Posted on 10/24/2005 9:02:22 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Corporations are being asked to donate tens of thousands of dollars to fund Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's upcoming trade mission to China and some will be along when he talks to officials there, it was reported Monday.
The governor, who came to office on a promise to take state government away from special interests, is raising money to pay for the trip through a nonprofit foundation that is not required to publicly reveal the names of donors, the Los Angeles Times said.
Some companies have been asked to give $50,000 to the California Protocol Foundation, the Times said, citing people associated with the firms.
Chevron officials said the company has given $75,000 to the foundation in the last two years and will join Schwarzenegger during his weeklong trip to China next month.
State records show that Chevron also gave $296,000 to the governor's campaign funds.
Chevron gave to the protocol foundation because "we think the state needs to be a player in Asian trade matters," said Jack Coffey, the corporation's director of state government affairs.
Chevron markets liquid natural gas in China.
Up to 50 people representing various business interests are expected to take the China trip, the Times said, citing trip organizers.
The protocol foundation has hired public relations firms to help. One, Apco Worldwide, employs two former members of Schwarzenegger's staff in its Sacramento office and both are going on the trip.
Another firm, Manning Selvage & Lee, has a West Coast affiliate that is co-owned by the governor's chief fund-raiser, Martin Wilson.
The private funding will help taxpayers, said Margita Thompson, a spokeswoman for the governor.
"As the three governors before him have done, he will rely on the Protocol Foundation to help alleviate any burden that would have been placed on government, so we can market California opportunities abroad while at the same time minimizing the impact on taxpayers," Thompson told the Times.
A second tax-exempt group, the California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth, was launched by the governor last year.
The Times said it is collecting funds to pay for advertising and promoting California exports in China while the state delegation is there. Executive Director Mark Mosher said he would ask companies for "as much as we can get."
California is the major gateway for U.S. trade to China, with cotton and computer-related products leading the way. The state exported $6.8 billion in goods to China in 2004, double what it exported in 2000, according to the state Chamber of Commerce.
But "there's no clearer conflict of interest" than using money from private companies to fund a state trip, said Bob Williams, project director for the Washington-based Center for Public Integrity.
If Schwarzenegger believes the China trip is important to the state economy, he should use taxpayer money rather than "asking the people who have the most at stake to pay," Williams said.
In addition, agricultural firms have been asked to donate up to $10,000 to a fund maintained by the state's Business, Transportation and Housing Agency.
The request came in a letter sent to businesses by agency Secretary Sunne Wright McPeak and A.G. Kawamura, secretary of the California Food and Agriculture Department.
Business and industry groups contributed nearly $90,000 to the fund last year, according to records released by the Schwarzenegger administration. The money was used for the governor's trade mission to Japan last November.
The California Tree Fruit Agreement intends to donate to the fund and join the traveling delegation.
The company wants a more open market in China for California plums, peaches and nectarines. It could be a $90 million market, said Blair Richardson, the group's president and chief executive.
"We see the governor has the ability to get people to look beyond the politics inherent in most of these things," Richardson said. "We'd just like to hopefully draw more attention to the fact that it's time to open this market for our fruit."
lol
Who will benefit from this??? A few fruit farmers will plant more trees...They will increase the need for more illegal Mexicans to pick and pack the fruit...When the season is over, the illegals will get on welfare, all the while getting food stamps, free medical care, etc...My taxes will continue to increase...
Oh well, we knew that when we voted Republican, didn't we...
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