Candid Talk on the Party Line
Major donors are given an unfiltered channel to Schwarzenegger's office for strategy sessions.
SACRAMENTO â€" When wealthy contributors write
checks to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, they often get a few
canapes and a drink â€" and a secret telephone
number that grants them access to his closest advisors and
even the governor himself.
Twice a month, donors can become insiders' insiders
â€" invited to participate in conference calls
featuring information about Schwarzenegger campaign
strategy that his political enemies would love to have. In
turn, donors who dial in can give the governor advice.
In the latest such call, a few days ago, Schwarzenegger's
media expert, Don Sipple, outlined a strategy "based on a
lot of polling" to create a "phenomenon of anger" among
voters toward public employee unions. Firefighters, police
officers, teachers and other state-paid workers have become
the governor's harshest critics this year.
"The process is like peeling an onion," Sipple said,
describing a multi-step plan for persuading voters that
public-worker unions are "motivated by economic
self-interest" instead of "doing the best job for the
state."
The Thursday discussion, involving multiple contributors
and three top Schwarzenegger strategists, offered a rare
glimpse of the governor's "donor maintenance" effort:
insider information, solicitous compliments, invitations to
exclusive parties. It was also a window on the governor's
attack strategy ahead of an expected Nov. 8 special
election.
The governor has dubbed 2005 the "year for reform," and he
needs millions of dollars for support, mainly for TV ads.
The Times was given access to Thursday's half-hour call
through a participant.
"It's a good way to keep in touch with you, our most
important supporters, about the latest developments in the
campaign," Schwarzenegger's chief fundraiser, Marty Wilson,
told the contributors.
The governor participated in a call with donors two weeks
ago and is expected to do so again June 16. Presumably,
that will be after he signs an executive order scheduling
the special election, so he can take to voters some of his
proposals for changing state government.
Contributors to Schwarzenegger's causes are first invited
to join the discussions in e-mails, which tell them how to
get â€" for each call â€" a phone
number and a password. The campaign staff decides which
significant donors will be included each time. The
discussions feature a "special guest," such as Sipple,
talking about the governor's plans, as well as information
about fundraisers and a question-and-answer session.
In the latest call, the advisors said Schwarzenegger had
spent $8 million so far on television ads defending and
promoting his agenda. He launched another TV ad campaign
the same day that will cost $2.5 million for a few weeks of
air time, and he wants to collect $31 million to $32
million to run his initiative campaign through the fall,
the advisors said.
A special election ballot is expected to include a proposed
government spending cap and a plan to lengthen the time it
takes teachers to get tenure â€" measures
embraced by Schwarzenegger and opposed by public employee
unions. The unions and their Democratic allies have spent
millions on TV ads criticizing the governor and his
proposals â€" with some success, the advisors
acknowledged.
"There is no question to anybody who is rational that we
have been in the barrel for the past several months,"
Sipple said during the phone call. "The good news is we
have polling that shows us coming out of the trench."
Surveys by independent groups have shown Schwarzenegger's
public approval dropping as much as 20 percentage points
since January, to about 40% in recent weeks. Sipple was
referring to a poll commissioned by the governor's campaign
showing about 50% approval.
Renee Croce is finance director for Schwarzenegger's
California Recovery Team, the governor's main political
committee. She told donors during the call to expect a
dinner June 22 at the home of Cisco Systems Chief Executive
John Chambers, a fundraiser June 24 in Los Angeles and a
series of statewide fundraising events corresponding with
Schwarzenegger's birthday July 30.
"The governor is very hopeful we can come together and have
a big splash before July 30 to pay for all this media,"
Croce said.
Sipple's comments about unions came after a representative
of Wells Fargo suggested that the governor sharpen his
message to focus on public employees rather than
privateindustry labor groups. The banking giant donated
$100,000 last year to Schwarzenegger's efforts to overhaul
workers' compensation through an initiative that never made
the ballot.
Sipple said one piece of information makes voters
particularly angry about unions: the "stinky episode" in
2002 when former Gov. Gray Davis and the Legislature
granted state prison guards a 34% raise.
