"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is
entering his reelection campaign $410,000 in debt, while his Democratic rivals and union foes are armed with more than $50 million," report Dan Morain and Robert Salladay for the Times.
"Controller
Steve Westly and Treasurer
Phil Angelides, who are competing in the Democratic primary to face the Republican governor next November, started the new year with $24 million and $17.1 million respectively, their reports show."
"Meanwhile, the reports show that Schwarzenegger paid his chief of staff,
Susan Kennedy, $25,000 on Dec. 5 from his campaign account. At the time,
she had not yet joined the governor's staff, and still was a member of the California Public Utilities Commission — the state's chief regulator of utilities, telephone companies and private water companies."
The governor's team says it's not worried, report Kevin Yamamura and Andy Furillo in the Bee. "'Obviously, we have a lot of fundraising to do, and we've begun that in earnest this month,' said Schwarzenegger fundraiser
Marty Wilson. 'We're getting a good response. I feel confident
we'll have the resources necessary to wage an aggressive campaign in the fall.'"
While Angelides and Westly will likely spend tens of millions tearing each other apart in the June primary, Schwarzenegger can focus on general election fundraising.
Kate Folmar and Aaron Davis report in the Merc News that "[l]ast November's special election campaign ran up blockbuster expenses --
a record $260 million-plus on eight initiatives, all of which voters rejected."
"In the end,
Schwarzenegger and his allies raised about $70 million -- more than the $50 million that the governor hoped to amass. His main ballot initiative committee, the California Recovery Team, raised about $44 million and spent $45.5 million on the effort to pass Propositions 74 through 77. Related campaigns raised at least $25 million more."
"Schwarzenegger
contributed $7.75 million of his own."
"His union opponents
spent more than $120 million. The umbrella group opposing the governor's agenda, the Alliance for a Better California, raised and spent about $39 million. Various spin-off committees collected and spent much more, with reports still coming in late Tuesday."
Speaking of campaign funds,
Don Perata spent more than $200,000 in his Board of Equalization account to
pay off his legal debts. "Overall last year, the legal fund shelled out $742,389, mostly to Perata's Sacramento lawyers and an Emeryville private investigation firm. Spokesman
Jason Kinney said Tuesday he believes most if not all of Perata's legal debts are paid now.
Meanwhile, "The reelection campaign of Orange County Sheriff
Michael S. Carona is hoping for a major boost Thursday when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
headlines a gala fundraiser for the sheriff in Dana Point."
After emerging as a quickly rising star within the state GOP, Carona is facing a difficult reelection bid after sexual harassment allegations and ethical questions.
"The event is also likely to
provide another indicator of the governor's success at mending fences with Republicans, who have been annoyed at the some of his recent actions."
The governor might want to start with Carona's political consultant,
Mike Schroeder and his press spokesman, blogger
Jon Fleischman, who have been among the governor's most vocal critics in recent weeks.
Gov. Schwarzenegger has tapped another moderate for his cabinet. The governor appointed former U.S. Senate candidate
Rosario Marin to
replace Fred Aguiar as Secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency.Since when did
John Garamendi hire
David Foster Wallace to write press releases? The Insurance Commish sent out
a nine-page press release on the impact of health savings accounts with no less than 39 source citations. Here's a little hint. Reporters rarely read nine lines, let alone nine pages in any given press release. But we appreciate all the research that went into it!
From our
College High Times Files: "Approximately 400 people gathered on the grass in Anisq’Oyo’ Park on Saturday afternoon to celebrate the skills of Isla Vista’s [UC Santa Barbara] best blunt and joint rollers at the
2nd Annual Joint Rolling Contest, nearly tripling the event’s attendance from last year."
"'Events like this are a good opportunity to not only get a little instruction on how to roll a blunt or joint, but to get all the information that’s out there on what we’re fighting for,' [campus NORML co-chair
Jacob] Roland said. '
We want to stop smoking in closets - we want to be able to get out onto the streets and do it freely.'"
It will be an uphill battle, as the Peace and Freedom party
lost its statewide ballot status after its number of registrations fell below the 77,389 needed.
From our You Can Take the Boy Out of Graz ... Files, actor
George Clooney told a magazine recently about the time he once challenged
Arnold Schwarzenegger, his co-star in the 1997 film "Batman and Robin," to a drinking contest and
managed to drink Schwarzenegger under the table by paying a waitress $500 to repeatedly refill his own glass with water while the future California governor
downed 15 shots of peach schnapps." Clooney also told the story recently on the Tonight Show.
The most worrisome thing about that story, of course, is the fact that our governor's drink of choice is peach schnapps. Are we the only ones that just had a bad junior high school flashback?
