CA: Advisers build on ties to governor

Mercury News ^ | 3/9/05 | Dion Nissenbaum

[NormsRevenge]

SACRAMENTO - Two top campaign consultants who helped Arnold Schwarzenegger become governor by casting him as a political reformer are taking new steps to profit from their ties to the administration.

One year after the Republican governor sought to create a firewall between his administration and his political team, Schwarzenegger advisers George Gorton and Bob White have launched new Sacramento lobbying operations designed to influence state policy.

The moves have critics calling on Schwarzenegger, who vowed to set a high ethical standard in Sacramento, to distance himself from anyone who offers him private political advice and then tries to sway the administration on behalf of corporate clients.

``If this governor is going to stand for anything that is remotely in accord with his campaign promises, he needs to set a positive example and say that this kind of back-room dealing will not be tolerated,'' said Kathay Feng, incoming executive director of California Common Cause, a political reform group.

--snip--

But critics like Feng worry that special interests will hire the firms because of their close ties to the governor with the expectation that the lobbyists can offer them insider access to sway Schwarzenegger on everything from clear-cutting to homeowners' insurance.

Schwarzenegger is sensitive to such criticism and faced similar complaints last year after the Mercury News reported that Mike Murphy, one of the governor's most trusted political consultants, opened a Sacramento lobbying branch of his Washington, D.C.-based firm.

Schwarzenegger aides helped craft a bill that would have created a buffer between the governor's political consultants and his administration, a move that helped prod Murphy to voluntarily shelve his California lobbying plans.

Had the measure become law, it also would have blocked White's and Gorton's firms from currently lobbying the administration because of their financial ties to the governor.

[calcowgirl]

Quite the tight knit little group, aren't they?

White, who has been paid more than $100,000 for working with Schwarzenegger, is still owed $150,000 for advising the governor during the recall election. Gorton is still one of the governor's top political consultants and was paid $5,000 a month until December for his advice.

The two firms have already lined up major corporate clients including Zenith Insurance, Pacific Lumber and Ameriquest, whose owners are finance chairs for one of the governor's political campaign committees.

(snip)

White, who served as chief of staff to then-Gov. Pete Wilson, has deep connections to the administration. Schwarzenegger hired White during the recall campaign after some early stumbles. Schwarzenegger's chief of staff, Pat Clarey, served as White's deputy in the Wilson administration.