Capitol Action Weekly 3.39


April 3, 2000	CAPITOL ACTION WEEKLY	Volume 3, Number 39

A free weekly newsletter brought to you by Capitol Enquiry, Inc.

Edited by Gabe Anderson

Capitol Reports by Capitol Action Staff

Table of Contents
* Welcome
* Capitol Action
* Clips of the Week
* Letters
* News & Promotions
* The Fine Print

Welcome

Good morning, and welcome to this week's Capitol Action. I had a really great birthday weekend, which got off to an early start Friday afternoon. Jen treated me to a peaceful getaway in wine country Friday and Saturday. We visited Calistoga's Sterling Vineyards, which included a ride on their gondola to the hill-top winery 300 feet above the base. The view of the Napa Valley was beautiful, and the weather couldn't have been better. Upon returning to San Francisco, we went to a friend's "Super Friends" costume party Saturday night and danced till dawn. The weekend came to a great close Sunday evening when my dad and grandma came over for dinner.
As a side note, I saw "Boys Don't Cry" last night. It was a truly amazing movie with lasting effect. Do see it if you get the chance, but leave the kids at home (it's rated "R" for good reason).
-Gabe
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Capitol Action for 4.3.00

SACRAMENT0, Calif. When it comes to fund-raising and wise campaign spending, there are few politicians out there better than California Gov. Gray Davis, a wily Democrat who in his campaigns for the Legislature, the controller's office, the lieutenant governor's office and, finally, the governorship, has shown that he knows how to build a campaign war chest.
He stumbled only once, when he was rapped for using state resources to raise political money during his tenure at the controller's office. But barring that one snag, Davis has amply demonstrated his ability to obtain money. He also has shown that he knows how to spend it, once he gets it. When he ran for governor in 1998, and had been written off by many observers, he hung on to his funds until the final weeks, then matched rivals Al Checchi and Jane Harman, both of whom were independently wealthy, until the final weeks in a deluge of television advertising. That tactic won him the primary election, and added to his already substantial reputation as a politician who knows how to handle money.
But extensive fund-raising also has its drawbacks. It takes enormous amounts of time. It leaves the public with the perception that the politician cares about little except getting money. It raises suspicions about what the politician is doing in return for the funds. It gives high visibility to the under belly of campaigning in a state where there are virtually no limits on contributions.
Davis, the consummate fund-raiser, may have reached the point where serious, potentially damaging questions are being raised about his fund-raising prowess.
According to documents on file with the secretary of state's office, Davis has raised a whopping $13.2 million since his election, and he is less than halfway through his term. That's nearly as much as presidential hopeful John McCain, eyeing a national campaign, had raised as he entered the New Hampshire primary.
And Davis is continuing to mount an aggressive fund-raising effort, far more aggressive than any of his predecessors. His telephone banks are working full-tilt, he is collecting money as if he were in the midst of a heated campaign. Members of the public might reasonably wonder who's minding the store while all this fund-raising is going on.
The sad reality of big-league California politics is that money is requisite for a successful campaign. Former Assembly Speaker Jesse M. Unruh, in perhaps the single most often quoted statement of a California politician, said that "money is the mother's milk of politics." That statement was true three decades ago, and it is true now.
Clearly, Davis, who has emphatically ruled out any immediate aspirations for higher office, is collecting money for his 2002 re-election campaign. This is not unusual for any politician. But what makes Davis' efforts noteworthy is their size and scope. He has already raised enough for a credible re-election campaign, and he may have double that amount when he begins campaigning in earnest at the end of 2001 and the first months of 2002.
The words "Davis" and "fund-raising" are beginning to be synonymous.

