Holiday Rush Takes on New Meaning for Legislators

In the bars and restaurants around the Capitol, politicians and lobbyists have set out on a high-priced club crawl like no other.

It may be the last under the current system of campaign fund-raising, one in which political giving is a constant, and no contribution is too big.

The reason for the December money-raising rush is clear: At midnight Dec. 31, voter-approved Proposition 208 will ring in a new era, one with far stricter rules on political donations.

Trying to beat Father Time, at least 46 of the 80 Assembly members and 16 of the 40 state senators have invited lobbyists and corporate donors to December events.

Many lobbyists have responded by writing checks for $500 or $1,000, then making their way from one restaurant or bar to the next, from shortly past dawn till after dark, grabbing some finger food and a quick drink, in the hope of schmoozing with state lawmakers.

The money will pay off politicians’ debts from this year’s just-concluded campaign, and fortify their 1998 campaign funds. As they cram a year’s worth of fund-raising into a single month, estimates are that legislators will raise $1.5 million by Dec. 31, easily.

The frenzy is bipartisan, and there’s no seniority system. Elected just a month ago, freshmen, in some of their first acts in office, are charging $500 per donor. So are old-timers, whether or not they’re being forced into retirement because of term limits.

Legislators in line to chair powerful committees are commanding $1,000 a head. Assembly Speaker Cruz Bustamante (D-Fresno) is using his new position to raise far more than most, making appearances at fund-raisers from Beverly Hills to Sacramento.

“For $500, you get a caper, a slab of lox, a mini-bagel and a handshake with the new speaker,” said one lobbyist who represents various business groups and is disgusted with the slew of fund-raisers. “If you’re a smart lobbyist, you’ll sew your pockets shut.”

The lobbyist attended his first event of the month on Dec. 2, the evening after the new Legislature was sworn in and Bustamante and other legislative leaders were elected. To mark the occasion, Bustamante, Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) and other Democrats appeared at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. Corporate donors sponsored the event.

The fund-raising hasn’t stopped since. Each day, as many as five legislators, plus statewide officials and candidates, are holding events.

There was a break for Hanukkah, and there will be one on Christmas. But the events will go on till New Year’s Eve, when Assemblyman Brett Granlund (R-Yucaipa) hopes to hold one or possibly two events.

“We’re disappointed, but clearly not surprised [by the December fund-raising],” said Tony Miller, former acting secretary of state and a sponsor of Proposition 208. “As of Jan. 1, the window of opportunity slams shut. It all goes dark.”

Under the soon-to-end system, donors can give as much as they want and politicians ask for money year-round. Come New Year’s Day, Proposition 208 will cap donations at $500 for legislative candidates and $1,000 for statewide candidates. It also will preclude candidates from raising money until a year before their primaries.

Just as the December fund-raising is bipartisan, the desire to hold on to the old system cuts across party lines. Although they all say they disdain the old system, politicians of both parties hope courts will block Proposition 208.

“There definitely will be a lawsuit,” said attorney Joseph Remcho, who represents the state Democratic Party. Added attorney James Parrinello, who will handle the GOP’s lawsuit: “It is possible that [208] is . . . unconstitutional.”

Unless the lawsuits succeed, however, the frenzy going on now will be the last one of unlimited political giving.

Lobbyists tell of having received 40 or more invitations to December events and of attending six in a single day.

Most of the printed invitations are straightforward. Some announce plans to seek higher office in 1998. Others play off the holidays.

Assemblyman Bill Morrow’s invitation notes that he’s “making a list and checking it twice.” To get on the Oceanside Republican’s “nice” list evidently costs $500.

State Sen. Jack O’Connell (D-Santa Barbara) is apologetic, almost: “It is really difficult to write asking for contributions when we have all been through a long, hard campaign season. However, our new political landscape makes it imperative.” He would like $500 and would “appreciate it if you could purchase as many tickets as you can afford.”

One invitation is just plain weird.

“The love of money is the root of all evil,” termed-out state Sen. Leroy Greene (D-Carmichael) writes. “Protecting you and your clients from evil is my sole purpose and objective. In order to accomplish that purpose, I am having a fund-raiser.”

