Arnold's Big Money Ballot Scheme

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced his intentions to raise $50 million to push his agenda through a series of ballot questions this fall. His prolific fundraising has already drawn comparisons to his predecessor Gray Davis, whose downfall was at least partially related to his insatiable appetite for campaign cash. But a better comparison may be to Bill Clinton, whose fundraising prowess and willingness to blur legal and ethical lines seems to have set the standard that Schwarzenegger is following.

California law plainly states that a candidate controls a political committee when he acts jointly or has a significant influence on that committee's actions. The Fair Political Practices Commission has unfortunately watered down the interpretation of the law to mean that candidates may coordinate their fundraising with independent ballot committees so long as they do not instruct or influence the committee's decisions. If a candidate does control or influence a ballot committee, then that committee cannot accept contributions larger than what the candidate can legally raise -- $22,300 in the case of candidates for governor.

My organization, TheRestofUs.org, believes that Arnold has crossed the line and is now in violation of the law. The Governor is touring the country with his hand outstretched, asking fat cats to fork over six-figure checks to the so-called Citizens to Save California ballot committee (CSC). It is clear from the statements of this committee's board members that they are heavily influenced by the Governor and therefore are a committee that he legally controls.

Joel Fox, the head of the Chamber of Commerce and chair of this ballot committee, told the press that his committee will "get a feel for where the Governor is going to go. He's the big king of the chessboard. Wherever he moves, a lot of things move with him." Another member of the committee's board has said that they will take guidance about what the Governor wants through his speeches and signals that he sends the legislature.

Arnold's argument that this committee is not under his control is a lot like Bill Clinton's strained dispute about what the meaning of "is" is. It is clear to the rest of us that Arnold is blatantly trying to get around a law that inconveniently restricts his fundraising. It makes no practical difference if the Governor is calling the shots directly or simply instructing the committee by remote control. They are doing his bidding, plain and simple.

On February 7, I asked the FPPC to investigate the Governor's control of CSC. At first, CSC proclaimed innocence and said that they were operating independently of Arnold. But two days later, the committee filed a lawsuit that admitted that they wanted to coordinate their activities with Schwarzenegger and claimed that the California law that prevents them from doing so is unconstitutional. If they truly believe that they are operating within the letter and spirit of the law, it's curious to say the least that they suddenly see the need to get rid of that law.

California politics is awash with big money from private economic interests that seek to curry favor with our elected officials and buy the results they want at the ballot box. The Governor is selling seats at his dinner table for $100,000 in contributions to his ballot committee much the way Bill Clinton offered coffee at the White House in exchange for $100,000 soft money contributions to his party. Congress eventually moved to ban these soft money contributions and that ban was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Federal Elections Commission has ruled that federal candidates may not solicit contributions to ballot committees in amounts larger than they can raise for their own campaigns.

California should catch up to the federal law. The FPPC has taken some timid steps to reign in the largest contributions by closing the loophole that allowed candidates to raise unlimited sums for ballot committees they controlled. It is now crucial that the FPPC stand up to Arnold by going to court to make sure he obeys that law.