"The acknowledgment Tuesday that the campaign of Democrat
Phil Angelides leaked an embarrassing tape of Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger to the news media
set off a new clash between the warring camps over the standards of political ethics in a world dominated by the Internet," report Tom Chorneau and Carla Marinucci in the Chron.
"Although a criminal investigation continues into allegations of computer hacking, the manager of Angelides' gubernatorial campaign said members of her staff found four hours of Schwarzenegger's private tapes while perusing the governor's Web site and turned a small snippet over to the Los Angeles Times."
Angelides campaign manager
Cathy "Calfo said a campaign staff member assigned to monitor Schwarzenegger press releases followed a link provided by a memo from the governor's office on Aug. 29 to an audio tape of a speech on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina."
"But, by editing the link's Web address just slightly, the researcher was able to access a directory of other audio tapes that included those of private meetings, including the one that later was leaked to the Times."
"
Karen Hanretty, a Fox News commentator, said she doubts the public hungers for more details on this controversy.
"'
Anyone savvy enough to hack a computer is savvy enough not to do it on their campaign computer,' she said. "
If this is as good as it gets, someone is really overpaid.'"
"But, she said, in this case, it looks as if '
the obvious answer is the correct answer: Someone screwed up.'"
Michael Finnegan
writes in the Times: "Angelides, who left California Monday night for two days of fundraising in Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C., was not available for comment, aides said. Calfo did not say whether the campaign would release the remaining hours of tapes, but she said they were 'a matter of public record and should be made available to the media and the public.'"
"At the same time, she said she was unhappy that press spokesman
Dan Newman and researcher
Sean Sullivan had released the tapes without telling her or other senior advisors to Angelides about a decision of such high importance."
That sound you hear is Dan and Sean officially being thrown under the bus.
Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political scientist at USC who specializes in California politics, said the swirl of ethical questions was taking the Angelides campaign's 'eye off the ball.'"
"'
That's not helpful to a guy who's already the underdog and hasn't been able to break out and get his message across,' she said. 'That's where the real damage is occurring."
Matier and Ross write that the tape disclosure, meant to hurt the governor,
instead is hurting Angelides.
"But even if there is more damaging material in the four hours of taped conversations between Schwarzenegger, Chief of Staff
Susan Kennedy and two other aides -- and no one knows whether there is -- some Democrats doubt it would hurt the governor."
"If this was some button-down guy like (former Govs.)
Gray Davis or
Pete Wilson, this would be devastating," said one Democratic consultant who asked not to be named because of his involvement in other races. 'But Arnold is a former bodybuilder, a former actor, a guy who is already seen as coarse.'"
Can we please move on? Please? Oh, fine...
"Plus, with polls showing Schwarzenegger leading by double digits, any more tape hits are just going to look like desperation moves on Angelides' part."
"'
You can p -- all over your opponent until hell freezes over, and it won't make any difference if people don't know who you are,' said strategist
Garry South, who ran the campaign of Angelides rival
Steve Westly during the Democratic primary. 'Here we are 60 days out, and instead of explaining to voters who Angelides is and why he should be elected governor, they are involved in pranks.'"
Tonight, Calfo is going to TP the governor's house.
The day was a miserable one for Angelides, who had to sit back and watch the governor sign a bill to raise the minimum wage.
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, surrounded by Democratic lawmakers in a working-class neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday signed legislation that will raise California's minimum wage to $8 an hour by 2008," reports Aurelio Rojas in the Bee.
"The Republican governor, who vetoed minimum-wage legislation the last two years, has been more receptive to Democratic proposals this year as he runs for re-election."
"
Assembly Bill 1835 by Assemblywoman
Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, will raise the $6.75-an-hour minimum wage to $7.50 on Jan. 1, 2007, and to $8 on Jan. 1, 2008."
Angelides had to go back to the too little, too late argument.
"'The governor denied 1.4 million Californians more than $2,000 a year in needed income when he vetoed common-sense legislation to increase the minimum wage,' Angelides said in a statement."
Can Angelides get a break? Or, an angle at least?
"The labor-based coalition that organized the defeat of Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's special election initiatives last year is
about to come back together to see if it can upset his re-election effort," reports Andy Furillo in the Bee.
"In their first meeting of the current political season, the public employee unions are getting together in Sacramento on Thursday to work out a strategy that figures to benefit state Treasurer
Phil Angelides, the Democratic challenger to the Republican governor."
"'I don't think it's too late,' said
John Travis, president of the California Faculty Association, whose union is one of 10 invited to attend Thursday's session at the California Teachers Association headquarters. 'But I don't think we have much time.'"
"
Mike Alvarez, a political science professor at the California Institute of Technology, suggested, however, that the re-emergence of the union coalition -- with the massive resources at the disposal of the labor organizations -- could alter the dynamics of a campaign that currently is breaking in Schwarzenegger's favor."
