Massachusetts politicians have benefitted from the deep pockets of embattled Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre, who spent years funneling tens of thousands to Democratic political causes before mostly switching allegiances to conservative movements, according to campaign finance records.
Federal and local filings detail de la Torre’s past interest in local Democrats, including Gov. Maura Healey, who received a total of $2,000 between two separate donations in 2015 and 2017, when she was in her first term as attorney general, according to state records.
Healey has been highly critical of Steward Health Care — she asked the company to leave the state — after major financial difficulties came to light that threatened the stability of nine hospitals in Massachusetts.
A campaign spokesperson for Healey declined to comment on the contributions. But at a press conference last week, Healey roasted de la Torre for what she described as the financial mismanagement of hospitals in Massachusetts run by the largest private for-profit healthcare company.
“This is something that was Stewards’ creation and making,” Healey said. “The fault is with Steward and its management. It frankly disgusts me, as I’ve spoken to earlier, the fact that a particular CEO came and chose to do what it appears he did in terms of how he ran operations, and put patients and providers and our communities at risk.”
Contribution data also outlines how de la Torre later became a major benefactor of Republican efforts, including a $100,000 March 2022 donation to “Take Back the House 2022,” the Republican PAC focused on electing conservatives to the House.
He has invested heavily in the National Republican Congressional Committee, handing the group at least $292,000 between February 2016 and March 2022, according to a Herald analysis of federal campaign contribution records.
A spokesperson for Steward Health Care, Josephine Martin, did not respond to an emailed request for comment sent Friday that inquired about de la Torre’s political activities.
At the local level, de la Torre gave $43,900 in 2017 to the Massachusetts Victory Committee, a joint fundraising venture between the Republican National Committee and the Massachusetts Republican Party that backed former Gov. Charlie Baker, who was a health care executive before serving as governor.
De la Torre handed the Massachusetts Republican Party $10,000 at the same time, federal records show.
A political spokesperson for Baker, Jim Conroy, declined to comment.
MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said the donations were prior to her tenure.
“I don’t have any comments on donations that were made prior to when I assumed chair,” she said in a statement.
The earliest federal campaign contribution records found online show de la Torre donated at least $4,800 to Martha Coakley, the former Massachusetts attorney general from 2007 to 2015, in November 2009, when she was running for U.S. Senate to succeed the late Ted Kennedy.
The health care executive donated $5,000 to the Massachusetts Democratic State Party in 2009, according to state records. He also gave $1,000 to U.S. Rep. Bill Keating’s committee in 2017 and another $2,400 in 2010, according to federal records.
De la Torre shuttled tens of thousands to other Democratic causes, including $15,200 to the Democratic National Committee in 2010, nearly $5,000 to U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand the same year, a New York Democrat, and more than $35,000 to a super PAC that backed former President Barack Obama in 2011.
De la Torre gave former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown more than $14,000 in 2012, according to campaign finance records. The Steward Health Care CEO also backed former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire in 2015 with a total of $5,400 in contributions, according to federal records.
More recently, de la Torre supported U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson, handing the Houston-area Democrat $6,600 last month. He also gave thousands to another Texas Republican, U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzalez, in March 2023, according to federal campaign finance records.
He waded back into Massachusetts politics after moving to Texas, contributing $5,600 to Joe Kennedy III in August 2020, who was running for U.S. Senate at the time against Sen. Ed Markey. He previously gave $1,000 to Kennedy in 2012 during a House race, according to federal records.
De la Torre donated at least $5,200 to Markey in 2013, federal records show.
Markey toured Steward’s Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton Friday with union leaders. He did not address the contribution in a statement to the Herald.
“We are not going to allow Steward and other for-profit companies hollow out our health care system to fatten their wallets while abandoning workers and communities,” the statement said. “We’re going to hold them accountable for how their decisions impact public health in order to protect and support patients and providers.”
Herald City Editor Todd Prussman contributed reporting.
