Donors Don’t Get Special Treatment, Gallegly Says

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), who a citizens group this week said received more than a quarter of his campaign financing from political action committees, many of them in the real estate and construction fields, said Friday the money brought the donors no special treatment.

Gallegly received $305,232 in PAC contributions between 1986 and 1988, according to a study released this week by the citizens lobby group Common Cause. The former real estate broker and Simi Valley mayor received his largest contributions from real estate and construction PACs, which gave him $47,299.

Like his San Fernando Valley colleagues, several of whom also received large PAC donations, Gallegly said he would support campaign finance reforms that further restrict much-criticized PAC contributions if the changes are nonpartisan in their impact.

At the same time, Gallegly said, contributors neither receive special access nor exert special influence on him as a result of their donations.

“Before I was elected, I advocated certain things that were important to them ideologically,” he said, adding that he has been consistent in those commitments since taking office.

Noting that Common Cause reported that 27% of his total receipts were from PACs, a figure lower than those reported for his Valley colleagues, Gallegly said that he has focused his efforts on “grass-roots” fund raising.