The initiative process is full of risk: Many measures fail, and the ones that pass can change laws in ways their authors never intended. But when things go right, Nadelmann says, the ballot offers high rollers the potential to create far bigger policy changes than they could by directing dollars to politicians, lobbyists or nonprofits.
"For people who are interested in accomplishing real political reforms, this is where you can get the greatest return on your investment," he said.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday, November 02, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 55 words Type of Material: Correction
Ballot measures: An article in Section A on Saturday about billionaires sponsoring state propositions on the Tuesday ballot was accompanied by one wrong photograph. The man identified in the caption as Henry T. Nicholas III, who is backing Propositions 6 and 9, was actually Henry Samueli. Nicholas is pictured here. The Times regrets the error.
The billionaires, none of whom would be interviewed, are using the initiative process for a host of reasons. For Soros, long a critic of America's war on drugs, it is ideology. Same for Sperling, who put $9 million into Proposition 7, which would require utilities to obtain substantially more of their energy from renewable resources.
For others, the reasons are personal.
Broadcom co-founder Nicholas is pushing his agenda in memory of his murdered sister. A $1-million contribution from him jump-started Proposition 6, which would lengthen prison sentences for certain crimes and allow people who lie to police about gang crimes to be prosecuted as accessories.
Proposition 9, in which Nicholas has invested $4.8 million, would require mandatory restitution when crime victims suffer a loss, increase the maximum allowable time between parole hearings for an inmate from five to 15 years, and allow an unlimited number of victim family members to testify at such hearings.
Because the charges against Nicholas are federal, and his sister's killer has died, neither initiative would apply to his current situation.
Sometimes there are financial considerations at play.
A company Pickens founded, Clean Energy Fuels Corp., is well positioned to cash in on $5 billion in subsidies for drivers and companies using alternative-fuel vehicles if voters approve Proposition 10. The company spent $15.2 million to qualify and promote the initiative.
Whatever the motives, said Robert Stern, president of the Center for Government Studies in Los Angeles, the billionaires are "trying to leave a legacy. And these are big legacies if the measures pass."
"They are probably thinking, for $10 million or $15 million, we can actually accomplish something," he said.
As Stern notes, though: For powerful people accustomed to taking control, the initiative process can be unwieldy.
