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Cardiologist Shows a Big Heart for Political Fund-raising

Arthur J Pais in New York

Dr Zach Zachariah often says that if he had not gone into medicine, he would have taken to politics. And the Fort Lauderdale cardiologist is not joking when he says he satisfies his passion for politics by helping his favourite candidates run for the highest offices in America. He helps them become governors and presidents, he says.

Three years ago, Dr Zachariah, who earned his first medical degree in Pune, raised $ 4 million for Bob Dole's campaign. And this year, he is one of the eight Floridans who have raised more than $ 100,000 each for the presidential campaign of Texas Governor George W Bush.

Bush is not yet the official candidate of the Republican Party, but sources close to Dr Zachariah say the cardiologist wants to raise far more than $ 4 million for him.

In the last decade of year-round fund-raising for the Republican candidates, Dr Zachariah has raised more than $ 12 million. He was the financial co-chairman in Florida for the George Bush campaign.

Sources say Bush offered him several positions in the White House, but Dr Zachariah did not want to move to Washington.

In one of the most successful one-day fund-raisers, Dr Zachariah, who has a number of medical businesses in Fort Lauderdale, hosted a $ 10,000 per person dinner at his home attended by then then President George Bush in 1992. The event was attended by 200 people.

George W Bush has raised $ 37 million across America; $ 3 million of that is from Florida. Bush's campaign calls those who raised $ 100,000 or more 'pioneers'. Among the other Florida pioneers are two attorneys, a former governor and two real-estate developers.

Dr Zachariah, who is in his late 40s, has raised about 20 per cent of the funds within the Indian-American community. He is arguably the most successful of Indian-American fund-raisers.

"But to be really effective, you have to go out and touch the mainstream," he had said in an earlier interview. "The Indian American community is still comparatively small and slowly appreciating the values of fund-raisers. It is imperative that we not only raise funds in our own communities, but spend more time 'mainstreaming'. We surely can raise far more money then."

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