Don't Let the Governor's Race Become a Game for the Rich

It's the scent of burning money, fueling the three major candidacies.

There's probably nothing illegal going on. But it's not exactly the democratic ideal, either.

One Democratic candidate -- state Controller Steve Westly -- is trying to buy the office with riches collected by being in the right place at the right time with EBay.

His primary election opponent -- state Treasurer Phil Angelides -- is benefiting from a sugar daddy whose family last week dumped $5 million into an Angelides rescue effort.

Then there's Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who once told voters he was so rich he didn't need to hit up special interests for political money -- then commenced to set a global record for mining special interests. He's up to around $100 million in total fundraising.

The governor also has been promoted in TV ads paid for by a secretive U.S. Chamber of Commerce operation that won't disclose its donors.

To put all this in perspective, there's a $22,300 limit per election on any contribution to a gubernatorial candidate.

But there are enough loopholes to enrich dozens of Sacramento political attorneys and frustrate attempts at reform.

The main loophole is that donors can give unlimited amounts to "independent expenditure committees" if the organizations don't coordinate their campaign efforts with the candidates they're promoting.

Thus, Angelides' former developer-partner, Angelo Tsakopoulos, can pump $5 million into a TV ad committee.

Garry South, Westly's attack-dog strategist, says that Tsakopoulos' donation is "without any question" the largest contribution ever to an independent committee plugging a candidate.

"This is the most blatant, brazen example of an attempt to violate and circumvent campaign finance laws that I've ever seen," South complains.

But there's another humongous loophole that the U.S. Supreme Court created years ago by ruling that money is "speech," not property, and therefore protected by the 1st Amendment. That means a candidate cannot be limited in how much of his own money he spends.

So far, Westly has dug into his pocket for $20 million and probably will be digging much deeper.

"Voters are inherently suspicious of candidates who try to buy elections," asserts Angelides spokesman Dan Newman.

Maybe. But Westly is running ahead in the polls.