contributions from UC Berkeley professors.

Sincerely,
Michael Petrelis
2215-R Market Street, #413
San Francisco, CA 94114
PH: 415-621-6267

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www.tray.com

Penhoet, Edward E Dean
7/28/2004 $25,000.00
Berkeley, CA 94705
UC Berkley/Dean -[Contribution]
DNC SERVICES CORPORATION/DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE