Bernard Daines (with Marsha)
March 5, 2001 Though he has lent moral support to Republican causes throughout his life, ethernet guru Bernard Daines is new to the world of political giving. It was an impressive debut: Last year he gave a total of $550,000 to the Republican National Committee in two separate donations: $300,000 on August 22 and $250,000 on October 27, less than two weeks before Election Day. He also handed over more than $500,000 to the GOP in his home state of Washington to support candidates for statewide office. Daines, who grew up in Spokane, has worked in the high-speed networking industry for more than 30 years. In the early 1990s, he founded ethernet companies Packet Engines and Grand Junction Networks, both of which were later sold to other firms for a total of $675 million. Daines is currently CEO and president of World Wide Packets, a hardware developer for Internet connections. In 1997, he appeared on Newsweek's "Century Club" list of "100 people to watch as America prepares to pass through the gate to the next millennium." "I have no agenda of being a political person," Daines told reporters in October. "I just feel like one of the obligations of having money is spending it in good places." In addition to their political contributions, Daines and his wife Marsha have given large sums to local schools and colleges. Last May, the couple donated a total of $3 million to Gonzaga University and two local school districts. -- Suzanne Boothby | | |
