Schwarzenegger Booed, Questioned Over Fund Raising

TheKCRAChannel.com - News - Schwarzenegger Booed, Questioned Over Fund Raising:

"Schwarzenegger Booed, Questioned Over Fund Raising - Guests Invited To Hear Governor's Pitch For Reform Ballot Measures
POSTED: 4:38 pm PST February 8, 2005; UPDATED: 6:58 pm PST February 8, 2005

"SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- From a verbal assault on the ground to an aerial attack with planes and signs, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is coming under fire for his fund raising. Watchdog groups are accusing the governor of breaking campaign contribution laws.

The governor is planning to ask voters to approve a series of reforms this year, such as restricting state spending and redrawing political boundaries. How Schwarzenegger plans to pay for that campaign is where the controversy begins.

Schwarzenegger wasn't greeted with his usual admiring crowd at a downtown Sacramento hotel Tuesday. Protesters booed the governor as he entered the hotel. And a sign on a plane that flew overhead questioned the governor's allegiance to special interest groups.
A spokeswoman said Schwarzenegger's agenda is public, with no secrecy. But On Tuesday, there was plenty of secrecy. Protestors were kept far away, and so was KCRA 3 reporter Kevin Riggs.

Guests were invited to the hotel to hear Schwarzenegger's pitch for his reform ballot measures. It's the opening act for a major fund-raising campaign by a new committee, formed by Schwarzenegger allies, called Citizens to Save California.

'We have an independent committee. We can get advice from the governor, just as we can get input from you or from everybody in California. But we'll be making the decisions,' said committee Co-Chairman Allan Zaremberg. "

Critics say it appears like the committee is doing the governor's bidding, and if so, is breaking state campaign laws.

"If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. It's all in your definition of 'controlling,'" said Foundation for Taxpayer Rights spokesman Jerry Flanagan.

Under new rules that took effect after the November election, ballot measure committees controlled by a candidate can receive donations no greater than $22,000 per donor. If the committee is independent, the sky's the limit...."