Pataki staging $50,000-a-person event for Schwarzenegger
MARC HUMBERT,

AP Political Writer Thursday, February 5, 2004


Gov. George Pataki is arranging a $50,000-a-person private dinner for fellow
Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California to be held at the
Manhattan home of millionaire businessman Robert Wood Johnson IV.
An invitation to the Feb. 24 event, a copy of which was obtained Monday by
The Associated Press, said the money is being raised to help finance
Schwarzenegger's California Recovery Team, a general purpose fund-raising
committee.
The newly elected California governor is pressing a $15 billion bond issue
being voted on next month by Californians. What would be the biggest state
bond issue in history is needed to help get the state out of its fiscal
problems, according to Schwarzenegger.
"The CRT will be the principal organization supporting the implementation of
the twin missions of the governor's first year in office -- fiscal recovery
and economic recovery," said the invitation sent by Pataki's top
fund-raisers. "Since there are March 2, 2004, ballot initiatives that
greatly affect the governor's efforts, time is of the essence."
There was no immediate comment from Pataki on how much he hoped to raise to
help his fellow governor.
The invitation to cocktails and dinner at the One Central Park West home of
Johnson, owner of the New York Jets, notes that "this committee can accept
unlimited contributions." And while corporate and political action committee
contributions are legal, the invitation warns that "single-issue trade
association contributions are not allowed."
Donations of up to $500,000 are requested on the invitation. That amounts
get the donor named a chairman of the California Recovery Team committee.
"One Central Park West -- that pretty much says it all," said Blair Horner,
legislative director of the New York Public Interest Research Group in
Albany, N.Y. "You are talking about one of the most elite ZIP Codes in the
country."
Horner told the Los Angeles Times that in his 25 years of tracking political
fund-raising, he has never seen a solicitation for $500,000. Some donors
with an interest in California bond deals would attend, he predicted, but
most would be seeking to ingratiate themselves with Pataki.
"Most donors at that level give for a reason, and the reason is usually to
influence policy," Jim Knox, executive director of California Common Cause,
told The Sacramento Bee. "I'm certainly curious about who's invited and why
they'd want to pay that much."
Schwarzenegger advisers insisted that none of the attendees would have a
stake in the bond measure, although organizers declined to say who was
invited to the event.
"There are specific prohibitions from bond houses, people that engage in
public finance, to contribute to an account controlled by a state office,
said adviser Marty Wilson.
There are a "limited number of seats available," the invitation cautions.
Pataki had offered last year to stage fund-raising events for Schwarzenegger
in New York, but they agreed to hold them after the former actor took
office.
While in New York, Schwarzenegger also planned to participate in a
fund-raiser for the Manhattan GOP.