The contracts for the ads and the public relations work were awarded legally. But given the winning companies' relationship with Reiner, "there is a question of ... who really has a chance of getting a contract," said Bill Whalen, a Hoover Institution fellow and former Pete Wilson administration official. "Insider connections are rewarded."
The twinning of First 5's ads and Reiner's initiative campaign troubles state Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles).
"Taxpayer dollars should not be used to sway election results," she said. "Do that with campaign money."
Reiner campaign attorney James Harrison said the ads were legal.
In particular, he cited a court ruling in late December, which stems from a Salinas ballot measure and is being appealed, saying government can use tax money for campaigns as long as it doesn't expressly urge people to vote for or against an issue or candidate.
"The ads were legal and entirely proper," Harrison said.
Reiner, who noted that government staffers -- not First 5 commissioners -- chose the recipients of the ad contract, said the commercials were not related to the Preschool for All ballot initiative. Rather, he said, he concluded that the timing for such a measure was right, there was voter support and universal preschool would help California's children.
"I want to do things right for kids," Reiner said in an interview at a location he chose: a preschool funded by First 5 in South Los Angeles. "I want help to fix the school system."
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Reiner, 58, gained fame for his role in the 1970s TV series "All in the Family." He since has produced, directed or acted in dozens of movies, including "Rumor Has It," "A Few Good Men" and "This Is Spinal Tap." For more than a decade, his political cause has been childhood development, though he and others say he has no personal financial stake in it.
To finance his vision, Reiner sponsored Proposition 10, which created First 5. The proposition gives counties 80% of the tobacco tax proceeds. Reiner's panel gets the other 20% -- $800 million since the commission's creation in 1999.
Written to his specifications, the law dictates that 6% of the tax revenue be allotted to communications efforts.
"This is a big state," Reiner said, noting that ads are costly. "We knew the programs weren't going to be successful unless people knew about them and how important they are."