A typical day of club crawling, Sacramento-style--last Wednesday, for example--began with scrambled eggs, slices of fruit, small sweet rolls and coffee at Virga’s, a stylish restaurant a few blocks from the Capitol. Freshman Assemblyman Rod Pacheco (R-Riverside) was the host, hoping to pay off his $37,000 debt.

“I don’t feel comfortable with fund-raising,” said Pacheco, a former prosecutor of major crimes in the Riverside County district attorney’s office. “It’s like me asking for $10 to eat lunch. But it’s something I have to do.”

Twenty lobbyists showed up, having paid $500 to chat with the freshman. Their interests varied: finance, gambling, utilities. “He’s an impressive guy,” a lobbyist said of Pacheco. But the lobbyist, a Sacramento veteran, also said Pacheco is “out of his league--they all are”--about issues facing state government.

For lunch, there was a choice: some kind of fish with state Sen. Steve Peace (D-El Cajon) for $1,000 at a hotel near the Capitol, or pizza and pot stickers at Virga’s for $500 with freshman Assemblyman Robert Prenter Jr. (R-Hanford).

Peace drew about 40 people. Prenter attracted about 35.

“They just want to get to know you, find out if you’re reasonable,” Prenter said of his paying guests.

Prenter was a medical equipment salesman before unseating maverick Assemblyman and former Speaker Brian Setencich in a race for a San Joaquin Valley seat. Prenter won, thanks largely to more than $200,000 from his uncle, Edward Atsinger III, who owns a chain of Christian radio stations and who--along with his friends--has given millions to conservative Republican candidates.

Besides the usual group of lobbyists, Prenter, who represents a farming district, attracted agricultural lobbyists. One asked Prenter whether he will be on the Agriculture Committee. He hopes so, replied Prenter, but he won’t know until Bustamante announces assignments.

Republicans assume Bustamante is not making final committee appointments until January, to limit the GOP’s ability to raise money from various special interest groups.

As with lunch, there was a choice for dinner. Across from the Capitol, Assemblyman Jim Morrissey (R-Anaheim) held a $500-a-pop fund-raiser at Brannan’s, a bar favored by lawmakers and lobbyists. Only a few lingered past 6:45.

Back at Virga’s, the fare was pizza again, along with shrimp and drinks. The attraction was freshman Assemblyman Kevin Shelley (D-San Francisco).

A former supervisor and son of a former San Francisco mayor and congressman, Shelley is part of Bustamante’s leadership group. Perhaps 40 lobbyists from various business groups, as well as from labor, were in attendance.

The big show, however, was at the Biltmore in Los Angeles, where the Legislature’s powerful Latino Caucus put on a fund-raiser.

The invitation from state Sen. Richard G. Polanco (D-Los Angeles) touted it as “a historic event celebrating the nomination and election of the first Latino speaker of the California Assembly, the honorable Cruz M. Bustamante.” Cost: $150 for one person, $1,000 for the category called “friend,” and $2,500 for a “sponsor.”

It started all over the next day, in Sacramento and elsewhere. In Beverly Hills, Ron Burkle, owner of Ralph’s and Food-4-Less grocery stores, hosted a major event for Bustamante and Assembly Democrats. A Burkle aide said the event would raise $200,000 or more.

On Monday, Sacramento developer Angelo Tsakopoulos, a major donor to Democrats from President Clinton on down, was to hold a similar event for Bustamante and the Democrats at his estate here.

Tsakopoulos’ goal was to raise “as much as possible,” certainly a six-figure sum, he said.

There are dissenters to the December money rush.

State Sen. Quentin L. Kopp, a San Francisco independent, called it “tantamount to profaning the holiday season.”

“It’s unseemly to raise money to circumvent a law that takes effect on Dec. 31, and it’s unseemly to do it during the holiday season,” Kopp said. “It debases the image of legislator as money-grubber.”

Some major donors also take a dim view. Arco, a perennial six-figure donor, is taking a pass on almost all the events.

Lynn Hogan, manager of governmental relations for Arco, said Arco gave heavily during the campaign. In order to give more, Hogan would have to tap into next year’s budget for political expenditures.

That would be fine with some of the politicians.

“A lot of them have suggested we spend next year’s budget this year,” Hogan said. “At this point, we’re not going to. We really feel the voters have spoken, and even though it wasn’t how we would have designed a new system, we have to respect their wishes.”