Posted on 08/06/2005 8:47:24 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO - Less than two months after giving $10,000 to an initiative campaign committee tied to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a well-connected private prison company was tentatively awarded a $20 million contract by the state of California to operate a San Joaquin Valley correctional facility.
Altogether over the past two years, GEO Group has donated $68,000 to various Schwarzenegger committees, according to campaign reports. Officials with the state prison system insist there is no tie between the donations and the contract, which is part of a broader strategy to use less-expensive private beds to relieve severe overcrowding in the 33 state-run prisons.
Schwarzenegger critics complain that the agreement appears to be an example of how the celebrity governor, who assailed Gov. Gray Davis' aggressive fundraising, seems to be mimicking his disgraced predecessor.
``The nexus is particularly troubling because it's an initiative campaign committee that is ostensibly controlled by the governor and, within a short time, a decision is made that benefits that donor,'' said Kathay Feng, executive director of California Common Cause.
Marty Wilson, Schwarzenegger's chief fundraiser, dismissed that suggestion, saying: ``The notion that the governor would exchange a favor for a political contribution is simply erroneous. We do not mix policy, politics and money.''
The revelation comes days after Wilson said the governor will return a $50,000 donation from a partner in a tribal casino project after the Associated Press raised questions about the governor's pledge to limit political contributions from groups with which he negotiates.
Wilson said accepting a check from the Florida-based GEO Group -- which he said the governor intends to keep -- is different from receiving one from an Indian gambling interest because gambling deals are negotiated directly with the governor's office, while private prison contracts are handled by a separate agency.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
To avoid any hint of influence buying, any company that might want a government contract at any time in the future must avoid making any politically related donations. If any company has made a political donation in the past, it must never try for a government contract in the future. < /sarcasm>
LOL..
Thanks for the comment.
My post is intended to be informative of state goings on, not accusative.
However, I also feel it is fair to examine and question actions of elected officials , and if patterns develop that might appear suspect, those patterns should not just be shrugged off as business as usual.
Not so long ago, We had a Recall out here over that kind of behavior.
If this company is well-connected then it has been dealing with lots of governors or at least as far back as Davis. As elections near it is anticipated that the MSM will be digging up all they can on Republicans.
Of all the preposterous blandisments to which I've ever been subjected, this one takes the cake.
I never thought I would miss "Big Daddy" Jesse Unruh, but I do now: "If you can't take their money, eat their food, drink their booze, screw their women, and then vote against them the next day, you don't belong in this town." At least he was an honest crook... er, I mean "Democrat."
It is always fair (and necessary) to examine and question the actions of elected officials and look for corruption, however – judging from the article this was one contract awarded to a company that has been donating for over two years. Hardly a pattern.
LOL.. fair enough. It's all in interpretation.
I guess all the other similar actions are 'business as usual' too.
Ahhhh... Geo Group again, eh? I wonder if Arduin still has her directorship of its affiliate.
I see they've gone from the no-bid contracts of last year to being the sole bidder on this contract. Doesn't California have some kind of 'competition in contracting' laws? If they don't, they should.
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Yup. We have Bill Lockyer to enforce them, the AG Arteest.. 'married to MALDEF' ;-)
Oh the irony of Arnold receiving the bigest bucks from Real-Estate Development.
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