Bird’s Foes Fall $1 Million Short of ’85 Money Goal

The treasurer of one of the three major groups seeking to oust California Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird and two other members of the Supreme Court’s liberal majority said Tuesday that the anti-Bird campaign fell nearly $1 million short of its 1985 fund-raising goal.

Paul McCauley, treasurer of Crime Victims for Court Reform, said that responses had been disappointing to appeals made to prospective donors by members of Crime Victims’ finance committee. As a result, McCauley said, the group will concentrate on a new strategy for raising money this year.

“We had hoped in the beginning of 1985 to have $1 million in the bank by the end of the year,” McCauley said. He said his group hoped to get a head start in 1985 because of concern that U.S. Senate candidates would be vying for a lion’s share of contributions in 1986.

“We had feared that the money would be slopped up by Senate candidates in 1986,” McCauley said.

But as it turned out, he said: “Fund raising was difficult in ’85. Many of those we asked for big contributions told us to come back in ’86.”

In addition, he said, a number of lawyers who don’t like Bird were hesitant to contribute to the campaign against a justice whom they might have to face in court.

McCauley said that Crime Victims officials were especially disappointed in the efforts of one member of their finance committee who set out to solicit contributions from lawyers.

“We had thought he was going to raise about $100,000 a month. Instead, it turned out to be more like $20,000 a month.”

Campaign financial reports filed Monday showed that Crime Victims raised $407,000 last year and spent all but $24,450. The reports indicated that the three conservative groups opposing Bird and other members of the court’s liberal majority raised a combined $3.3 million and spent all but $419,000.

The three groups are campaigning against Bird and the other justices, accusing them of being soft on crime and biased against business. Bird is singled out because she has not once voted to affirm a death sentence in 55 cases that have come before her.

In contrast to her opponents’ finances, Bird’s reelection committee showed a balance of just over $1 million after raising $1.3 million in 1985.

Others Targeted for Defeat

Another $275,000 was raised by Cruz Reynoso and Joseph Grodin, the two other justices targeted for defeat by Crime Victims.

McCauley said that he was not surprised by the amount the chief justice has been able to raise.

“They’ve got a lot of money, no question about it. But we went into the campaign with the expectation they would be able to get all the money they wanted, primarily from lawyers who don’t want to see any changes in the court.”

But regardless of how much the chief justice ultimately raises, McCauley said Crime Victims officials believe their campaign will succeed if they can raise $2 million--enough to pay for a strong statewide television campaign during the last six weeks of the campaign.

McCauley said Crime Victims still thinks it can raise the $2 million by concentrating on a series of 12 fund-raising events beginning in March with a $500-a-plate dinner in Los Angeles.

“We hope to clear a quarter of a million at that one and go on from there,” McCauley said.

Less Apprehensive

He also said that he was becoming less apprehensive about the effect the Senate race will have on fund raising.

“People are telling us the court campaign is a lot more exciting,” he said.

Crime Victims stands to benefit from a mailing list of about 100,000 donors assembled by a second anti-Bird organization, Californians to Defeat Rose Bird. Crime Victims and Californians recently joined forces, with Crime Victims taking over major fund-raising activities. Officials of both groups have estimated that the mailing list could yield up to $1 million in new contributions.

Officials of the third group, the Law and Order Campaign Committee, say they will continue to raise money as part of their own effort to unseat Bird.