As promised in today’s cover story, “Living Large,” here’s the spreadsheet (Excel, PDF) detailing state Senate boss Don Perata’s lifestyle-related campaign expenditures over the past decade. The Express compiled this list from more than two thousand pages of campaign finance reports, and it includes only expenses — such as dining at fine restaurants, staying at posh hotels, and buying wine — that didn’t appear to be directly related to actual campaigning. Perata has run virtually unopposed since 1998, so he doesn’t spend campaign funds like a typical politician. The list includes some items that Perata labeled as “fundraising” because it was impossible to distinguish where the fundraising stopped and the partying began. The list also includes office supplies, because the senator’s various campaigns did not have formal offices.
.Posted: Don Perata’s “Living Large” Expenditures
