California: Angry Davis Defends Fund-Raising

Los Angeles Times ^ | September 22, 2002

[John Jorsett]

OAKLAND -- One day after canceling a controversial fund-raiser, an angry Gov. Gray Davis defended the way his campaign solicits donations and said that he does not support events that raise money by targeting specific industries.

The Democratic governor said that was why his campaign had called off a Friday night fund-raiser at the home of Rod Diridon, a Davis appointee who heads the California High Speed Rail Authority, after newspapers reported that Diridon had invited builders and other advocates of a high-speed bullet train.

Davis, who signed a bill Thursday asking voters to approve a $9.9-billion bond to construct the bullet train, said he had not been aware that the fund-raiser at Diridon's Santa Clara home was for people who could financially benefit from the costly public works project.

"We don't have a problem with a general event to which everybody is invited," Davis told reporters Saturday during a swing through Oakland, where he attended a rally with union supporters and signed several bills to protect consumers from predatory lending.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Boy, that cancellation is getting play in all the papers, good!

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[John Jorsett]

ping

Simon seems to have really gotten under Davis' skin with this one. I hope he shows up outside every one of these events and rips Davis a new one.

[Grut]

The Democratic governor said that was why his campaign had called off a Friday night fund-raiser at the home of Rod Diridon, a Davis appointee who heads the California High Speed Rail Authority, after newspapers reported ...

Yup. U-huh. Yup.

[heleny]

"We don't have a problem with a general event to which everybody is invited,

Uh, huh. Sure. If Davis thought a fundraising party at the private home of his own appointee was "a general event to which everybody is invited" before he saw news of the guest list in newspapers, then why doesn't he release his fundraising schedule? Then we can all attend.

The title is slightly more descriptive than usual: Angry Davis Defends Fund-Raising
It reminds me of several articles six months ago, when Davis nearly lost his temper when the Union Tribune editors interviewed him about the power crisis.

[Saundra Duffy]

Bet he didn't like seeing us FReepers at the Railroad Museum last weekend, either!!

Oh, and by the way:

From a commentary in Friday's Wall Street Journal:

Gray Davis of California has recorded one of worst financial
performances of any governor in any state in a very long time. In his four years in office, the California budget has mushroomed from $74 billion to $101 billion. He inherited a $10 billion budget surplus; now the state faces a two-year $24 billion deficit -- the largest ocean of red ink in the history of the states. The state payroll swelled by 25,000 employees during Davis's first three years in office, a larger increase than the next three biggest states combined. Moody's has downgraded California bond ratings twice already. It may take years for the state to dig out of this fiscal ditch.