Governor Seeks Outside Donors for Campaigns

Governor Seeks Outside Donors for Campaigns:

"As for his political ambitions, the governor said he wanted to raise at least $50 million to fund his 2005 proposals for overhauling government. His plans, announced three weeks ago, could include multiple ballot propositions and a TV advertising blitz leading up to a special election in November.

'We all know the issues we are addressing are not just state issues, that the rest of the country is looking at California and as California goes, so goes the rest of the nation,' said Schwarzenegger, who spoke Friday to the Los Angeles Times editorial board and to a news reporter in a later telephone interview.

The governor's aides have said they hope to raise another $50 million for a possible reelection campaign in 2006. Combined with the $50 million already spent on Schwarzenegger's 2003 recall election and ballot campaigns last year, the governor would have collected and spent $150 million in just three years in politics.

..."At the very least, the governor seems to be mocking the spirit of California laws, which were passed by voters and put already high limits on contributions to candidates," said Ned Wigglesworth, a Sacramento analyst with http://www.therestofus.org , a group that monitors campaign finance laws.

Many of Schwarzenegger's donations come from insurance companies, telecommunications firms and other corporate interests that lobby state government. Though Schwarzenegger often derides "special interests" as a dangerous force in Sacramento, he repeatedly states that he is not beholden to anyone because he is wealthy."