Political Campaigns

Playing private detective for a day, state Sen. Tom Hayden's staff captured Gov. Pete Wilson's director of fish and game and one of his top deputies on videotape as they fished during business hours last week with a lawyer who is trying to loosen the state's endangered species protection laws.

The 1st District City Council race has garnered more than four times the money of previous races there, buoyed by the deep pockets and independent spending of labor and business leaders. In the runoff to replace council member Ed Reyes in the district near downtown Los Angeles, a combined $1.97 million has been raised on behalf of former Sacramento lawmaker Gil Cedillo and Reyes' chief of staff, Jose Gardea, according to campaign finance reports. The election almost ended in the primary: Cedillo received 49.32%, less than 1% shy of winning outright.

Long before the fractious public airing of their poisoned relations, the political friendship between David Geffen and Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton was an unconventional alliance with a cloudy future. The outspoken Hollywood mogul Geffen lavished nearly $1.

Mayoral rivals Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti squared off over the role of outside spending in Los Angeles elections during a debate Monday night in Westwood. Speaking before an audience of several hundred at Sinai Temple, Garcetti attacked Greuel for not agreeing to sign a pledge that would have required the candidates to give charities the equivalent of half of the money spent on their behalf by independent groups that can accept unlimited contributions. Garcetti called the $3.5 million spent on Greuel's behalf by the union representing Department of Water and Power workers "a brand-new record to buy this race.

At a rally marking the kickoff of his reelection campaign, President Bush on Saturday unleashed a blistering attack on John F. Kerry's domestic and foreign policy positions while portraying himself as a decisive leader who would keep America safe during troubled times. Returning to the heart of the state that delivered him the White House in the disputed 2000 election, Bush was greeted by a crowd of some 10,000 supporters at the Orange County Convention Center here.

A political campaign is about the worst time to have a discussion about economic realities. The party that is out will speak of nothing but looming disaster while the party that is in will be singing nothing but “Happy Days Are Here Again.” And, since our current political system is in a permanent campaign mode, economics never escapes the warp of politics. The truth is, it is easy for politicians to pick and choose among the facts to support whatever best serves their campaigns because economic news can be good and bad at the same time.

No matter how you feel about Meg Whitman, head of Hewlett-Packard, former head of eBay, you'd have to concede that one of her biggest contributions to the California economy was as candidate for California governor. She lavished about $160 million on her failed campaign, and we'd have to guess that most or all of that was spent within the state. It might be hard to get the engine of California's economy revving again, but we do get a good, if short-term, cough out of political campaigns, and the most recent proof of this is the spending on Proposition 29, the initiative that would impose an extra dollar-per-pack tax on cigarettes and use most of the proceeds on medical research for cancer and cardiovascular and lung diseases.

A few years ago, campaigning in Cudahy and Bell was an ugly affair. Fliers smeared rival candidates as "terrorists," allegations of voter fraud ran rampant and, in some cases, death threats were made against political contenders. But high-profile corruption scandals in each city over the last two years have led to what residents hope is an unprecedented change: cleaner campaigns. "There's no intimidation factor," said Denise Rodarte, a member of the grass-roots group Bell Assn.

How much is an election worth? Apparently quite a bit, since Orange County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder has already raised $159,000 for her 1990 reelection campaign. By the time the campaign is over, much more will probably be spent by the wealthy landowners, builders and developers who wish to see Wieder remain in office in order to preserve their political advantage. In a county that has real problems housing the homeless, feeding the hungry, coping with drug abuse, building affordable housing, providing health care, educating the young and caring for the elderly, expenditures of this magnitude on political campaigns seem nothing less than obscene.

The City Council tonight will review a proposal to revise the city's ordinance governing political campaigns. The new plan is intended to close loopholes in existing regulations. The proposed ordinance, more than a year in the making, would raise limits on campaign contributions, prohibit multiple campaign committees and create new regulations in areas ranging from the transfer of campaign funds to campaign loans.

