George Soros joins ranks of donors to CT Democrats

The investor George Soros was among two billionaires making a maximum contribution of $10,000 to the Connecticut Democratic Party in September, helping the party raise $628,889, according to a filing Monday with the Federal Election Commission.

Democrats now have raised $5 million through their federal account since Jan. 1, 2013, including $2 million since June and $1.2 million over the past two months.

Slightly more than $1 million has come from donors who gave a maximum donation of $10,000 in one or both of the past two years. Donors can give $10,000 in each calendar year.

Soros, the chief executive officer of the New York-based Soros Fund Managment, is a major Democratic donor and philanthropist who gave $32.5 million to super PACs from 2001 to 2010, much of it in an attempt to defeat George W. Bush in 2004, according to a study by the Center for Responsive Politics.

The other $10,000 donors in September were:

• Jeanne Pierpaoli, a retiree from Woodbridge who has given more than $100,000 to Democratic campaigns in recent years.
• John T. Moore of Saint James, N.Y. He is an investor with the Marwood Group, a company founded by Ted Kennedy Jr., now a candidate for state Senate.
• Stephen Silberstein of Belevedere, Calif., a retired technology entrepreneur and one of the nation’s major political donors to Democratic causes. He produced the documentary, “Inequality for All,” which premiered last year at the Sundance Film Festival.
• Nelson Peltz of Bedford, N.Y. He is a billionaire founder of Trian Fund Management, whose holdings at various times have included Snapple, Heinz, Wendy’s, Kraft and Cadbury. He contributed $250,000 to the second inauguration of George W. Bush.
• Claudia Peltz of Bedford, N.Y. She is a former fashion model and wife of Nelson Peltz.
• Nicholas Perricone of Meriden. The dermatologist and marketer of anti-aging products and books also gave $10,000 to the party last year.

Three individuals associated with HAKS, an engineering firm that is a major contractor with the state Department of Transportation, contributed $15,000 to the Democrats in September. Individuals associated with the company now have given $60,000 to the party over the past two years.

A 2005 law bars state contractors from donating directly to campaigns for state office, but a 2002 federal law allows them to give to state political parties, even if those donations indirectly benefit state candidates. Both parties maintain state and federal accounts, with the latter covering most operating expenses.

The Connecticut Republican Party filed suit last week, claiming that the Democrats were illegally using federal contributions to pay for a mailing supporting the re-election of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

No report for September was on file for the Connecticut Republican Party late Monday night.