Investors pushing a resolution at retail giant Target’s annual shareholder meeting prohibiting it from bankrolling political advertising were unsuccessful in passing the measure, which failed by a large margin. Target apologized to its staff and pledged to reform its procedures in 2010 after a $150,000 donation to a Minnesota conservative group backing a gubernatorial candidate who opposed gay marriage drew national protests.
“We presented the proposal and the preliminary results were about what we were expecting for a first-time, groundbreaking proposal such as this one,” Lisa Ruoff, director of shareholder advocacy at Green Century Capital, which backed the measure, told TPM in an e-mail. “We believe this sends a strong message to the company that a significant portion of its shareholders are concerned about this issue, and we hope to see a response.”
