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“People who have more money should be free to buy more cars, more homes, more vacations, and more gizmos than the rest of us. They should not be able to buy more democracy." -Bill Moyers |
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For Immediate Release: July 5, 2005 The “Torch” Passes $20k to Angelides – the “Anti-Arnold” Rakes in Cash From Schwarzenegger Contributors
Over the last two years, California gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides has accepted $21,175 from the Senate campaign committee of Robert Torricelli – the same committee at the center of a criminal investigation which sent a Torricelli campaign contributor to jail and a Senate Ethics investigation which ultimately forced Torricelli out of the 2002 U.S. Senate race only 36 days before the election. Angelides’ acceptance of such a large contribution from a source of such dubious ethics calls into question his campaign’s approach to fundraising, according to campaign finance watchdog TheRestofUs.org.
“In accepting more than $20,000 from one of the most investigated Senators in recent memory, Phil Angelides has shown an extremely blasé attitude towards principled fundraising,” said Ned Wigglesworth, analyst for TheRestofUs.org. “Candidates are judged by the company they keep – if Angelides really wants to stand up for Californians, he should return Robert Torricelli’s money and start raising money from regular Californians.”
While Angelides has blasted Governor Schwarzenegger for raising money from corporate special interests from around the country, a recent examination of 2005 campaign finance filings reveals that over a third of the nearly $2 million Angelides 2006 has raised in 2005 has come from out of state. And Angelides has accepted money from some of the same corporate interests as Schwarzenegger - $10,000 from Ameriquest Capital and $10,000 from Jerry Perenchio. While such hypocrisy is hardly new in California politics, it does indicate that regular Californians won’t be able to count on Angelides to fight for their rightful say in the political process, said the watchdog group. [Note: Angelides 2006 campaign staffer Brian Brokaw responded via e-mail that 1) the next round of filings will drop the percentage of 2005 out-of-state contributions to Angelides to 16% and 2) that 5,000 people have contributed $100 or less to Angelides 2006.]
“Angelides has been trying to position himself as the anti-Arnold, yet he is raising money hand over fist from the same corporate and wealthy interests as Governor Schwarzenegger,” said Derek Cressman, Director for TheRestofUs.org. “It’s no wonder Californians don’t believe in the integrity of the political process when candidates on both sides are bankrolled predominantly by wealthy special interests. Where is the candidate who will take on the influence of big money in California government?”
Angelides has not yet stated a position on campaign finance reform, according to his website.
#-#-# TheRestofUs.org is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to make democracy work for ordinary citizens. TheRestofUs.org is involved in campaign finance ballot measures in Oregon and Ohio and independent redistricting policy in California, Florida, and Ohio. We recently filed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review and uphold Vermont's mandatory spending limits. We also support federal efforts to eliminate the 527 loophole for soft money electioneering.
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