Steve Bing - Politics

Politics

Bing is among the nation's leading donors to environmental causes. According to filings of public campaign contributions, the Democratic Party has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of his wealth.

Beginning with a $500 contribution in 1993 to support Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., in his bid for re-election, Bing has contributed more than $10.7 million at the federal level to the Democratic Party and its candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The biggest checks were written in 2002 when he gave a total of $8.2 million to the Democratic National Committee. But he also has given to specific candidates, including Al Gore, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein.

Bing was reported to have given at least $49.5 million during the 2006 election cycle in support of Proposition 87, a California initiative which sought to raise $4 billion in oil production taxes to help develop alternative fuels. Bing also supported several key races in other parts of the country as Democrats fought to win back control of Congress. They included Democratic challenger Bob Casey, Jr. in Pennsylvania, who unseated conservative GOP incumbent Sen. Rick Santorum, and Tammy Duckworth in Illinois, a Democratic Congressional hopeful and an Army National Guard major who lost her legs in Iraq two years ago, who went on to lose to State Sen. Peter Roskam.

Excluding Prop. 87 contributions, in California Bing has written $7.8 million worth of checks since 2000, according to the California secretary of state. He spent $4.25 million in 2005 in a successful effort to defeat Prop. 77, a redistricting initiative sponsored by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Other beneficiaries include the California Democratic Party ($640,172); Gov. Gray Davis ($675,000); and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, whose campaign received $750 in 2004.

In October 2008 Stephen Bing pledged to match donations made to the NO on Proposition 8 campaign from October 17–19. If passed, Proposition 8 would "change the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California." A new section would be added stating "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Proposition 8 has since passed with a 52-48 vote in the 2008 Election, trumping the May 2008 State Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage. The resolution is being challenged in the State Supreme Court. On February 7, 2012, in a 2–1 decision, a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel affirmed Judge Vaughn R. Walker's decision declaring the Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional.

On the 18 December 2008, the William J. Clinton Foundation released a list of all contributors. It included Stephen L. Bing, who gave between US$10–25 million.

On August 5, 2009, a 737 private aircraft owned by Stephen Bing and based out of hangar 25 at the Burbank airport in Southern California, was utilized in the return of American reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee who had spent 5 months of a 12 year sentence in North Korea. Former President Bill Clinton was instrumental in their return, and accompanied the reporters on board Stephen Bing's plane. Bing reportedly covered the cost of the entire flight, estimated to be around $200,000.