guess who?
- From: "<SmirkS>" <me@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:29:17 -0500
"I always say, "If you starve someone, you only make them more hungry."
And I definitely was hungry to break out and do something very special.
Let me tell you something. I hear people whining all the time: "I can?t
compete! How can I go mano a mano with the Ivy League guys who had all the
advantages? I don?t have the upbringing!"
I could have said that. I could have said I couldn't compete when I met
Maria and she invited me up to Hyannis Port to meet her family. I could
have been intimidated, but instead I turned the situation around and used
it to my advantage. I told myself, "This is great! Here I am - meeting
really smart people and political leaders who've dedicated their lives to
public service. I can learn from them!"
And it turned out to be the smartest thing I ever did. Because not only
did I learn a lot, I got a wife out of it, too!
So we move on to another principle I was dead right about: No one's ever
been successful without having a goal - and a plan for how to achieve it.
Whether it's John F. Kennedy or Ronald Reagan - an astronaut who wants to
go to the moon, or a kid who wants to become a doctor - these are all
people who have a plan, map it out, and then go for it."
www.schwarzenegger.com/en/life/hiswords/ words_en_sac_perspectives.asp?
sec=life&subsec=hiswords
~
indeed. he also said:
Speaking on the "Eric Hogue Show" on radio station KTKZ (1380 AM) in
Sacramento, the Republican movie actor drew a distinction between
contributions from organized labor and Indian gambling tribes ?
traditionally Democratic givers he called "real big, powerful special
interests" ? and corporate donors.
"Any of those kinds of real big, powerful special interests, if you take
money from them, you owe them something," he said.
Any corporate money he takes is irrelevant, Schwarzenegger said, because
he wouldn't be influenced by it.
"There are maybe corporations and companies that maybe the press
identifies and says, 'Well that is a big company, they want certain
things,' " he said, adding, "I don't promise anyone anything. There's no
strings attached to anything."
~
Nonprofits Cloak Donors to Governor
Tax-exempt groups provide millions from sources not made public. Ethics
watchdogs say the practice avoids state disclosure laws.
By Robert Salladay and Peter Nicholas
Times Staff Writers
August 24, 2005
SACRAMENTO ? Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is benefiting from millions of
dollars raised by a network of tax-exempt groups without revealing that
the money comes from major corporations with business before his office.
The groups are run by Schwarzenegger's closest political allies, who also
represent some of California's biggest interest groups. Unlike the
governor's many campaign funds, the nonprofits are not required to
disclose their contributors and can accept unlimited amounts.
One group controlled by a powerful corporate consultant pays the $6,000-a-
month rent on a Sacramento hotel suite used by the governor, who is a
multimillionaire. Others have funded media events and political rallies
featuring Schwarzenegger and helped pay for his foreign travel. So far,
five tax-exempt groups aiding Schwarzenegger have collected $3 million.
Other elected officials also raise money through nonprofit groups. But
Schwarzenegger campaigned on creating an open government answerable to the
public. His use of the nonprofit groups has the opposite effect, ethics
watchdogs said.
State and federal laws allow groups performing a broadly defined "public
benefit" to operate tax exempt. But the lack of disclosure requirements
means potential conflicts of interests between the governor and his
contributors remain hidden, allowing powerful donors to curry favor with
Schwarzenegger behind the scenes, they said.
"This is an end run around the campaign finance laws," said Larry Noble,
executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington.
"It does away with the contribution limits and it avoids disclosure, and
it's a way for the special interests who are supporting him to buy access
and buy influence."
Rob Stutzman, the governor's communications director, said Schwarzenegger
has asked the nonprofits directly helping him ? such as the foundation
paying his rent ? to disclose their donors. In any case, he said the
governor pays little attention to who donates to the nonprofits.
"He just never bothers himself with it," Stutzman said.
State law requires that politicians disclose contributions to nonprofits
made at their "behest," but Schwarzenegger's attorneys say it does not
apply to the donations at issue. Democrats disagree and have filed a
formal complaint.
Although the groups have not disclosed donors on their own, three of them
provided information to The Times after repeated requests. Two of the
organizations declined to do so.
One of the organizations, the California Commission on Jobs and Economic
Growth, has raised $1 million from corporate donors and staged events in
California and abroad featuring Schwarzenegger as a way to boost economic
development. The governor is an honorary member of the commission.
The group is run by a San Francisco lobbyist, Mark Mosher, whose corporate
clients include Motorola, Clear Channel billboard company and Verizon
Wireless. The commission's board of directors includes such business
executives as Gap Inc. Chairman Donald Fisher, Edison International
President and Chairman John Bryson and Fox Entertainment Group Chairman
and chief executive Peter Chernin.
The $1 million came from a variety of firms affected by state actions.
Wells Fargo Bank, which regularly lobbies the government on mortgage
issues, student lending and identity theft, gave $100,000. This year,
Wells Fargo is pushing for or actively opposing two dozen bills in the
Legislature, state records show.
