Coulombe is 65. In order of their giving, most to least, the top ten are: No. But, Steele told Diamon, Ownership situations are very complex. She once spent hours in the cold volunteering for Obama, the Bangor Daily News reported in 2009. His takeover of the Cuckolds lighthouse restoration effort drew derision after the project morphed into a $600-a-night bed-and-breakfast. These estimates, along with the scarcity of treatment centers for these individuals and their families is why Paul and Giselaine Coulombe are so passionate about a new project aimed to meet this growing need. Southport residents Paul and Giselaine Coulombe host local leaders to learn about the Center of Excellence in Autism and Developmental Disorders to open in Maine next summer, Michelle Amero, Boothbay Harbor Country Club, Paul Coulombe speaks at the fundraiser he hosted for the Center of Excellence in Autism and Developmental Disorders at Boothbay Harbor Country Club. According to his profile on the University of Maine site (hes a 1975 grad and was class president) the Coulombe family built White Rock into a major industry player through acquisitions, expansion and the development of new technologies.. This is a solution for people who havent had the resources available to care for an autistic child and who then worry about the future when their children become adults, Coulombe stated. All of his $180,000 donations in the recent campaign reporting cycle went to the states Republican Party, which uses the money in legislative races to support GOP candidates and oppose Democrats, often through various forms of advertising. Log in to join the discussion. The project is a $14.7 million, state-of-the-art facility created to meet the growing needs of Maine families and individuals with a diagnosis of autism and other developmental disorders. Paul Coulombe, founder of Pinnacle Vodka, took out an $85 million loan to buy White Rock Distilleries and move his entire family out of the company. 1: S. Donald Sussman, founder of hedge fund Paloma Partners, principal owner Maine Today Media (Portland Press Herald, Sunday Telegram, Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel), developer, North Haven: $2,971,741, No. In 2012, the company was sold for $600 million to Beam, Inc., the whiskey maker that has since been purchased by Suntory Holdings of Japan. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald, via Getty Images. Their combined giving to Maine and national candidates exceeds $3 million: enough to buy every adult in the state a tall caffe latte at Starbucks and have a little left over. And given the towns aging population and efforts to expand the economic base and attract young families, many say it would be foolish to forgo the tens of millions in investment that Mr. Coulombe is dangling. His Republican grandfather, Horace A. Hildreth, Sr., was described in his New York Times obituary as a lawyer, broadcast executive, college president and two-term Governor of Maine whose career was capped with four years service as an Ambassador.. The Coulombes understand what bringing a center like this will mean to the people of Maine, including those in the Midcoast region, for families desperate for help. Sussman told the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting that he contributes to Democratic campaigns and causes because I support candidates and organizations who fight for the things we all care about good jobs, a solid education for our kids, clean air and water, and a family doctor for every family., Democrats, said Sussman, will move us beyond the mismanagement and missed opportunities of the LePage era. Also known as Coulombe Paul, Paula A Coulombe, Paul Coulomde. On the flip side of that, most of the time we know what his opinion is. He has already begun buying up property in the district, turning the former Rocktide Inn into a hotel extension of his country club, the Boothbay Harbor Oceanside Golf Resort. Already registered? He has given $94,800 dollars during this campaign period. Coulombe's reason for selling White Rock Distilleries is also absent from Digital Global Times biography that describes Coulombe as " a successful entrepreneur is based in Maine and is. I began giving before I was a public servant and I expect to continue long after.. Hes got a barn on the property where he keeps any toy youve ever thought of, including air hockey, pingpong and pool tables and pinball machines. Hagge is not content to spend his time and resources only on civic and cultural works. Pingree has become a heavy donor to Democratic causes since she married Sussman, but the lifetime designation comes as a result of her donations being combined with Sussmans. Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration. That has meant they dont write about Pingree or Sussman without also disclosing his ownership; the paper has cited this as one reason they decided not to endorse candidates in 2014 after having done so for decades. A native of Lewiston, a town about 50 miles from Boothbay, Mr. Coulombe sold his family-run White Rock Distilleries to the parent company of Jim Beam for $605 million in 2012. Various small buildings house a bait storage room, a processing facility and a new 16,000-gallon lobster tank, with temperature controls to keep the crustaceans in hibernation until they are sold. His charitable work includes serving on the board of directors for the New England Board of Higher Education, the New England Secondary School Consortium, Avesta Housing and Kennebec Valley Community College. Mr. Coulombe regularly jousts with his critics online, and he acknowledged saying some things he regretted. I hope that through these donations, the Maine Democratic Party can regain control of the Maine state government.. Hes served as board chair of GrowSmart Maine, which is described on its website as promot(ing) sustainable prosperity for all Mainers by integrating working and natural landscape conservation, economic growth and community revitalization and is a donor to organizations such as Maine Audubon, the Environmental Health Strategy Center and the liberal Maine Center for Economic Policy. Since 1993, she has helped preserve the areas maritime history through her work as chair of the board of directors for Great Harbor Maritime Museum. The biggest single reason I