You may have heard about Bill Clinton appearing in Potomac on Tuesday night at a fundraiser for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Anthony Brown—the event that Hillary Clinton backed out of to spend more time with her new granddaughter.
But did you know who hosted the $1,000- to $4,000- per-ticket party?
The host, David Trone, is the owner of Total Wine & More, a Potomac-based wine, beer and liquor store company with 110 stores across the country, including two in Maryland.
According to Bryan P. Sears in the Daily Record, the company has contributed $215,000 to candidates in Maryland since 2011, according to state campaign finance reports, including $74,000 to Brown’s campaign and another $40,500 to state Comptroller Peter Franchot’s campaign. The comptroller's office enforces alcohol regulations in the state.
The company has been trying to change Maryland alcohol regulations in recent years, according to the Daily Record report, such as the law that prohibits an individual from holding more than one license. Trone owns Total Wine with his brother Robert, and each brother holds one state license to operate a liquor store; their stores are in Laurel and Towson. Changing the law could allow the brothers and the company to open more Total Wine stores in Maryland.
Edward Cooper, a spokesman for Total Wine, told the Baltimore paper the company’s political activity makes good business sense and is in consumers’ interests. Previously the company has lobbied for changes to liquor laws in Washington state and Georgia.
Also, Cooper pointed out in a recent debate with George Griffin, the director of the Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control, that the company doesn’t have a store in the county despite the company being based here because the county controls liquor sales. Cooper argued at that time for the privatization of alcohol distribution and liquor sales in the county.
Franchot has been a leading proponent of privatizing liquor sales in Montgomery County. In September, he called the county’s system “the last bastion of a medieval state” and urged the county to get out of the retail and wholesale business of selling alcohol.
In a statement to Bethesda Beat Thursday, Franchot’s office denied any link between campaign contributions and his motivations: “Comptroller Franchot has led the effort to get Montgomery County out of the liquor business, just like he has in Worcester County, for one reason and one reason only: it’s inefficient, outdated and bad for both consumers and local businesses. The government serves many critical functions, but being in the alcohol business isn’t one of them.”
Related Articles:
Comptroller Franchot Once Again Calls for Montgomery County to Get Out of the Liquor Business
"This is a system that's incredibly slanted against the consumer and ordinary citizen" says Franchot
Should Montgomery County be in the business of distributing and selling alcohol? Plenty of people say it most definitely should not.
Riemer to Take on Liquor Sales Reform
"I think there's no question we need to reform our system"
Franchot: Privatizing Alcohol Sales in Montgomery 'Winnable'
The comptroller called on business leaders to spearhead the effort