Catholic Healthcare West, a group of 40 hospitals in California and the
Southwest, also gave $100,000 to the jobs commission. Last year,
Schwarzenegger issued an emergency order to relax nurse-patient ratios at
hospitals ? a move meant to reduce the financial burden on a hospital
industry facing a nursing shortage.
The move set off a political maelstrom for the governor, led by a nurses
union that favors more nurses in emergency rooms and certain other
hospital wards. The California Nurses Assn. sued to reverse the governor's
order and won. The court ruled that Schwarzenegger had overstepped his
authority as governor.
In another case, last September, Schwarzenegger's aides said the governor
would not accept contributions from Pacific Gas & Electric and other
utilities ? to avoid any appearance of conflict as he drafted a state
energy policy. But the jobs commission took a $100,000 donation from PG&E
a month later. The commission also received $100,000 from Southern
California Edison.
The jobs organization has staged splashy events with the governor as the
centerpiece. It arranged for the move of a 14-employee company from Nevada
to California in an 18-wheel truck dubbed "Arnold's Moving Co." It
commissioned a billboard campaign featuring Schwarzenegger promoting the
state and helped pay for events in Japan when the governor visited.
Previous governors also used nonprofits for political and personal
support. Gov. Gray Davis used them to collect at least $2 million from
corporate donors for his housing, travel and a lavish party for Democrats
during the 2000 national convention in Los Angeles.
Former Govs. George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson and Davis benefited from a
tax-exempt nonprofit that helped defray the cost of their Sacramento
housing. All three lived in a home purchased by supporters of Deukmejian;
the state paid the $1 annual rent. Davis' fund paid tens of thousands of
dollars for repairs, maintenance, cable television and parties.
Schwarzenegger's residence fund pays for an 1,800-square-foot Hyatt
Regency Hotel suite.
One of the directors of the Governor's Residence Foundation is Bob White,
who runs a Sacramento consulting firm that has substantial business before
the state through his firm, California Strategies. White, a former chief
of staff to Wilson, is one of the most powerful figures in Sacramento.
White's firm has represented the Hearst Corp. in its sale of coastal
property to the state and the California Hospital Assn. on seismic safety
and overturning state regulations requiring more nurses on duty.
Schwarzenegger's campaign committees paid his rent until Jan. 1, after
which the residence foundation picked up the tab. So far, the residence
foundation has raised $35,000 from three entities, said attorney George
Kieffer, another director. The donors are: Lewis Investment, one of the
country's largest private developers; the Western Growers Assn., which
represents big farms in California; and developer Tejon Ranch ? also a
White client.
Tejon Ranch lobbies in the Capitol on issues such as fish and game
regulations, cultural preservation and water quality rules. The Western
Growers Assn. is also lobbying on a host of regulations and potential new
laws, including environmental controls and the governor's effort to curb
childhood obesity.
Kieffer would not reveal the individual amounts donated. But he said the
governor has never solicited money for the funds and doesn't know the
names of the three donors paying his rent. He noted that other states have
official residences for their governors but California does not.
"The irony is," Kieffer said, "your desire to print this is the only way
the governor will learn who the contributors are."
Last year, the California Protocol Foundation, which is affiliated with
the California Chamber of Commerce and raised more than $1 million in
2004, picked up about $32,000 of the cost of Schwarzenegger's four-day
trade mission to Tokyo.
The trip created widespread media coverage for the governor as he judged a
cooking contest, toured a supermarket and appeared before an oversized
video showing images of his movies and California food products.
Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce and a
member of the foundation's board, said the group's aim is to help reduce
government costs. He would not release the names of the donors, and said
Schwarzenegger doesn't know who they are.
"There are a lot of people who want to be anonymous about this," Zaremberg
said. "It's a charity."
He added: "There may be people who want to support the governor's mission
of international trade," Zaremberg said. "But to expect something in
return would require the governor to be aware that they're a participant.
And he's not aware unless someone tells him, and he may or may not
remember."
A similar group created before the 2003 recall election spent about
$50,000 on three rallies featuring Schwarzenegger early in his
administration. The Small Business Action Committee organized rallies at
shopping malls in San Diego, Tracy and Bakersfield soon after the governor
took office, as he was putting pressure on the Legislature to pass a state
budget.
Joel Fox, a close Schwarzenegger ally who formed the committee, said the
governor never solicited contributions and never asked who gave. He would
not reveal the names of the donors, but said they are California
businesses, small and large.
"It's really not so much to be involved politically but to support the
idea of improving the economy and that organizing small business is a good
idea," Fox said.
Schwarzenegger rallies and political events have also been staged by the
California Recovery Team, a tax-exempt entity formed by the governor that
received several hundred thousand dollars from two other Schwarzenegger
funds that do disclose their donors. Tom Hiltachk, the governor's
attorney, said every donor to the California Recovery Team has been
reported to the public by the two original funds.
The Recovery Team helped pay expenses for an Ontario mall rally where the
governor made his now-famous "girlie man" remark and for a staged media
event in which the governor filled in a pothole in San Jose.
