-Caveat Lector- .c The Associated Press By LAURENCE ARNOLD WASHINGTON (AP) - In his quest for the White House, Bill Bradley is drawing on a network of young Democratic activists he helped train during an eight-year affiliation with an unorthodox political action committee. Bradley spent a week each summer working with college graduates who aspired to be Democratic activists. More than 200 participants in the program, funded by the Participation 2000 PAC, are now scattered throughout the country, many in Democratic politics, many loyal to Bradley as he seeks the Democratic presidential nomination. Some have joined Bradley's campaign. Others are considering it. Still others, by virtue of their posts in the Democratic Party, are in position to generate support for the former New Jersey senator. Participation 2000's potential value is not lost on the campaign. "We saved a lot of time and energy by being able to turn to this group of people who had a ton of enthusiastic loyalty to him," Bradley campaign spokesman Eric Hauser said. Suzy Pollack, a trainee in 1996, now works at the White House Project, which advocates election of a female president within the next decade. She has contributed to Bradley's campaign and said she would work for him if asked. "The senator took a lot of time to talk to us about ethics in politics, and integrity, and the big picture of what we're about," Pollack said about her Participation 2000 experience. Political action committees raise money for politicians or parties, with individual donations limited to $5,000 per year rather than the $1,000 limit for individual donations directly to candidates. Though legally a PAC, Participation 2000 does not act like traditional ones. Although it raises money, it does not donate to candidates. Instead, it holds seven-day campaign training programs in Washington each July, bringing together about two dozen recent college graduates with Democratic office holders like Bradley, campaign consultants, labor leaders and others. The trainees, unpaid except for a $500 stipend from the PAC, are assigned in August to help Democratic campaigns throughout the country. After election day, they return to Washington to discuss their experiences with Bradley and others. Brian Selander attended Participation 2000 last July. In August, the PAC dispatched him to New Hampshire to work on Jean Shaheen's successful gubernatorial campaign. Armed with knowledge about the politically important state, Selander now works for Bradley in New Hampshire, where the former New Jersey senator hopes to pull off a domino-tipping upset in the nation's first primary. Danielle Washington, a 1997 graduate, is events coordinator for Emily's List, which raises funds for female candidates who support abortion rights. "I'm very loyal to Bradley for helping me get my start in my career, she said. Neal Kwatra, a 1996 trainee, said Participation 2000 gives Bradley "an untapped corps of people who are going to be doing whatever they can to help his candidacy." He now works in Connecticut for Local 217 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union. At least a dozen Participation 2000 alumni now work for Bradley's campaign. Tony Wyche, class of 1992, is Bradley's deputy campaign spokesman. Joyce Gresko, also class of '92 and the PAC's former executive director, is the campaign's finance coordinator. Program alumni received a memo last month titled "Activating the P2 Volunteer Network Today!" It was from Sean Gagen, a former Participation 2000 executive director who recently left the Missouri Democratic Party to work for Bradley's campaign. "The Bradley for President campaign needs your help!" Gagen wrote to the PAC's alumni. "I know you are busy, but your participation in your area of the country can make a big difference in many areas. I will be comforted to know that we have a trained, politically knowledgeable person to provide BB with assistance." When Richard Celeste, then the governor of Ohio, created Participation 2000 in 1988, skeptics suspected he was training an army of supporters who could help him run for president. Celeste, now the U.S. ambassador to India, left office in 1990 after two terms of governor and did not run for president. Bradley took charge of the PAC in 1991. "I did this for the same reason I did high school seminars and `good-citizen days' and scholar-athlete days - as a way to get young people involved in the process," Bradley said in an interview this year. Bradley severed links to the PAC when he became a presidential candidate. Officially he was the PAC's "honorary co-chairman," first with Celeste, then later with Rep. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and former Texas Gov. Ann Richards. The PAC's newest honorary co-leaders are Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark. Bradley has criticized the use of PACs by other presidential candidates and has pledged to take no PAC money. Participation 2000 raises money with the traditional PAC's $5,000 donation limits. In 1998 it raised and spent about $200,000. Some of its major contributors are now raising money for Bradley's presidential campaign, including John Jordan, a Chicago businessman, and Leonard Riggio, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble. Bradley gave $5000 to the PAC in 1997. Hotel magnate Jonathan Tisch gave $1,000 to the PAC in 1995, and Ohio lawyer Stanley Chesley gave $500 in 1991. Both are now raising money for Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign. AP-NY-07-11-99 1227EDT Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. 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