Legislators Get Top Dollar for Community College Talks

When the San Diego Community College District Foundation paid state Sen. Wadie Deddeh $1,000 for his 20-minute address at a recent forum, District Chancellor Garland Peed said the money was to compensate Deddeh for the “significant effort” required to prepare the speech.

Deddeh, a Chula Vista Democrat who said it did take him three or four hours to ready his presentation, was more than happy to take the money.

“If someone wants to give me a check for $500 or $1,000, I’m not going to say, ‘No, I don’t accept it,’ ” Deddeh said of his policy on taking money for public speaking. “I don’t ask them to pay. But most of these people are happy to pay, and I’m happy to be invited.”

Paying elected officials for speeches is not new in California. But increasingly, political observers and reform-minded groups are saying that the honorariums are becoming just another way for corporations and interest groups to buy access--if not influence--with the Legislature.

The practice has escalated so much in recent years that some public agencies are now finding that they, too, must pay up if they want a legislator to speak at one of their functions. But no public body in the state spends nearly as much as the San Diego Community College District Foundation to hear members of the Legislature speak.

Last year Deddeh made nearly $20,000 from public speaking--tops among San Diego legislators--and $10,000 of that came from the district foundation, a private arm of the college that raises money for such things as scholarships and equipment for the district.

Deddeh, in fact, was the prime beneficiary of the foundation’s speakers’ program--unique in California--to bring state legislators to San Diego to speak to students, the faculty and business and civic groups organized by the college district.

Records filed by legislators last week with the Fair Political Practices Commission show that the foundation paid more than $33,000 to bring 16 legislators to San Diego during 1986. Among the foundation’s guests were Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) and Senate President Pro Tem David Roberti (D-Los Angeles). Roberti spoke three times and was paid $2,000 for each appearance. Republican leaders Patrick Nolan, a Glendale assemblyman, and John Seymour, an Anaheim senator, also made appearances.

A review of the legislators’ reports by The Times shows that the foundation’s budget for legislative speakers was nearly 10 times larger than that of any other educational institution in the state. The San Diego district also spends more for each visit by a legislator than most schools, public or private, the records show.

The private University of Southern California, for example, spent $3,800 on seven legislators and state officials in 1986, paying only one of them--Brown--as much as the $1,000 that is standard in San Diego. University of California branches in Berkeley, Los Angeles, Riverside, Davis, Irvine and Santa Cruz each paid a total of $1,000 or less for their guest speakers from the Legislature. Pepperdine University, a private institution in Malibu, paid state Sen. William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights) $2,500--the only payment higher than those offered by the San Diego college foundation.

Chancellor Peed, who created the foundation and serves as its chief executive officer, said the organization’s program is well worth the investment. He said most legislators visit district programs before they speak to luncheon groups of local business, civic and political leaders.

“Where it really helps us is in our relationship with the local community,” Peed said. “The district has a strong following in the community. They look at us as being a source of information on these topics as much or more so than the four-year schools. We think it’s a great program.”

Peed said any influence the district gains in the Legislature through the program is only secondary to the public-relations value of the luncheons.

“It helps us establish relationships with (the legislators),” Peed said. “What it does is establish an identity with them.”

But the leaders of two faculty labor unions in the district, both of whom have long been critical of the foundation, said in interviews that the money spent on legislators would be better spent in the classroom. Both said they believe that the foundation is trying to buy influence with its payments, a role they said is improper, even though the foundation raises its funds privately.

“They’re buying good will,” said Fred Horn, president of the California Teachers Assn. local that represents the district’s teachers. “It’s a form of lobbying--an ill-disguised form of lobbying.”

Larry Schwartz, president of the competing American Federation of Teachers local, said he was “shocked” when told how much the district had spent on legislators last year, especially the $10,000 paid to Deddeh.

“You know what that $10,000 is? That’s one-half of what a new Ph.D. makes for the whole year,” Schwartz said. “That’s really ridiculous.”

Deddeh spoke at the district 10 times in 1986 and was paid $1,000 for each visit. He spoke to seven classes about American government, addressed two groups of graduating students, and spoke to a group of senior citizens at a career day sponsored by the district.

Teachers who had Deddeh in their classes said the senator, a former instructor himself, does a good job. But the union presidents and at least one of Deddeh’s hosts questioned whether his appearances are worth $1,000.

