Gov.'s Tie to Fund Drive Questioned
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is becoming entwined in the campaign fundraising efforts of a group that under state law is required to remain independent of him.
As he travels the state to build support for an agenda that would reshape California government, the governor is sharing the stage with leaders of a fundraising committee that has been formed to support his proposals.
State campaign laws dictate that if such committees are under the control of politicians, then the size of the donations the committees can accept must be restricted. The committee, Citizens to Save California, is accepting donations without limits.
On Thursday, Schwarzenegger and a top aide, legislative secretary Richard Costigan, laid out the governor's agenda to invited guests at a private luncheon at the Regency Club in Los Angeles. Another speaker was Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce and co-chairman of the fundraising committee, who was invited by the governor's campaign finance team.
The committee has been passing out fundraising literature at similar luncheons. Such events took place in Newport Beach on Wednesday and in San Francisco on Tuesday. More private luncheons are planned next week in Sacramento and San Diego.
An invitation obtained by The Times was printed on Schwarzenegger campaign stationery and describes the lunches as chances for the governor to articulate his "vision for California" and to offer a "briefing on the status of the state's finances" and an "overview" of the governor's "reform plans."
Marty Wilson, the governor's top fundraising aide, said the events were a prelude to an upcoming push to raise money for the governor's reelection fund.
Guests need not make a donation. But one person who attended the event in San Francisco, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the message was clear: "You knew before you went there you were expected to give something at some point."
The luncheons worry some watchdog groups, which contend that the governor is skirting a new state regulation that restricts the sums politicians can raise for initiative campaigns. The governor has said he may take his proposals for change directly to voters in ballot initiatives. The fundraising committee was formed to help him do so.
"Clearly he's not abiding by the spirit" of the regulations, said Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies.
