Earmarks to Sabato civics center stop

A controversy that prompted criticism of both U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello and University of Virginia pundit Larry J. Sabato has spurred Sabato’s Center for Politics to take a step toward greater disclosure.

In the 2008 elections, Sabato accurately predicted the outcome of nearly every Senate, gubernatorial and House race in the country. One exception, however, was the race between Perriello, D-Ivy, and longtime incumbent Republican Virgil H. Goode Jr.

Throughout the campaign, Sabato was skeptical that Perriello could unseat Goode in the 5th Congressional District, which includes the Charlottes-ville area but also stretches to the Southside communities of Danville and Martinsville. In the end, Perriello won by 727 votes, making it the closest Congressional race in the country.

Sabato was hardly alone in his belief that Goode would win re-election, as Perriello was widely seen as a longshot.

On Friday, the political news Web site Politico reported that Sabato’s Center for Politics received around $7.7 million since 2000 in earmarks requested by Goode.

The money helped finance the center’s Youth Leadership Initiative, which develops free civics lesson plans for K-12 schools and aims to encourage young people to participate in the American political process. It operates in roughly 150 schools in the 5th Congressional District.

“This program is about building citizens who are actively engaged in the civic affairs of local communities,” said Ken Stroupe, the Center for Politics’s chief of staff. “Civic participating can lift communities out of poverty.”

Yet Perriello opted not to include the Youth Leadership Initiative earmark as part of his list of 48 spending requests totaling upward of $151.2 million.

“It just didn’t fit our criteria,” Perriello said in an interview Monday.

Perriello sought to request earmarks on behalf of projects that he considered to be “game changers” for the local economy, that were cost effective, boosting economic development or quality of life, and create or attract jobs that bolster the 5th District’s position in the evolving global economy.

Perriello praised the work of Sabato and the Youth Leadership Initiative. “Great organization,” he said. “I’m a big supporter of the center.”

U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Alexandria, has submitted an $800,000 earmark to fund the program. Perriello’s spokeswoman, Jessica Barba, said Perriello would support the request by writing an advocacy letter on its behalf.

Over the weekend, several online news outlets wrote blistering articles that suggested that Sabato’s political analysis was tainted by accepting earmarks from Goode while offering his take on the race. Meanwhile, others criticized Perriello for cutting off the funding in what they saw as petty payback for Sabato’s skepticism during his bid against Goode.

Perriello downplayed the flap on Monday, saying it was a “non-story.”

“This is D.C. reporting,” he said. “… But there’s apparently column inches to fill and they have to fill them up with something.”

Stroupe said called the uproar a “made-up controversy” and “completely ridiculous.”

“Larry Sabato didn’t predict Virgil Goode as the likely winner in the 5th District because of earmarks and Congressman Perriello didn’t omit the Youth Leadership Initiative from his earmark requests because he was upset with Larry Sabato,” he said.

Sabato has never hesitated to criticize public officials for their missteps, including those committed by politicians — including former U.S. Sen. George Allen — who had sponsored earmarks on behalf of the Center for Politics.

Sabato had criticized Goode several times, including over a controversy in which Goode denounced the decision of Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, to be sworn into office on the Koran. Goode said that it posed a danger to the traditional faith and values of Americans.

Still, the hubbub of the last couple days will spell at least one change at the Center for Politics.

Sabato, who declined to speak on the record about the controversy, said that he will start placing an asterisk next to the name of any politicians who has requested earmarks on behalf of the Center for Politics whenever he makes political predictions.

In the past, earmarks for the Center for Politics have been widely publicized by The Daily Progress, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and other media outlets in Central Virginia. Now, Sabato said, the center will disclose the earmarks itself to ensure the highest level of transparency.

As for the Youth Leadership Initiative, the program is coping with a significant drop in funding. It has frozen two vacant positions and has dramatically scaled back its outreach efforts, meaning that its civics education offerings will not reach as many teachers and students in the coming year.