A Gore fund-raiser in Phila. switches to the Bush team

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WASHINGTON Bill Batoff's Center City office is dotted with pictures of himself and Al Gore. In his files are thank you notes ("Dear Bill & Beverly") from the vice president for campaign fund raising causes that Batoff supported. Batoff has been to functions at the Clinton White . House and at Gore's home, a sign of his status as a Democratic Party fund raiser.

It's doubtful he'll be invited back.

Batoff, a longtime player in local and national races, said this week that he was defecting to George W. Bush's camp, pledging to raise money and offer other support for the Republican presidential nominee and predicting that the economy will tank if Gore gets elected.

Batoff is making the switch after being courted by Gov. Ridge, Sen. Arlen Specter (R., Pa.) and Bush. He met with Bush and Ridge at the governor's mansion in Harrisburg on Aug 1, two days before Bush's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia.

"I walk in and sit down, and lo and behold, I was met with honesty and warmth," Batoff, 65, said in an interview. "I'm talking to him about issues I've read, and he said to me at the end, 'Bill, I'm asking for your support.' And I said, 'You've got it.'"

The Bush campaign said yesterday that it was happy to have Batoff involved.

"It helps out in a number of areas, be they fund raising, be they political," said spokesman Ken Lisaius. "It's a powerful message when you have someone like Bill Batoff who, on the basis of the issues, joins your team."

Batoff said his decision followed a period of growing disillusionment with Gore and his campaign.

He said he was hurt when he was not invited on stage with Gore and others at a fund raising event at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel in Philadelphia last year after raising about $30,000.

A couple of weeks later, he said, he got a phone call from a Gore friend and Democratic Party fundraiser, Peter Knight, asking him to come to Washington and work for the candidate. Batoff declined.

He said he was unconvinced by Gore's contention that he did not know his appearance at a Buddhist temple in 1996 was tied to fund raising. Gore initially said he believed he was attending a "community outreach" event.

Batoff, who campaigned in the 1984 presidential race for Democrat Walter Mondale, said: "The Buddhist temple thing bothered me. I believe he lied. I know he's not inept. It had to be one or the other. I've traveled with vice presidents in the past. And I know. There are advances and memos [containing] everything in the world to tell you about an event. No one walks into an event not knowing everything about the event."

Doug Hattaway, a spokesman for the Gore campaign, said yesterday that he would have no comment.

Batoff, who also supported Democrat Michael Dukakis in 1988 and raised money for the Clinton Gore ticket, estimates that he has raised more than $100,000 for Gore over the last dozen years, extending back to Gore's time in the Senate.

He said he was at Gore's home for a party at Christmas in 1998. Batoff and an employee gave a total of $2,000 to the Gore campaign in June 1999, federal records show.

Batoff has switched sides before. Three years ago he announced he would support Ridge in his reelection campaign, rather than a weak Democratic challenger, state House member Ivan Itkin. He has also routinely supported Specter in his senatorial campaigns.

This time, Ridge served as the intermediary between Batoff and Bush, inviting Batoff to the governor's mansion for a preliminary meeting a week before bringing in the GOP nominee on Aug. 1.

Batoff said the governor sent him Bush campaign literature. In an interview, Batoff talked approvingly of Bush's plan to lower taxes, although he conceded that he disagrees with Bush's opposition to abortion rights.

In contrast, he said: "If A1 Gore is elected, within two years the economy will be in sad shape."

Specter also urged Batoff to sign up with Bush. "It's part of my effort to really build up some Republican strength in Philadelphia," the senator said in an interview.
Opinions vary as to what Batoff can do for a Bush campaign that has never wanted for money.

Tom Leonard, a former Philadelphia city controller and a Democratic fund raiser who has worked with Batoff over the years, said: "I have to catch. my breath. I'm surprised . ... He's a very effective fund raiser and he has a significant network."

But Ken Jarin, a Philadelphia attorney who is close to Gore, said , "Bill Batoff stopped being a meaningful factor in Democratic fund raising many years ago."

Referring to Bush's difficulties of late, Jarin said that if Batoff "wants to get on the train that's moving in the wrong direction, God bless him."

-Peter Nicholas
pnicholas@krwashington.com
Inquirer Washington Bureaus