Davis cancels 'inappropriate' fund-raiser with rail officials (bullet train)

SF Chronicle ^ | 9/21/02 | Carla Marinucci and Greg Lucas, Chronicle Staff Writers

[randita]

Under pressure from his political opponent and critics who call his fund- raising tactics inappropriate, Gov. Gray Davis Friday abruptly canceled a $50, 000 fund-raiser scheduled with high-speed-rail executives the day after he signed a $9.95 billion bond measure approving the first bullet train system for California.

[randita]

ping

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Some additional detail in this report!

calgov2002:

California Laws for Sale

calgov2002: for old calgov2002 articles. 

calgov2002: for new calgov2002 articles. 

Other Bump Lists at: Free Republic Bump List Register

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

ping!

[John Jorsett]

The unusual move was seized upon by Davis' GOP challenger, Bill Simon, who showed up outside Diridon's sprawling suburban ranch home to deliver a blistering attack on Davis' fund-raising even as some confused donors arrived for the canceled event.

Wowie. Somebody in the Simon camp finally gets a clue on how to bring the battle to your opponent.

[heleny]

Diridon said, "I don't give up my civil rights by taking a state position. . . . the governor is not a wealthy person, and if Mr. Simon is successful in making people think this is inappropriate, then we'll only have rich people in office."

So, how rich is Davis? Certainly he is not poor, no matter how often the democrats try to incite class warfare. Maybe he can even live in a sprawling suburban ranch home like Diridon. Davis has no children, and, as governor, can have most of his expenses paid. When I tried to look up Davis' salary, I found this:

http://www.ca.lp.org/rel/19981216-equity.html

NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA
For immediate release: December 16, 1998

Davis salary reversal highlights need for 'public pay equity,' Libertarians say

LOS ANGELES -- Governor-elect Gray Davis's recent reversal on his campaign promise not to accept a pay raise is symptomatic of a much worse problem: the growing divide between private sector and government salaries, the Libertarian Party of California announced today.

"Career politicians like Davis already have a very poor record of keeping campaign promises," said Libertarian state chair Mark Hinkle. "Voters should be more concerned over how much more state workers are getting paid compared to private workers. Taxpayers should demand public pay equity."

The California Citizens Compensation Commission, the appointed panel that decides pay raises for legislators and statewide officers, voted in March to increase annual salaries for those positions by 26%. On December 1st, when the raises kicked in, the Governor's salary jumped from $131,040 to $165,000.

When the raises were first announced, Davis pledged not to accept a raise if elected governor. But on December 7th, the first day of the new legislative session, Davis did an about-face and announced he would be accepting a salary of $156,750 -- a mere 5% below the authorized full salary, but a 19.6% raise nevertheless.

Davis defended his actions by arguing that he isn't accepting the full raise he is entitled to by law and is therefore keeping his campaign promise. Davis also angered rank-and-file state workers, most of whom have not received a pay raise since 1995.

....

"Of course, Davis can always decide to eliminate thousands of unnecessary government jobs. That will more than pay for his raise."