Political Contributions

In the gilded state Senate chamber one morning, Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) bemoaned the liquor industry's sway in the Legislature. She named booze lobbyist Aaron Read as a key opponent of her push to raise liquor taxes by $700 million a year. But days later at a nearby restaurant, there was Read -- who wants lawmakers to spare liquor as they look for ways to relieve the state's fiscal woes -- in a crowd of lobbyists at a reception for Romero's reelection campaign.

Neck-and-neck for the lead in the Republican money race, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney fuel their campaigns by relying on big-dollar donors. But they diverge on spending, with Romney paying out far more than Perry and writing far bigger checks for political staff, direct mail and other campaign activities in key states. Overall, the campaign finance filings submitted Saturday offer a look at how Perry, Romney and others vying for the GOP presidential nomination have run their campaigns from July through September.

The Democratic National Committee collected $27 million from guests who attended White House coffee klatches with President Clinton over the last two years, newly available records show. Many of those who were invited to the White House for private chats with Clinton and senior administration officials made substantial contributions to the Democratic Party within days of the events.

John Duran likes shopping at Target, but he hasn't walked through its doors since last summer. As a gay public official, Duran believes he must support a boycott against the retailer by gay rights activists. "I am one of those people now that no longer shops at Target," said Duran, West Hollywood's mayor pro tem. "I just can't in good conscience be seen there. " Real estate agent Tom Kraynak also stayed away from the retail chain — for a while. But he was among several gay shoppers at the West Hollywood Target recently who said it was time to move on. "We boycotted for a while," said Kraynak, 47. "But that only lasted for so long because we had to go to Target.

California, the ATM for politicians nationwide, has spit out cash for Barack Obama at an extraordinary clip. One of every five dollars he has raised in itemized contributions to his campaign has come from the Golden State. At last count, in mid-October, the Democratic presidential nominee had withdrawn $84 million from California, or 20% of his contributions of more than $200 -- the threshold at which campaigns must disclose detailed information about donors.

The Ventura City Council has issued a resounding "No" to campaign contribution limits, defeating by 4 to 2 a proposal to cap political donations at $100. "A lot of council members have received special interest dollars and have voted against those special interest dollars time and again," said Councilman Gregory L. Carson, arguing that limits are unnecessary because contributions do not buy votes.

Members of Congress may legally solicit four types of payments from special interest groups. They are: PAC Contributions: Political action committees are permitted to collect up to $5,000 a year from persons who wish to support their point of view. In turn, these committees may make contributions of up to $5,000 for each primary and $5,000 for each general election to the campaign coffers of a member of Congress or candidate for office.

U.S. Rep. Dan Burton (R.-Ind.), a fierce adversary of President Bill Clinton in the Whitewater matter, was recently forced to return a political donation from the ousted President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire after the African dictator had maxed out on such contributions to him. Burton has not only explained the matter; he has demanded the return of the money and both a Congressional Medal of Honor and free Indianapolis Pacer tickets for life. "It's the least a grateful U.S.

More than 40 municipal bond underwriting firms have endorsed a self-imposed ban on political contributions as a way of avoiding possible conflicts of interest and allegations of influence peddling. Nineteen of the firms met in New York on Wednesday with Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt Jr. to spell out how the initiative will be implemented.

Last week's U.S. 9th Circuit Court decision to throw out provisions of the Proposition 73 campaign reform rules is not expected to open the flood gates for business contributions to the political process. Last Tuesday's court edict wipes out the $5,000 limit on contributions from political action committees to an individual candidate and permits PACS such as those operated by business firms to make unlimited donations.

Through the depths of the recession, major Wall Street banks and other financial institutions spent nearly $70 million in California to try to defeat or water down California legislation aimed at slowing real estate foreclosures. The money, spent on lobbying fees and political contributions, came from 2007 to 2010 — at the same time the banks were getting billions of dollars in federal taxpayer bailouts to keep them from collapsing. A report commissioned by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment criticized the banks and mortgage lenders for spending the money in the political arena rather than working harder to keep people in their homes.