Schwarzenegger's use of nonprofit groups has brought complaints from
Democrats and raised questions about how involved the governor has been in
soliciting the donations. Under California law, if Schwarzenegger is
raising money for the nonprofits himself, it must be reported to the
public.
Hiltachk said the governor is not required to disclose the donations to
all the nonprofits because the people controlling the groups, not the
governor, are raising the money.
"If he is not raising the money, he doesn't have to report it," Hiltachk
said.
The California Political Reform Act requires charitable donations over
$5,000 made at the "behest" of elected officials to be publicly disclosed
within 30 days. Schwarzenegger has filed no such reports, according to the
state Fair Political Practices Commission.
Former Gov. Davis filed so-called behest reports at the Fair Political
Practices Commission, including one that listed multiple donors to his
inaugural committee. Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer,
state Treasurer Phil Angelides and schools chief Jack O'Connell all have
filed such reports.
Angelides, for example, reported soliciting $35,000 from two unions in
March to support the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a
prominent Schwarzenegger critic.
Ethics attorneys and other campaign finance experts said they believe
Schwarzenegger is violating the Fair Political Practices Commission rules.
Lance Olson, general counsel for the state Democratic Party and a
principal author of California's fund-raising law, said the rule is meant
to keep donors from funneling money to politicians through nonprofits to
avoid disclosure.
"He definitely has to disclose," Olson said. He added the law "was
intended to get at what otherwise might be a campaign contribution." The
California Democratic Party has filed a complaint with the commission over
the issue.
In some cases, Schwarzenegger's attorneys and financial advisors have
directed money to nonprofits on his behalf.
In November 2003, the governor formalized a deal with American Media to
edit Muscle & Fitness and Flex magazines. In addition to paying his salary
of at least $5 million over five years, the magazine publisher agreed to
pay a total of $1.25 million over five years to the Governor's Council on
Physical Fitness and Sports.
Schwarzenegger announced the donation to the fitness organization in a
press release last year, but has not reported to the commission the first
$250,000 payment to the council. Olson said that in signing an agreement
with American Media, the governor clearly solicited the contribution to
the charity and it should be reported.
"How can he say he didn't know or he didn't solicit it?" Olson said. "It's
right in the contract."
Schwarzenegger canceled the contract with American Media last month, when
The Times and the Sacramento Bee revealed the deal, though the governor
remains a columnist for Muscle & Fitness and Flex and the payments to the
council will continue.
Hiltachk said the donations to the council do not have to be reported
because they were part of Schwarzenegger's compensation package. In other
words, it was Schwarzenegger's money being donated to the council, not a
donation from American Media being solicited by Schwarzenegger.
The nonprofit, which Schwarzenegger launched at Disneyland in June and has
a website featuring the governor's official seal, has also received
$150,000 from Pfizer, a pharmaceuticals company. The council lists major
sponsors, including Pfizer, on its website but does not list the amounts
given.
Drug companies are negotiating with the Schwarzenegger administration over
offering discounted prices for prescription drugs through the MediCal
program.
They also would like Schwarzenegger to endorse a November ballot
initiative they are promoting that would create a drug discount program
for low- and medium-income Californians. The measure provides smaller
discounts than a competing measure promoted by consumer groups.
The Blue Cross of California Foundation ran a booth at the launch of the
physical fitness council. The foundation, a charitable giving arm of
WellPoint, is contributing $300,000 over two years. Last year, the
Schwarzenegger administration approved WellPoint's merger with another
health insurance company.
*
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
Schwarzenegger and nonprofits
A network of tax-exempt groups has aided Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger since
his election, staging rallies, paying for foreign trips and even picking
up his Sacramento rent. Use of these nonprofits allows contributors to
remain hidden from the public. Some ? but not all ? of the donors were
revealed to The Times. Major contributors include:
? Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
Supports health programs.
Amount raised: $2 million
American Media (National Enquirer, Muscle & Fitness) $1.25 million over
five years
Blue Cross of California Foundation (healthcare) $300,000 over two years
Pfizer (pharmaceuticals) $150,000
Applied Materials (technology firm) $100,000
? California Commission on Jobs and Economic Growth
Promotes California economy.
Amount raised: $1 million
Southern California Edison $100,000
TBWA\Chiat\Day (advertising) $100,000
Catholic Healthcare West $100,000
Pacific Gas & Electric $100,000
F. Warren Hellman (venture capitalist) $100,000
Wells Fargo $100,000
David Booth (money market funds) $75,000
Grimmway Farms (carrots) $50,000
KB Homes $50,000
Frank Baxter (investment banking) $50,000
? Small Business Action Committee
Promotes business growth.
Amount raised: $50,000 for mall rallies
Donors not disclosed.
? Governor's Residence Foundation
Pays Schwarzenegger's Sacramento rent.
Amount raised: $35,000
Lewis Investments (real estate)
Tejon Ranch (developer)
Western Growers Assn. (agribusiness)
Amounts not disclosed.
? California Protocol Foundation
Reduces government costs
Amount raised: $1 million ($32,000 for Japan trip)
Donors not disclosed.
*
Source: Times reporting
Copyright © 2005, The Los Angeles Times
--
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