Beverly Hills producer Daphna Ziman is no ordinary political fundraiser.
She and her husband sat with other top fundraisers in a special skybox for Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry's campaign at the party convention in Boston. They schmooze with the Kerrys at VIP receptions. At Rosh Hashana, Ziman said, Kerry called her with best wishes for peace in her native Israel. She sometimes calls Kerry on his cellphone -- just to chat, Ziman said -- as he traverses the swing states.
The Zimans belong to a rarefied group of Democratic Party fundraisers with backstage passes to the Kerry campaign. They are dealt into weekly conference calls with top party leaders and given special titles -- Vice Chairs, Co-Chairs, Patriots, Trustees -- based on how much money they've raised. They jet off to see the Kerrys at retreats, like a gathering at Teresa Heinz Kerry's estate near Pittsburgh in August, or a weekend in Washington, D.C., in early October.
They have helped touch off an avalanche of more than $102 million in political donations from Californians to Kerry, liberal groups and Democratic Party causes. In the process, Kerry set a record for raising more money in a single state than any candidate in any election.
Some fundraisers, like Ziman, display gold-tone brooches that spell out "Kerry 2004" in faux diamonds. Her husband, Richard Ziman, chief executive of Arden Realty -- and a Kerry backer for nearly 10 years -- got a silk tie whose pattern subtly blends little American flags and "JK '04."
Of course, wealthy Los Angeles fundraisers -- like the Zimans, many have entertainment industry connections -- don't really need campaign tchotchkes. They're committed liberals who want President Bush out of the White House.
But they also want something far more intangible -- a level of access and attention to which fundraisers in Omaha could never aspire.
"The nice thing about John is that he listens. He really listens to people," Ziman said, sitting on a beige leather sofa with leopard spotted pillows in her beamed neo-Tudor mansion.
Rainmakers like the Zimans have been crucial to the Democratic Party's ability to match Bush's war chest of political contributions for the 2004 presidential race -- particularly since campaign finance reform limited the usefulness of individual big-dollar donors. Their role is heightened in California, where Kerry holds a commanding lead, and where the fiercest campaign is the shakedown for money -- not votes.