The abrupt suspension of MSNBC host Keith Olbermann for making donations to Democratic candidates has ignited a national debate over journalistic objectivity and media partisanship, with many critics, including a U.S. senator, questioning the motives of network parent General Electric as it prepares to hand the No. 2 cable news outlet to new owners. "Is this simply a 'personality conflict' within MSNBC or is one of America's major corporations cracking down on a viewpoint they may not like?"

Carly Fiorina may be closing in on California Sen. Barbara Boxer in recent polls, but reports released Thursday show the three-term incumbent with a vast advantage in one very important area: money. Campaign finance figures released by the campaigns showed Boxer with nearly 12 times the cash on hand as Fiorina — $11.3 million to $952,786 — after a six-week reporting period that ended June 30. Boxer, a Democrat who did not have any significant primary opposition and got an infusion of cash from events with President Obama, also outpaced Fiorina in fundraising from other sources over the six-week period.

California Democrats closed their annual convention in Los Angeles on Sunday in a dour frame of mind, with the country's economic troubles -- and resulting voter antagonism -- presenting some unusually sharp challenges ahead of November's midterm elections. Republicans nationwide have been energized in their opposition to President Obama and are being fueled by the momentum of the "tea party" movement. "We have to match that enthusiasm," Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) told reporters this weekend.

Oil companies and conservative activists poured nearly $1 million last week into their campaign to place an initiative on the November ballot that would delay enforcement of California's global warming law. The effort, which also sought to enlist "tea party" activists, came as organizers failed to meet their original goal of gathering the 433,000 necessary signatures by Friday. But with the infusion of $930,000 to pay signature gatherers, bringing the total to $1.9 million, "We will all do what it takes to win," said Assemblyman Dan Logue (R-Marysville)

The most important thing to know about Proposition 16 on California's June ballot is that it was written and bankrolled by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for the benefit of PG&E. There'd be nothing wrong with that, necessarily, if its customers also benefited. But Prop. 16 seeks to lock them into the private utility's grasp without any realistic opportunity of ever escaping to an electricity provider with cheaper rates. And it would apply to the customers of any private -- or "investor-owned" -- utility, such as Southern California Edison or San Diego Gas & Electric.

It's give-back time in the San Diego mayoral election. First, Peter Navarro gave back a $500 contribution from a bookstore owner who was busted on charges of pushing pornography. Now, Susan Golding has returned a $250 contribution from John W. (Jack) Campbell of Florida and San Diego. Campbell owns a string of controversial gay health clubs and was convicted in San Francisco in 1978 of running an upscale house of (gay) prostitution a block from Dianne Feinstein's home.

By the time voters decide the eight initiatives on Tuesday's special election ballot, political contributions for and against are expected to surpass $225 million. Can all that money be chalked up to contributors seeking a quid pro quo, or is it merely the cost of democracy in a geographically vast state with 35 million people?

Democrat Barbara Boxer outdistanced her Republican challengers in raising money during the first quarter of the year, and her two leading GOP would-be opponents were nearly tied in income over the period, according to financial reports. Boxer, a three-term incumbent who faces no serious primary challenge but is anticipating her toughest general election battle yet, raised $2.4 million in the first three months of 2010. She now has $8.7 million on hand, and is due to raise more next week with a visit from President Obama.

FBI agents arrested a Commerce councilman early Thursday after a grand jury indicted him and two family members for allegedly trying to hide illegal campaign contributions. Robert Fierro, 39, the mayor pro tem of the industrial suburb, is also charged with telling a friend to lie to the FBI. Fierro's sister-in-law and campaign treasurer, Ana Perez, was charged with lying to the grand jury. Along with the politician's wife, Linda Fierro, 36, she was charged with witness tampering.