SACRAMENTO -- The state's campaign watchdog agency is supporting sweeping changes to California's political finance laws, including proposals to lift the veil of secrecy from nonprofit groups that are spending record amounts of money on political campaigns in the state. The state Fair Political Practices Commission voted Wednesday to back pending legislation that would address concerns about an Arizona nonprofit organization that contributed $11-million contribution to a ballot measure campaign fund before November's election.

A few years ago, campaigning in Cudahy and Bell was an ugly affair. Fliers smeared rival candidates as "terrorists," allegations of voter fraud ran rampant and, in some cases, death threats were made against political contenders. But high-profile corruption scandals in each city over the last two years have led to what residents hope is an unprecedented change: cleaner campaigns. "There's no intimidation factor," said Denise Rodarte, a member of the grass-roots group Bell Assn.

Voters from opposite ends of the San Fernando Valley are preparing to vote on two L.A. City Council seats pitting well-known state lawmakers leading in both fundraising and major endorsements against an array of lesser-known contenders. Former Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes (D-Sylmar), along with three other candidates, is looking to replace veteran lawmaker Richard Alarcon in the northeast Valley's 7th District. In the West Valley, Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield (D-Woodland Hills) is targeting the 3rd District seat being vacated by Dennis Zine.

A stylish crowd waited beneath a flashing marquee outside the Fonda Theatre. "Appearing tonight!" the sign read. "Eric Garcetti 4 Mayor. " In a city where political campaigns are typically waged at neighborhood meetings, not Hollywood concert halls, last week's star-studded fundraiser for Garcetti highlighted the entertainment industry's outsized role in this year's mayoral race. Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel started the show with a stand-up routine and musician Moby got the crowd of several hundred dancing.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca told his deputies Thursday that he would no longer accept campaign contributions from department employees, according to an internal memo obtained by The Times. Baca also said other sheriff's managers who run for an elected office would be barred from making employment decisions affecting employees who have donated to their campaigns. Baca's announcement comes amid concerns that campaign contributions to sheriff's brass by department employees created potential conflicts of interest in promotions and other personnel decisions.

SEATTLE -- Now that the mole who helped bring down the leadership of the Alaska Peacemaker Militia has talked publicly , the big question on some minds in Alaska is: Why was federal FBI informant William Fulton involved in political campaigns? The controversy has erupted over the past few days, as it emerged that Fulton, an Anchorage military surplus store owner who helped gather evidence against militia leader Schaeffer Cox, had helped manage the unsuccessful campaign of right-wing former radio host Eddie Burke for lieutenant governor in 2010.

You know it's a real Oscar race when every campaign has a slogan. Everyone loves "The Queen." Get on the bus for "Little Miss Sunshine." No film moved you more than "Babel." "The Departed" is Martin Scorsese at his best. "Letters From Iwo Jima" was directed by Clint Eastwood, which, although technically not a catchphrase, is pretty much shorthand for Oscar gold these days.

With union ranks depleted and labor protections under attack in the Republican-controlled Assembly, state labor leaders are preparing to wage what they say will be their most aggressive political effort in years, perhaps ever, in California.

Muscle-flexing over the archipelago of disputed islands in East Asian seas featured prominently in the political campaigns that have brought forth new leaders for China, Japan and South Korea. But don't expect an end to the posturing and provocations just because the political season is over, Asia watchers say. China claims that a handful of rocks in the East China Sea is a part of its ancient heritage. Known as the Diaoyus, they are a strategic component of China's mission to project an image of power throughout the region.

WASHINGTON - The push by states to force politically active nonprofits to disclose their financial backers ratcheted up Wednesday as New York's attorney general proposed tough rules that could require many such tax-exempt groups to publicly report their political budgets and donors. The regulations, which Atty. Gen. Eric T. Schneiderman plans to issue in spring after a public comment period, could affect some of the biggest outside groups that engage in federal political campaigns, including Americans for Prosperity, the League of Conservation Voters, the National Rifle Assn.