Posted on 07/20/2005 8:39:24 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Sacramento -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, taking advantage of a technicality in campaign finance laws, has been collecting rent from political action committees that he controls.
During the past three years, campaign committees controlled by Schwarzenegger have paid $166,859 in rent to Main Street Plaza, a three-story building in Santa Monica that the governor owns.
Bob Stern, an expert in campaign finance law who helped write the state's Political Reform Act of 1974, described the rental arrangement as "taking advantage of a ridiculous loophole'' in the law. The governor is able to accept the rent only because Main Street Plaza -- not the governor as an individual -- holds title to the property, he said.
Schwarzenegger advisers say the governor's use of office space in the building he has long owned near a fashionable Santa Monica shopping district is both legal and practical. The governor's production company has worked out of the building for years.
Schwarzenegger's press secretary, Margita Thompson, noted that the governor's attorneys had checked with the state's Fair Political Practices Commission to make sure the arrangement was OK.
"We are following the law and sought out approval before the arrangement was finalized,'' she said.
The governor has faced increased scrutiny about his personal finances in the last week over the disclosure of a multimillion-dollar consulting and editing agreement with two body building magazines. The state Democratic Party filed a complaint Tuesday with the state's Fair Political Practices Commission alleging that the deal violated state ethics laws.
While Schwarzenegger's rent income is not illegal, some government watchdogs suggest the governor shouldn't make money off of political donations.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
The Democrats want all elected officials to have either no money or old money (like Ted Kennedy) or married money (like John Kerry)
G*d (Sorry - Can't use that word in California when talking about Government) forbid that someone who is actually a businessman, making money be put into a position of power.
How ridiculous- do they expect a tenant to be there and not pay rent? How is conducting normal business a 'loophole'?
My main concern is how many other loopholes has he sought out as well and still not revealed.
I believe in Open Gubamint, not shadowy.
I understand your points and acknowledge that we should not be so restrictive of our politicos that no one can pass muster.
However, as it is, too many politicos alaready stretch things a bit far and skate anyway when their questionable arrangements are revealed.
If they can find a similar place in Kalifornia for about $1K a month, they should go for it. Otherwise, it makes sense to be there.
Correction - $1K per week. Still seems like bargain-basement for the area...
That's the way corporations work...live with it.
One point that hit me though - isn't it at least traditional, if not mandatory, to put all your business interests into some sort of blind trust while you're in office, to prevent conflicts of interest?
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I thought that was the case, but with an individual who has so many interests and holdings in so many areas, normal 'rules' don't seem to apply.
I don't have an easy answer, altho some here will just say Back off, and that's fine, but he is the one who chose to run and has readily fed the left and its media ammo by the clips full.
I'm not out to crucify him, btw, in fact, these threads are an opportunity for folks to step forward and perhaps help vindicate him from the complaints made against him and set records straight too.
That's what helps make America work for the individual, most of the time.
Thanks..
..my post #9 excerpt ---
..these threads are an opportunity for folks to step forward and perhaps help vindicate him from the complaints made against him and set records straight too.
Sounds to me like you may be assuming that anyone rich is automatically doing something illegal or, at least, ethically wrong.
Even if that were true, at least having such diversified holdings means that he won't be too beholding to any one interest over the other.
Arnold takes money from the same people Davis did, only more. He stays bought too.
Sounds to me like you may be assuming that anyone rich is automatically doing something illegal or, at least, ethically wrong.
Nonsense. Great entrepreneurs are the builders of America. Those who rely upon favorable regulations to kill their competition are thugs who belong in jail.
Even if that were true, at least having such diversified holdings means that he won't be too beholding to any one interest over the other.
These aren't holdings; they are CONTRIBUTIONS. When developers contribute, it's because they love selectively enforced environmental laws that make property cheap to buy with a fat markup upon the sale. Big power companies were perfectly happy to go bankrupt to kill small power producers and lock in high priced contracts under Davis. Arnold belongs lock, stock, and barrel to the same people who created the power crisis, by marriage. The financial guys love selling the State more debt that Arnold has no compunctions about incurring. The grain farmers love Arnold's idiotic love-affair with hydrogen from alcohol.
So it goes. Corruption is bankrupting this State.
Arnie is dying the death of a thousand cuts.
When "We" elected the GUb, we elected his supporters as well, a majority of whom stand to benefit personally thru their business dealings and decisions as their man now has the Veto and Bill signing pen in hand.
This is where it gets sticky.
Im not saying being pro-business is bad, but if only certain businesses or orgs benefit more than others based on their support of the Gub, I do have qualms about that..
Just trying to air some arguments, worthy of consideration or not, this is a discussion forum, after all.
Some of his handlers may have over-estimated their abilites to overcome all challenges thrust at them.
That is not to say the media and dems are standing on solid ground themselves, by any means.
Maybe he should grow a beard.
LOL.. Nahhh, just truck in a few more Kennedys to stem the bleeding.
"Big power companies were perfectly happy to go bankrupt to kill small power producers . . .
Yup, me and ma, and old Bessy the mule been generating power for six generations now... till that evil Big Power company put us outta business
That's right, idiot, BY NOT PAYING THEIR BILLS for power they had purchased.
Interesting that the CEO of Southern California Edison is a former Greenie lawyer who helped found the Natural Resources Defense Council. The NRDC played a key role in shutting down SMUD's Rancho Seco nuclear powerplant which contributes mightily to the power generating shortages in this state. Strange isn't it that SCE gave Davis a cool quarter million to run for office. Bizarre, isn't it that an NRDC lawyer wrote Arnold's Environmental Plan.
Yes, if a corporation does it, it's OK by you, even if you do pay half again as much on your bill.
Chump.
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