Ed Pastor & ASU Teaming up for new center
Retired Rep. Ed Pastor is donating $1 million from his leftover campaign funds to set up a new Center for Politics and Public Service at Arizona State University. Retired U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor is the namesake of a new center at Arizona State University that aims to encourage college students to become more politically engaged.
The Ed Pastor Center for Politics and Public Service at ASU is being created using a $1 million donation from Pastor's unspent campaign money. Pastor, D-Ariz., did not seek re-election in 2014 after serving more than 20 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Lawmakers are allowed to give leftover campaign funds to charity.
Jonathan Koppell, dean of ASU's College of Public Service and Community Solutions, told The Arizona Republic that the university developed the idea for a center to focus on "the intersection of politics and policy" and found a perfect match in Pastor, who over the course of his career developed a quiet reputation as a workhorse and a diligent public servant.