Don’t dare call it a fundraiser; it’s a ‘thank-you’

Illustrating once again that “political reform” is an elusive concept, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation at the end of September prohibiting lobbyists from hosting fundraisers at their homes.

And in 2006, the Legislature approved a bill to amend the California Political Reform Act limiting fundraising by elected officials who will not be running for office again, such as Brown, presumably.

Here we are in mid-November, and Brown was to be the featured attraction at an event apparently convened by a lobbying firm Monday evening. The invitation, first disclosed by the Los Angeles Times, reads: “Suggested contribution: $5,000,” with checks to be made out to the 2014 Brown for governor campaign. It promises a “private reception and sit down conversation” with the governor.

An inquiring, if uninitiated, reader might wonder why the governor, who is not running for another office, would attend the event. One answer might be that politicians and their consultants and lawyers write the rules and then they interpret them.

A campaign aide to Brown contended the governor is not violating the ban on fundraising by people not running for office because the event is not a fundraiser. It is, rather, a thank-you for support provided by the guests during the 2014 campaign. OK. So it’s a thank-you.

Reacting to indictments and fines against lobbyists, earlier this year legislators introduced several bills to “reform” how the legislature works. Most died ignominiously before they reached Brown’s desk. One that survived was Sen. Ricardo Lara’s Senate Bill 1441, which bars lobbyists from hosting fundraisers at their homes.

The Los Angeles Democrat introduced the bill after the Fair Political Practices Commission fined lobbyist Kevin Sloat $133,500 for hosting fundraisers at his Sacramento home. By providing a venue, Sloat was contributing to their campaigns, violating the law that bars lobbyists from donating to state candidates.

Lobbyists can no longer hold fundraisers, or thank-yous, at their homes. But nothing prohibits them from convening a thank-you at restaurants. And so Monday’s thank-you was conducted at a swank restaurant in midtown Sacramento.

The guest list included five principals from Capitol Advocacy, along with representatives of 20 companies and trade groups that use Capitol Advocacy’s services. The list of clients includes SolarCity, Pepsi and the alcohol company Diageo. Then there are insurance companies, Jack in the Box, T-Mobile, Fox Entertainment, a private prison company and the California Association of Health Facilities, a trade group for nursing homes. To keep it on the up and up, Capitol Advocacy’s clients (presumably) picked up the tab for expenses related to the event.

In the 2013-14 election cycle, Capitol Advocacy clients donated almost $320,000 to Brown for his campaigns for governor and for Propositions 1 and 2, the water bond and the budget measure, campaign finance reports show.

There are distinctions between the Monday thank-you and a fundraiser. But there isn’t much difference. Just as there are new distinctions in the campaign reform laws, just not much difference in how the law is applied.

This story was originally published November 17, 2014 at 11:21 PM with the headline "Don’t dare call it a fundraiser; it’s a ‘thank-you’."