"People remember that," he said, suggesting that the
campaign would try to rekindle the voter disgust that swept
Davis out of office and Schwarzenegger in. "You almost have
to use these episodes that tap the recall to make your
case."
He also said: "When you get to the point of
… 'These people are on your payroll
and they are out to roll you every day,' that creates a
kind of phenomenon of anger. But it takes a long time to
get there…. As the campaign goes on,
we have to articulate that."
A political consultant who is organizing opposition to
Schwarzenegger's agenda said Sipple's use of the word
"create" was apt. Gale Kaufman works for the Alliance for a
Better California, a coalition that includes several
unions. She said the public sees firefighters, teachers and
others as public servants, not leeches.
"Sounds to me like when [Schwarzenegger's advisors] noticed
there wasn't a problem, they had to create one," Kaufman
said.
Two donors participating in the call said they wanted to do
more "than just write checks," and offered to send letters
to the editor or opinion pieces to newspapers in support of
the governor.
Wilson called that "a tremendous idea" and promised to
provide "message points" for the donors to use in their
efforts.
Sipple said one problem was that voters weren't getting
correct information about the governor's proposed budget
â€" which includes $3 billion more for
schools.
An executive with the Associated Builders and Contractors
Inc. of San Diego asked during Thursday's call if the
governor was "going to come out strongly supportive" of a
ballot initiative that would force public employee unions
to get permission to use a member's dues for political
activities, such as the current TV ads attacking the
governor.
The building official, whose industry has donated more than
$14 million to Schwarzenegger, said there was a "compelling
argument" for the governor to support the measure. "If you
are looking for the seminal battle between status quo and
change that benefits the state over the long term, this is
a tremendous arrow in the quiver."
Sipple told him that Schwarzenegger might withhold an
endorsement of the initiative in exchange for concessions
from the Legislature on other matters. He said it was a
"distinct possibility" that the governor would endorse the
measure, however. "We certainly would encourage it," Sipple
said.
Campaign finance experts said there is nothing illegal
about conference calls with donors, if the contributors do
not "cross the line" and push for favors.
Kathay Feng, executive director of California Common Cause,
said that Schwarzenegger's donors are allowed to discuss
policy with him and interact with him but that non-donors
should not be shut out. Both should have access to the
administration to express their views, she said.
The governor's public calendars show many visitors to his
office who are not campaign donors. And he has repeatedly
said he does not trade campaign money for favors.
Wilson, in an interview, said the conference calls allowed
the campaign to interact with contributors without "going
through the filter of any kind of third-party intermediary,
whether that be the news media or somebody on their staff.
They can get their information directly from a senior
official" on the campaign.
Some of the donors offered unsolicited help to the
strategists. One donor pressed Sipple and Wilson to reach
out to Latinos because Schwarzenegger "is a good-looking
guy, and people in the Hispanic community would love to see
more of him on television."
An executive with the American Electronics Assn., which has
donated $25,000 to the California Republican Party, said:
"We can get our public relations entity involved and send
out our own press releases endorsing the governor's
activities, etc."
"We could use your help," Wilson replied.
*
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
Talking to donors
Excerpt from a conference call last week involving Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's top political aides and major
campaign contributors:
'We … don't feel great about where we
have been. But we kind of see ourselves on an upward
trajectory as we go toward a November special
[election].'
Don Sipple
Schwarzenegger media advisor, on the governor's public
approval ratings ahead of the expected election
'I think we will do a very good job with boosting the
governor's popularity so he will be a very good salesman at
the end of the day.'
Marty Wilson
Schwarzenegger's chief fundraiser, on prospects that the
governor's proposals would pass in a special election
'The opposition is obviously spending millions of dollars
to demonize the governor, but they are not coming anywhere
close to demonizing the truth.'
A donor from Fresno
'That is the one the governor bristles at the
most…. That will be the thorniest one.
We need to correct the misperception about cutting
education.'
Sipple
On complaints that the governor broke his promise to
provide
$2 billion more to schools
'I'm sure you are aware the [Assembly] speaker and
Democrats proposed a $3-billion tax increase. I think it
will affect anybody who is on this call.'
Sipple
Referring to a plan to raise taxes on individuals making
more than $143,000 a year
Los Angeles Times
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