Clips of the Week

--Dan Smith in the Sacramento Bee, who reported that Gov. Gray Davis, "working to build on the record $13.2 million haul of campaign cash he raised last year," has launched "an aggressive telephone solicitation effort that warns of looming "strong right-wing opposition. Campaign experts say such fund-raising efforts are highly unusual nearly three years before a candidate's next election -- unless they're thinking about running for national office. The Democratic governor's political adviser, Garry South, said Davis is only trying to broaden his campaign fund-raising base beyond the six-figure donors he has secured in organized labor, big business and the insurance industry." April 1. http://www.capitolalert.com/news/capalert01_20000401.html
--Dorothy Korber in the Sacramento Bee, who reported on the problems of the U.S. Census. "Today is national Census Day -- the traditional April 1 snapshot of America -- and the confusion has reached flood stage. For those struggling with this once-a-decade survey, the United States Census can raise more questions than it answers: Why do they need my name? Who cares how many bedrooms I have? What difference does it make if I ride a ferryboat?" April 1. http://www.sacbee.com/news/news/local01_20000401.html
--Lisa Shafer in the Contra Costa Times, who reported that "Those who dangle carrots and brandish sticks in California's new academic ranking program themselves need to be on the hot seat, a national expert in school accountability systems suggested Friday. In state after state, lawmakers are placing high demands on students and educators without providing schools with the resources necessary to satisfy the academic ultimatums, said University of Pennsylvania professor Margaret Goertz. To be effective, she said, a school reform program must demand the same kind of accountability." April 1. http://www.hotcoco.com/news/stories_news/rankings_20000401.htm
--Daniel Forbes in Salon Magazine, who reported that "At least six major U.S. magazines have submitted anti-drug articles they have published over the past year to the government's Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in an attempt to qualify for thousands of dollars of financial credits under the same federal advertising program that has benefited the television networks, Salon has learned. Those magazines whose articles have been deemed by the drug czar's office as 'on-message' have qualified for the credits, which are awarded in lieu of advertising obligations." March 31. http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/03/31/magazines/index.html?CP= SAL&DN=110
--Dan Morain in the Los Angeles Times, who reported that "Breaking with his party, Democratic Gov. Gray Davis urged Thursday that the U.S. Supreme Court uphold California's blanket primary, saying it increases voter turnout and fosters moderate politics. State Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer will take the lead on behalf of the state, urging that the high court uphold the system. Davis' friend-of-the-court brief filed Thursday adds weight to the case, given that he is the state's highest-ranking elected official." March 31. http://www.latimes.com/news/state/20000331/t000030202.html

Letters

To the Editor,
"American Beauty" had my vote as well for Best Picture.
Regarding the insurance commissioner accepting campaign funds from insurance companies: Perhaps someone should also begin looking at the attorney general's office. There are campaign contributions (posted on the Web) to the attorney general's office from insurance companies. My concern is that within the department of consumer affairs, there are medical boards. When a doctor has a complaint filed against them, it is up to the AG's office to file a statement of action against the doctor. So many of these doctors get off even though they harm their patients terribly. I am simply wondering why the AG's office would accept money from potential adversaries. Afterall, the insurance companies provide an expensive defense for the doctors. The costs of the defense are paid via malpractice insurance which is then paid for by the consumers. It seems like a conflict of interest to me. What are your thoughts?
- Teresa Baudet
To the Editor,
Your article about the CA Citizens Compensation Commission, and the article in the San Jose Mercury, have finally given me hope that the citizens of California will start paying closer attention to whom they have elected and what they do after the election.
Perhaps if you did a comparison study that showed exactly how much the top state salaries have increased since 1990 against all the programs that were cut, and by how much (some were cut between 25-33 percent in the 1992-93 FY) to get the monies needed to pay for these additional costs, the public might think twice before giving them the power to make these changes.
In fact, Gov. Wilson cut the schools appropriations by whatever monies they receive from the 2 percent of the Lotto, instead of giving them additional monies as originally thought (prior to the approval of a state lottery campaign). The schools are falling apart!
Also, the programs that were cut had to lay off people or, in some cases, when a senior staff person was planning on retiring in a couple of years, the rank and file people had to take up the slack, because management never filled those vacancies. In some offices, they promoted up the ladder to fill some vacancies, but when it got to the rank and file slot, they left it vacant, or brought in temporary or student assistants to help out on a long-term basis. Some of us that have had to take on extra duties are at the top of our pay classification and management won't upgrade our positions, so we have to rely on the Cost of Living Allowances (COLAs) to help cover some of the costs of inflation.
Because the cost of living continues to go up, but my wages don't, I'll probably end up losing my house in the near future. I can't even afford to replace my car, which is almost 10 years old. I used to replace my vehicle every 5-6 years, but not now. My house is falling apart and I can't sell it for what I owe, I can't hire any craftsmen to fix it, and I can't afford to buy the materials to do the work myself, even if I weren't partially disabled!
I know a lot of state employees in the same situation that I am. Recession is on its way back, in force!
- [Identity withheld by request]
To the Editor,
Can we get some coverage about a new bill (AB 2748-Bates) to fund beach sand nourishment? It goes to Assembly Natural resources this Monday. Also, we just had a legislative breakfast in the Capitol to highlight the bill. Speakers included Assy. Denise Ducheny (Event Chair), Sens. Dede Alpert and Wes Chesbro; Assy. Pat Bates, Susan Davis, Resources Secty. Mary Nichols and Lt. Col. Peter Grass, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Many more legislators and agency heads were in attendance or appeared through staff (we have a complete list).
- Steve Aceti