INDReporter

Jindal gets a penny (actually two) for his thoughts

by Walter Pierce

More than 500 individuals and businesses contributed the maximum to Gov. Bobby Jindal in 2009; two men gave the minimum.

Gov. Bobby Jindal filed his annual campaign finance report with the state Ethics Board earlier this month and it details more than $4.7 million worth of contributions that were handed over in 2009. According to the Louisiana Republican Party, more than 73 percent of donors gave $100 or less in 2009.

But in political circles, it's usually the donors that give the maximum $5,000 per election cycle that get all the attention. For Jindal's politics, more than 500 businesses and individuals reached that financial peak last year.

There were also a few that barely warrant a mention, but let's do it anyway: Kenneth Chalmers of Palatine, Ill., and Eli Shefter of San Diego, Calif., each donated a penny to Jindal on Feb. 25 of last year, making them Jindal's cheapest donors. Coincidentally or not, that was also the day after Jindal's widely lampooned response to President Barack Obama's joint address to Congress.

You can view Jindal's latest campaign finance report here.