give political donations, writes Daniel Hildreth in an email to the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, is my deep concern about global warming. Like Obama, the candidates Roberts Rockefeller supports are all Democrats. Her marriage to Sussman in June, 2011, has allowed Pingree to quickly become one of the states top ten political donors. The major beneficiaries of the money recorded with the federal election officials money spent either on the Maine or out-of-state federal seats are: Democratic House Majority PAC ($1,350,250, with Roberts Rockefeller contributing $250 of that and Sussman contributing the rest); Women Vote!, a PAC of Emilys List, which supports pro-choice Democrats ($150,000, all from two Sussman donations this June); and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ($140,245, almost all of which came from Sussman and Pingree). King attended grammar school in Durham, Lisbon Falls High School and graduated from the University of Maine at Orono with an English degree. The last time I was in Lewiston was two years ago, said Coulombe, who turns 58 Monday. Hes also given thousands to abortion rights and environmental groups, contributing $5,000 to Maine Conservation Voters Action Fund and $3,600 to Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund PAC. 5: Margo Milliken, early supporter of feminist causes, daughter-in-law of the late Roger Milliken, the South Carolina textile and chemicals tycoon, Cumberland: $118,200, No. Advertisement He was born in the Lewiston area to parents he described as modest.. Paul Coulombe in Maine Paul L Coulombe, age 90 View Details Brunswick Presumed owner of the real estate located at 109 McKeen St, Brunswick Completed High School Occupation: Homemaker Associated persons: Jan L Coulombe, Jeannette Coulombe (207) 725-6263 View Details Paul C Coulombe View Details Cape Elizabeth 21 Reef Rd, Cape Elizabeth It doesnt have central air-conditioning or elevators, and is really not handicapped-accessible, he said. Many became successful films. In May 2010, that product, a whipped cream-flavored vodka call Pinnacle Whipped, hit liquor store shelves. Im absolutely thrilled with what hes done so far. Alfond is a grandson of the late Harold Alfond, the founder of Dexter Shoe Company, which his grandfather sold to Berkshire Hathaway for about $420 million in 1993. Its great to be able to protect something like this, he said. And Sussmans political contributions havent diminished since he purchased the newspaper. It looks like you do not have any active subscriptions. The question Maine is dealing with is, how do we balance tourism and the working waterfront? said Monique Coombs, the director of marine programs at the Maine Coast Fishermens Association. Most of my giving is at the federal level, where my giving is small compared to the total amounts being spent. In the past decade, hes given, from his Maine address, $693,685 to federal and state races, including $380,000 to the Maine Democratic Party and $124,000 to the DNC, according to the National Institute for Money in State Politics. Coulombe became CEO of the company in 1995 and assumed complete ownership just a few years ago, when he purchased relatives company shares. Boothbay Harbor grapples with its past and its future. $860 Million. Coulombe graduated from the University of Maine in 1975 with a degree in business management and went to work for his father, first as a salesman in Columbus, Ohio. 3. His purchase and renovation of the country club in neighboring Boothbay caused grumbling about higher fees and fancy trappings. Asked why she had chosen to give to candidates and what she hoped to accomplish with her giving, Pingree responded: Ive been a long-time supporter of public financing of campaigns and a constitutional amendment that would roll back the Supreme Court decisions that have led to unlimited corporate spending on elections. Bring the best of Maine right to your front door. It will replace the modest clubhouse with one 10 times as big. Maine Republicans should raise a Bloody Mary to Paul Coulombe for the tens of thousands of dollars he has given their party and candidates dollars he made selling his vodka brands to a national corporation. This election is a chance to make a course correction and get back to building strong communities and new business opportunities so everyone in Maine has the chance to fulfill their dreams. He also gave $2,500 to the campaign to re-elect Sen. Susan Collins and $375 to a Republican candidate for the Maine House from Boothbay Harbor, near where Coulombe lives in the summer. John Christie is the co-founder, former publisher and former senior reporter of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting. Paul Coulombe knows tourism. Over time, White Rock changed from a liquor distiller into a bottling, branding and distribution company. Paul Coulombe was born in Lewiston, and that's where he inherited his father's liquor business, White Rock Distilleries. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code. Such a clash of interests is already playing out an hour to the south in Portland, where the City Council this month enacted a six-month moratorium on waterfront development in response to a campaign by local fishermen who say increased traffic and a lack of parking are making it harder for them to get to their boats. Paul Coulombe This election cycle he has given $160,000 to the Maine Republican Party, which in turns supports GOP candidates for the legislature and opposes Democratic candidates, mostly with mailings and other forms of advertising. But that minuscule percentage represents 27.3 percent of all donations to candidates, parties and causes from contributors with a Maine address. Create one. In the old-fashioned world of journalism, media moguls with ambitions to be politically influential were common. White Rocks president, 32-year staffer Bill Dabbelt, works from an office in Bonita Springs, Fla. Coulombe, who is unmarried, owns a home on 6 acres on Pratts Island near Boothbay. Were giving people the ability to stay in place and hold on to what theyve got.. Coulombe's house is the twenty-first century version of that: a big house built with a big budget and a recession-busting workforce of Maine's top talent. 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