Today is the eleventh day (for review, see parts ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two and one) in which I look at Unity08’s 4th Quarter donors, straight down in order from top to bottom of Unity08’s 4th Quarter IRS report, and provide some context to help you decide whether Unity08’s claim that its donors are “everyday Americans and “people like you.”

Here’s the next set. Are they “people like you”?

1. Janice Christensen, $5,000 donation. No employer or occupation is listed for Janice Christensen — but other campaign contribution records from 2003-2004 tell us that at the time Christensen worked as a consultant through Pathways, Incorported. Guess what kind of a consultant Chistensen is? That’s right, a “campaign and communications consultant”. According to records from the State of Hawaii, Pathways, Inc. has the same business address as Christensen’s home address, and was registered with various states (including New Hampshire, Michigan, California and Maryland) as late as December 2006 as a professional fundraising organization. The Martha’s Vineyard home she lives in on measures a very large 3,328 square feet in size, and has an estimated value of $2,461,724. That home, by the way, is also the residence of…

2. Roger Craver, $5,000 contribution. Craver is one of the co-founders of Unity08, is currently listed on the Unity08 Founders Council, and is one of six plaintiffs on behalf of Unity08 in its lawsuit against the Federal Communications. Craver is also a co-founder (along with Unity08 coFounder Douglas L. Bailey) of the insider political newsletter The Hotline, which was sold to the parent company of The Atlantic Monthly and The Hill, both of which have run glowing puff pieces regarding Unity08. Craver lists his occupation as “Communications and fundraising consultant.” This biography of Craver describes his life’s work as follows:

Craver is widely considered the father of modern direct-response strategy for advocacy groups. After attending Dickinson College and George Washington University, Craver organized groups such as Common Cause and Handgun Control and helped to expand others like Greenpeace, the American Civil Liberties Union and Habitat for Humanity International. Soon after, he founded Craver, Matthews, Smith and Co., an organization dedicated to direct-response strategy. In addition, he also founded the American Political Network, a service that provides daily briefings on politics, education reform, health care and the environment.

Craver himself describes his direct-mail advocacy work as soliciting the “toiling masses of Westchester and the peasants of Beverly Hills.” Craver has received multiple awards from the Direct Marketing Association.

3. Joanne Leedom-Ackerman, $5,000 donation. Leedom-Ackerman’s employer is named as Rockport Capital, but I’m not sure that isn’t one of Unity08’s typographical errors. Leedon-Ackerman is married to Unity08 Rules Committee member Peter Ackerman, who is the managing director of Rockport Capital Incorporated (as well as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations), but I can find no reference besides the Unity08 report of Joanne Leedom-Ackerman being in any way employed at Rockport. In a contribution to Friends of Dick Lugar, Leedom-Ackerman reports that she is self-employed as a writer. Sourcewatch reports that Leedom-Ackerman is a novelist, a journalist, and is on the board of directors of Human Rights Watch and the International Crisis Group. She and Peter Ackerman live in a 5 bedroom, 4 and a half bathroom house in Washington, DC that measures 4,116 square feet and has a tax-assessed value of $3.3 million.

4. David Mills, $5,000 donation. Unity08 does not report David Mills’ occupation or employer. I wonder why? It turns out he has both, of course. Harbourton Group Enterprises, a hedge fund, is where David Mills works along with fellow $5,000 Unity08 donors Heide Lankeit and James Regan. Someone might say this is part of a practice called “bundling” that Unity08 condemns, but I think it’s just a big chance. Here’s a biographical blurb on Mills from Stanford University:

David Mills graduated from law school in 1973. Following his graduation, he joined Lowenstein, Kohl, Fisher & Boylan, a major law firm of over 100 attorneys, where he became a Senior Tax Partner. He was also Adjunct Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law in Newark, New Jersey, as well as Chairman of the Partnership Tax Committee of the American Bar Association, and Chairman of the Tax Section of the New Jersey Section of Taxation. In 1986 Mr. Mills moved to Los Angeles, California to work at Cambrent Financial Group in association with the firm of Victor, Sandler & Cogut. This position allowed him to negotiate numbers acquisitions on behalf of private and corporate investors. He resigned that position effective December 31, 1987. In 1988, he founded Mills & Lynn Enterprises for the purpose of undertaking personal financial transactions. In 1991, he became the chief executive officer and sole shareholder of Harbourton General Corporation, the General Partner of Harbourton Holdings, LP In 1994, he became chairman of the General Partnership of Harbourton Financial Services, LP and Chairman of Harbourton Reassurance, Inc. Mr. Mills currently serves as one of the two managing partners of Harbourton Enterprises, a large private investment firm. In August of 1994, Mr. Mills moved to Santa Cruz, California. Mr. Mills was appointed as a lecturer in The School of Law at Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California for the academic years 1996 and 1997. In the spring of 1997, Mr. Mills was appointed Consulting Professor at The Stanford Law School. In 1999 Mr. Mills was appointed Senior Lecturer at Stanford Law School, a position he currently holds. In addition, in 2002 Mr. Mills was appointed Director of Clinical Education at Stanford Law School. He teaches various courses on law and a course on White Collar Crime. Mr. Mills serves on Boards of various not for profits as well as the Boards of a few profit making ventures.

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Are these “people like you”? If so, I’d love to hear more about your very interesting life. Learn more about the interesting lives of other “everyday Americans” when we continue this series tomorrow.