“Wadie was particularly good in talking about how he got started in politics and what he did, how he was effective in certain areas and not in others,” said Robert E. Dingeman, who teaches political science at Miramar College. “His frankness in the discussion was absolutely terrific.”

But Dingeman said he thought $300--enough to cover expenses to San Diego from Sacramento--would be a sufficient fee for Deddeh’s services.

“I think $1,000 is a little much,” he said.

Gary Monnell, a political science teacher at Mesa College, said it was “not a fair question” when he was asked to place a dollar value on lectures Deddeh gave to two of his classes last year. Monnell said he had Deddeh in the classes at the request of his dean.

“He used the full 50 minutes,” Monnell said. “I had no reluctance to have him speak. It wasn’t a matter of killing time.”

Bob Matthews, president of the district’s continuing education centers, arranged for Deddeh to visit three classes at the Educational Cultural Complex last year. Matthews said he thought the foundation got its money’s worth.

“I find him very refreshing,” Matthews said. “He speaks well. He speaks what he really feels inside. . . . I think that whatever the going rate is, if he’s able to get it, he should have it.”

Deddeh said he usually spends two to four hours preparing for a classroom speech.

“To prepare a half-way decent lecture, you are looking at doing some research,” he said. “It’s not like you go in and say, ‘Everything is nice in Sacramento.’ You talk about education, transportation, you talk about the economic condition of the state. You’ve got to substantiate that and you’ve got to do the research.”

Unlike Deddeh, most of the legislators who visit San Diego at the foundation’s expense do not speak to classes of students. Instead, they visit the district’s programs--politically popular job-training efforts usually top the list--and then address groups of community leaders while lunching at some of the city’s finer restaurants, including the Westgate Hotel, Lubach’s and the University Club.

Five of the speakers last year--including Deddeh--were members of the Senate and Assembly Education committees, which have a strong say in legislation affecting community colleges. The chairmen of the Senate Appropriations and Budget committees also were invited.

Sen. Henry Mello (D-Watsonville) said he visited several campuses and spoke to the luncheon group about the needs of the elderly. Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach), a member of the joint committee on the state’s master plan for higher education, toured several job-training programs before speaking about community college funding. Seymour spoke to one luncheon group about economic growth and to another about education opportunities for older adults.

Seymour said he discussed issues of interest to the district administration but said he wasn’t lobbied.

“Obviously, you discuss community college issues and funding and their programs,” Seymour said. “But never once have they said ‘Gee, we want you to vote for this or that.’ ”

Bergeson said she was happy to be exposed to the district’s programs.

“Everyone benefits when you have firsthand information about how programs work,” she said.

Robert Wilson, a lobbyist and former state senator who counts the district among his clients, said the luncheon program makes his job easier by showing key legislators the programs for which they are asked to approve thousands of dollars in funding. He said that exposure probably helps the district--and schools across the state--fight an attempt by water boards to levy new fees on schools for their use of water and sewage capacity, which could have cost the San Diego district more than $3 million.

“I think the program has been very helpful because the legislators have been able to come to the district, understand the district’s problems, see what the district does, how it delivers its services,” Wilson said. “I think it’s a very good program.”

HONORARIUMS PAID TO LEGISLATORS BY SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION GROUPS IN 1986: 1. San Diego Community College District Foundation. $33,860 2. University of Southern California $3,850 3. Coalition for Adequate School Housing $3,500 4. California Teachers Assn. $3,000 5. Pepperdine University $2,900 Total of all education groups in California $68,375 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATORS PAID TO SPEAK TO SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY COLLEGE CLASSES OR GROUPS: Sen. Wadie Deddeh (D-Chula Vista) $10,000 Sen. David Roberti (D-Los Angeles) $6,000 Assemblyman Willie Brown (D-S.F.) $2,000 Sen. William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights) $2,000 Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim) $2,000 Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) $2,000 Sen Dan Boatwright (D-Concord) $1,360 Sen. Alfred Alquist (D-San Jose) $1,000 Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) $1,000 Sen. Paul Carpenter (D-Norwalk) $1,000 Sen. William Craven (R-Oceanside) $1,000 Sen. Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) $1,000 Sen. Henry Mello (D-Watsonville) $1,000 Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles) $1,000 Assemblyman Patrick Nolan (R-Glendale) $1,000 Assemblyman Peter Chacon (D-San Diego) $500 Compiled from Community College Foundation records and FPPC reports filed through March 5.