Thomas P. (Tom) Rastin
Industry: Natural gas/manufacturing
Primary Company: Ariel Corporation
Age: Unconfirmed
Location: Mount Vernon, Ohio
Estimated Worth: Unconfirmed
Background
Thomas P. (Tom) Rastin is the husband of Karen Wright, CEO of Ariel Corporation, a producer of natural gas compressors1Homepage, Ariel. Archived August 8, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/XYhS8 in Mount Vernon, Ohio.2“Contact Ariel,” Ariel. Archived August 8, 2024. Archive URL:https://archive.ph/7meZn Tom Rastin is Ariel Corp.’s vice president of marketing and engineering. Ariel Corp. was founded by Karen’s father, Jim Buchwald. She took over the business in 2001.3Lori Kurtzman. โCEO a quiet philanthropist for Mount Vernon,โ The Columbus Dispatch, November 4, 2013. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/hSTHU
Both Tom Rastin and Karen Wright attended the June 2010 meeting of the Koch network in Aspen, Colorado. A list of attendees and a schedule for the Aspen summit was obtained by ThinkProgress.4โMEMO: Health Insurance, Banking, Oil Industries Met With Koch, Chamber, Glenn Beck To Plot 2010 Election,โ ThinkProgress, October 20, 2010. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/KUNp3
Tom Rastin is a board member of the Ariel Foundation, a private foundation founded by Karen Wright in 2009.5โAbout Us,โ Ariel Foundation. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IOqNY
Originally from Tabriz, Iran, Tom Rastin attended Louisiana State University in the 1970s, and earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering. Rastin began working at Ariel Corporation in 1994 as an applications engineer.6โAbout Us,โ Ariel Foundation. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IOqNY
Funding
Political Contributions
Both Tom Rastin and Karen Wright were on a 2018 list of Ohio’s top political donors. According to reporting by Cleveland.com, they gave more than $3.3 million to candidates and political groups, such as state Attorney General Mike DeWine in his run for governor, Rep. Bob Gibbs, State Rep. Keith Faber in his run for Ohio auditor, and Anthony Gonzalez in his run for Congress. Cleveland.com reported that Rastin and Wright โmade a pair of $200,000-plus donations to the Republican National Congressional Committee (RNCC), the campaign arm for congressional Republicans.โ 7โMoney in politics: Here’s a list of Ohioโs top political donors,โ Cleveland.com, June 28, 2018. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/tzBuB
FEC filings for the “NRCC” show Karen Wright made two separate donations on February 13, 2018, for $101,700 and $101,500. The following day, Tom Rastin made one donation to the NRCC for $101,700, and another for $101,400. The total of all four donations was $406,300.8โMoney in politics: Here’s a list of Ohioโs top political donors,โ Cleveland.com, June 28, 2018. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/tzBuB
Below is a partial summary of Tom Rastin’s political spending, highlighting committees that received $5,000 or more, via campaign finance data exported from the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Note that while efforts are made to ensure the accuracy of this data, errors may have been introduced in the original finance records.
View the attached spreadsheet for a complete list of Tom Rastinโs political spending by year (.xlsx).
Koch Events
June 2010
Both Tom Rastin and his wife Karen Wright attended the June 2010 meeting of the Koch network in Aspen, Colorado. A list of attendees and a schedule for the Aspen summit was obtained by ThinkProgress.9โMEMO: Health Insurance, Banking, Oil Industries Met With Koch, Chamber, Glenn Beck To Plot 2010 Election,โ ThinkProgress, October 20, 2010. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/KUNp3
Affiliations
- Ariel Corporation โ Vice president of marketing and engineering.10โAbout Us,โ Ariel Foundation. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IOqNY
- Ariel Foundation โ Board member.11โAbout Us,โ Ariel Foundation. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IOqNY
Data from the FEC show a number of contributions by a Tom or Thomas Rastin that are registered to addresses associated with Thomas P. Rastin of Ariel Corp., but list different employers:
- Moonbuilders Guidance Center โ Vice president of sales an marketing.
- Grimmway Enterprises โ Co-owner.
- Halycon Financial Management โ Executive.
- Cardinal Health, Inc. โ Executive vice president.
Other Resources
- “Thomas Rastin Political Contributions,” CampaignMoney.com.
Sources
- 1Homepage, Ariel. Archived August 8, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/XYhS8
- 2“Contact Ariel,” Ariel. Archived August 8, 2024. Archive URL:https://archive.ph/7meZn
- 3Lori Kurtzman. โCEO a quiet philanthropist for Mount Vernon,โ The Columbus Dispatch, November 4, 2013. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/hSTHU
- 4โMEMO: Health Insurance, Banking, Oil Industries Met With Koch, Chamber, Glenn Beck To Plot 2010 Election,โ ThinkProgress, October 20, 2010. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/KUNp3
- 5โAbout Us,โ Ariel Foundation. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IOqNY
- 6โAbout Us,โ Ariel Foundation. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IOqNY
- 7โMoney in politics: Here’s a list of Ohioโs top political donors,โ Cleveland.com, June 28, 2018. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/tzBuB
- 8โMoney in politics: Here’s a list of Ohioโs top political donors,โ Cleveland.com, June 28, 2018. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/tzBuB
- 9โMEMO: Health Insurance, Banking, Oil Industries Met With Koch, Chamber, Glenn Beck To Plot 2010 Election,โ ThinkProgress, October 20, 2010. Archived July 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/KUNp3
- 10โAbout Us,โ Ariel Foundation. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IOqNY
- 11โAbout Us,โ Ariel Foundation. Archived July 20, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/IOqNY