"'It's potentially a very, very significant entry, or re-entry," Alvarez said. '
Bringing the spotlight back on the governor and the issues they campaigned on last fall could bring some energy back to what at this point is a languishing (Angelides) campaign.'"
When the governor and
Antonio Villaraigosa get together for the LAUSD bill signing,
it won't be at an L.A. public school.
Howard Blume and Dick Helfand report in the Times: "Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa won't be able to get on campus during school hours to sign legislation giving him substantial authority over the city's public schools."
"On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Unified School District board — which opposed the legislation and is expected to file a lawsuit over it — directed staff to keep the signing ceremony off school grounds during the school week. The mayor and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had planned to stage the event at Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights," Villaraigosa's alma mater.
"'The Roosevelt principal is very uncomfortable about the safety of kids and protecting the students during an event of this magnitude,' said school board President
Marlene Canter."
Well, someone's going to be first in line when the mayor gets his new powers...
"Those involved called the bill signing a legitimate state function and accused the school board of injecting politics into a nonpartisan ceremony."
"'Their action speaks for itself,' said
Gabriel Sanchez, a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles), the legislation's co-sponsor. 'You can draw your own conclusions.'"
Hey, Gabe! Where've you been?
Lynda Gledhill and Matthew Yi take a
look at the big ballot measure money for the Chron.
"Tobacco firms already have committed $40 million to defeat Proposition 86, which would raise the state cigarette excise tax by $2.60 a pack to $3.47. The money would fund emergency services, children's health care and tobacco-prevention programs."
"Oil companies since January have pumped in the bulk of about $35 million contributed to kill Proposition 87, which would impose a tax on oil producers in California. The tax would range between 1.5 percent to 6 percent, depending on the price of oil per barrel. The aim is to raise $4 billion for researching and producing alternative fuels and energy."
"It's not a coincidence that the oil and tobacco industries are out front in spending money, said
Steve Swatt, a senior consultant in media relations for Porter Novelli."
"'These are two of the most P.R.-challenged industries. To make up that credibility problem, they have to spend huge amounts of money,' Swatt said. 'When you have a wealthy, deep-pocket special interest that is at risk because of one initiative, they will write checks like there is no tomorrow because so much is at stake.'"
Speaking of campaign dough, the Bee's Jim Sanders reports on the Assembly Elections Committee's
hearing yesterday on campaign finance--specifically independent expenditures.
"'I think the process has been completely turned on its head,' said Assemblyman
Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, who chaired an informational hearing of the committee Tuesday to consider whether new legislation is warranted. 'I think accountability is at an all-time low.'"
"
Angelo K. Tsakopoulos and his daughter,
Eleni, recently contributed $8.7 million for independent expenditures on behalf of a protégé and former Tsakopoulos employee,
Phil Angelides, who subsequently captured the Democratic gubernatorial primary."
Angelides? Never heard of him.
"The California Correctional Peace Officers Association is projected to enter the fall campaign with a political bankroll as large as $14 million, much of it expected to be used for independent political expenditures."
Derek Cressman, director of a political watchdog group, TheRestOfUs.org, testified at Tuesday's Assembly hearing that exorbitant spending by special interests can lead to undue influence."
"'When a handful of interests can dominate the political debate based purely on their economic clout, the debate no longer reflects all points of view,' he said."
"
John Garamendi has served two terms as state insurance commissioner and believes a quirk in term-limits law would allow him to seek a third this year," reports the Bee's Clea Benson.
"But the Walnut Grove Democrat is running for lieutenant governor instead, and said Tuesday
he wants to move on to issues beyond insurance -- such as global warming and education."
"Besides, he added in a meeting with The Bee Capitol Bureau, he doesn't have the money to run for governor."
"'You got $40 million sitting in your pocket?' he said. 'I don't.'"
Hold on. Let us check our other pants...
"Garamendi said Tuesday he favored closing corporate tax loopholes, as Democratic gubernatorial nominee Phil Angelides has suggested during his campaign. But Garamendi said
he does not favor another Angelides idea: raising income taxes temporarily on the wealthiest Californians."
"'It's not appropriate given where we are' financially, Garamendi said"
And where, exactly, is that?
While other states featured big primary elections last night, there was only one notable victory party in the California political scene.
Bruce Wolk, husband of Assemblywoman
Lois Wolk was celebrating in the governor's
favorite Davis haunt after winning AboveTheLaw.com's "
Hottest ERISA Lawyer" contest.
ERISA is the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which governs pensions, and is the subject of much of Wolk's work as a professor at UC Davis's law school.
Wolk's campaign was run by none other than
Craig Reynolds, who will share the award for
Shortest Temper tomorrow in the Capitol Weekly/AroundTheCapitol.com awards.
Reynolds was told last night of his impending honor, to which he replied, "
Esta en mi sangre!"
Be sure to check for all the award winners in tomorrow's edition of Capitol Weekly.
