Schwarzenegger travel committee forced to reveal list of its donors
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- For the first time, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger released a list of the millionaires and billionaires who pay to send him on lavish overseas trips, offering a glimpse into the elite business and social circles that critics say have unfair access to his power.
To comply with open-records laws, Schwarzenegger released on Thursday a list of wealthy donors to the California State Protocol Foundation, an obscure nonprofit that has paid for millions of dollars' worth of overseas travel and other bills racked up by his office.
Well-known California businessmen who have supported him publicly, such as winemaker Robert Mondavi and Gap founder Don Fisher, are on the list. But so are the names of both Republican and Democratic lawyers, developers, and others who have kept a low profile, or even remained anonymous, in supporting California's celebrity governor.
The names are on a list of donors who paid as much as $25,000 to attend a private fundraiser that Schwarzenegger headlined in San Francisco last month for the California State Protocol Foundation.
The little-known nonprofit is run under the auspices of the California Chamber of Commerce and has funded most of Schwarzenegger's international trade missions and other events since shortly after he took office. The Nov. 7 dinner at the de Young Museum raised nearly $400,000, according to the documents.
Until that dinner, Schwarzenegger had been careful to maintain a public buffer with the group that funds his travel and to follow other rules governing fundraising disclosures. That allowed the Protocol Foundation to keep its donor lists private.
By headlining the dinner, however, Schwarzenegger in essence solicited the donations on behalf of the group under California law, forcing the group and the governor to release the names of those who attended and contributed.
"Finally, we're seeing the individuals who have been paying," said Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles.
The foundation turned the list of donors over to the governor's office last week. His office released the list of donors Thursday following a request from The Associated Press.
In a statement distributed by the governor's office on Thursday, Charlotte Shultz, chairwoman of the Protocol Foundation, said the group serves a vital role, allowing the governor to meet with foreign dignitaries, "thereby supporting business opportunities between California and their countries, as well as cultural and goodwill exchanges."
Shultz is married to former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, who contributed $10,000 at the November fundraiser.
Others on the list include Jeremiah Hallisey, a major Democratic donor and former appointee of Gov. Gray Davis; Charles Munger, Jr., an executive with Berkshire Hathaway; and George Jewett, former president of Potlatch Corp., a major timber harvester and wholesaler of wood and paper products.
Foundation president Allan Zaremberg, who is also president of the California Chamber of Commerce, did not immediately return a call from the AP on Thursday, but has previously disagreed with characterizations of the trips as luxury vacations or opportunities for donors to press a particular point of view with dignitaries.
According to annual reports filed with the Internal Revenue Service, the Protocol Foundation raised more than $4.2 million from 2003 to 2006. Besides the trade missions, the group has paid for several Capitol receptions, a luncheon for the consular corps and a barbecue for the news media.