Governor's Fundraising in High Gear
Amid push for initiatives, he's collected $2 million in 2 weeks.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's aides say he is taking a summer hiatus from partisan rhetoric, but he's still raking in the campaign cash.
Schwarzenegger, who's pushing a series of ballot measures this fall, appeared at two fundraising events Thursday in between government appearances to tout alternative fuel and local finance.
And despite a new finance statement due Monday that will show Schwarzenegger's main campaign committee about $1 million in debt as of June 30, his chief fundraiser says the money is flowing even beyond projections - nearly $2 million the past two weeks.
Schwarzenegger has been hitting the fundraisers especially hard this week, according to aides, because the Republican governor turns 58 on Saturday, allowing a series of birthday-themed events.
"We've had a lot of events this week," said Marty Wilson, the governor's principal fundraiser. "In a 12-hour period, we raised over a million dollars with events in Orange County and San Diego County."
One of those events, hosted by best-selling author Dean Koontz, attracted 100 people at $25,000 per couple.
"The support level remains strong, and I sense, really, a kind of growing enthusiasm," Wilson said.
Next month, Schwarzenegger plans an East Coast fundraising swing that will take him to New York, Washington and New Jersey, Wilson said.
The trip is certain to generate criticism from political foes who say Schwarzenegger is spending too much time raising money and not enough time governing. Protesters showed up at both his fundraisers Thursday in Redding and Yuba City.
"He's up to his same old tactics," said Robin Swanson of the Alliance for a Better California. The group, a coalition of labor and Democrats who've been attacking Schwarzenegger's special election ballot initiatives, has helped organize some of the protests.
"Instead of reaching out to voters on issues that people care about, he's raising special-interest money faster than any governor in history. He hasn't changed his tactics and is fundraising at a record pace. We think he should be focusing on real issues and not charging $10,000 a plate for people to support an agenda that is out of sync with the voters of California."
Schwarzenegger's aides have said the governor plans to focus more on governing and tone down partisan attacks over the next several weeks.
But Schwarzenegger criticized the Democrat-controlled Legislature when he appeared in Redding on Thursday to draw attention to his budgetary support for local governments.
"Every time the big spenders in Sacramento get into trouble, what do they do?" Schwarzenegger was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. "They raise taxes and steal money from local government."
Wilson said the legally required disclosure reports Schwarzenegger's California Recovery Team - which fuels his initiative efforts - will file Monday show a debt of about $1 million. The committee spent about $9 million qualifying Schwarzenegger's initiatives for the Nov. 8 special election ballot, said Tom Hiltachk, the committee's lawyer.
Although Schwarzenegger has backed away from earlier ballot proposals on public employee pension and merit pay for teachers, his supporters spent millions qualifying initiatives for the ballot on redistricting, teacher tenure and state spending.
The redistricting measure's fate is still uncertain following a legal challenge by state Attorney General Bill Lockyer that got it tossed from the ballot. An appeal is pending.
In the past few weeks, Schwarzenegger has received a number of big contributions. B. Wayne Hughes, chairman of Public Storage Inc., based in Glendale, contributed $1 million.
T. Gary Rogers, chairman and chief executive officer of Dreyers Ice Cream, and Terry Semel, a Yahoo Inc. executive, each gave $100,000. The Yahoo contribution came about the same time Schwarzenegger agreed to speak at a private meeting of Yahoo employees as part of the company's regular speakers program at Yahoo headquarters in Sunnyvale.
Schwarzenegger is also collecting cash for his 2006 re-election committee, even though he has not yet announced whether he will run again. But that account will show only a "modest" cash reserve because most of the money being raised is going for the special election initiatives, Wilson said. Late contribution reports say Schwarzenegger has raised about $1.8 million in the re-election account since February.
Democratic state Treasurer Phil Angelides, who has already announced his intention to run for governor next year, reported earlier this week that he has $16.8 million in his campaign account. The followed Democratic state Controller Steve Westly, who's also running, announcing that he was putting $10 million of his own money into his campaign.