Free Republic

Through a nonprofit, private donors are expected to cover the $3,000-a-month rent, along with utilities and other expenses, on Gov. Jerry Brown's loft in Sacramento. Brown's office referred questions to George Kieffer, who is president of the nonprofit, known as the Governor's Residence Foundation. Kieffer said his group would release the names of donors and the amount they have contributed in January 2012. He said the group was raising money to pay Brown's rent, as well as his utility bills. "We're budgeting some additional money assuming that, from time to time, there'll be entertainment

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has appointed Manatt, Phelps & Phillips partner George D. Kieffer to the University of California Board of Regents. ... Kieffer, 61, is based in Manatt Phelps’ Los Angeles office, where he serves as chair of the firm’s Government and Regulatory Policy Division, overseeing major business litigation, business transactions and land use matters. He is also a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of ManattJones Global Strategies LLC, an international consulting firm and wholly-owned affiliate of Manatt Phelps. Admitted to the State Bar in 1973, Kieffer joined the firm as an associate that...

For the past year, about two dozen of the city's top civic and business leaders have been quietly meeting at the elite 54th floor City Club overlooking downtown Los Angeles to ponder major policy and political issues. From extending term limits to exploring the effort by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to take over the Los Angeles Unified School District, the group has used an extensive network of contacts to meet with and question policymakers. "We are definitely not trying to be like the old Committee of 25," attorney George Kieffer said, referring to the group of business leaders who dictated public...

The City Ethics Commission has violated the law for a decade by failing to notify city agencies of sanctions against dozens of people who money-laundered tens of thousands of dollars to political candidates, the Daily News has learned. The notification failure means leaders of city agencies - who award millions of dollars in contracts - may have been unaware that some bidders who laundered campaign funds should be ineligible for city business under the four-year-ban rule. As investigations of possible City Hall corruption continue, the breach in ethics enforcement rules raises new questions about whether effective measures are in place....

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is benefiting from millions of dollars raised by a network of tax-exempt groups without revealing that the money comes from major corporations with business before his office. The groups are run by Schwarzenegger's closest political allies, who also represent some of California's biggest interest groups. Unlike the governor's many campaign funds, the nonprofits are not required to disclose their contributors and can accept unlimited amounts. One group controlled by a powerful corporate consultant pays the $6,000-a-month rent on a Sacramento hotel suite used by the governor, who is a multimillionaire. Others have funded media events...

he fights for “fair districts” and the abolition of term limits have a new champion: the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. Led by George Kieffer, the chamber announced Nov. 12 its support for the elimination of term limits and redistricting reform. Long active in California politics, the 116-year-old Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce is one of the largest business organizations in the state. Although the chamber is not interested in starting petitions, Kieffer said the chamber would provide citizens information on its position to support any future referendum. Kieffer, chairman of the chamber’s board of directors, presented the...