Lobbyists, Supporters Asked for $2.5 Million for Inaugural Festivities

Republican Pete Wilson is asking special interests and political supporters for $2.5 million to pay for several days of festivities celebrating his inauguration.

The governor-elect, who made a point of refusing large contributions from special-interest groups during his campaign, now has appealed to capital lobbyists to help him finance the gala event by donating, in some cases, large sums.

The lobbyists were among 50,000 people invited this week to attend the Jan. 7 inaugural event and purchase tickets to related events--everything from a $30 ticket for the “inaugural fiesta” to a $10,000 “box” at the inaugural ball. Some were asked to be $25,000 “sponsors” for the festivities.

It is not new for incoming governors to ask lobbyists and supporters to underwrite their inaugural events, but never has it been done to this scale. Organizers say the financing help is needed because, unlike celebrations in the past, the Wilson events include several that are free of charge and open to the public. They said they were confident that this inauguration would be Sacramento’s biggest and most expensive to date.

Inaugural officials, who contend that the event is social and not political, have elected to follow the practice of past governors in not disclosing the names of those who contribute toward covering the costs--and that has provoked some negative reaction.

“The people have a right to know who’s paying for (the Wilson inaugural events) . . . particularly when they are going to the people (for contributions) who have business pending before them,” said Robert Stern, general counsel for the California Commission on Campaign Financing, a private watchdog group. “I think the big problem is nobody’s going to know. Frequently when no disclosure is made, people will assume the worst.”

Inaugural spokesman Dan Schnur said there are no legal requirements for disclosing contributors and Wilson officials believe it is far better for private individuals than the public treasury to pay for the festivities.

“This is not a political event,” he said. “We are asking no more of any of those people than to put on the best celebration possible and we are offering no more than a chance to help us enjoy it,” Schnur said. “There are no political considerations involved in this whatsoever.”

But both Stern and Ruth Holton, a lobbyist for Common Cause, the campaign reform advocacy group, said that no matter what the purpose, a large contribution to an elected official is likely to be remembered.

“There’s nothing wrong with raising money from private sources for the inauguration. It’s certainly far preferable to the state paying for it,” said Holton. “The real problem is not the $250 tickets but the $10,000 tables. Who’s paying for that? That’s where I would be concerned.”

Stern said the fund-raising efforts for the events seem to contradict Wilson’s own past practices. In 1973 as mayor of San Diego, he said, Wilson pushed and passed the toughest local campaign-financing law in the country and then as a gubernatorial candidate voluntarily limited the amount of money he would accept from special interests.

“What’s the difference in money used for campaigns and money used for the inaugural?” he asked. “When a lobbyist gives the governor’s campaign $5,000 and $5,000 to the inaugural, it’s the same thing.”

Schnur however, maintained that there is a vast difference. Contributions to a campaign are used to further a political career, he said, while donations for the inaugural finance a public celebration.

He said this year’s inauguration is expensive because Wilson wanted to extend it to as many people as possible. While tickets to the inaugural ball cost $125 and tickets to the inaugural gala a minimum of $100, an ecumenical religious service, a Sacramento community welcome and the inauguration itself will be free to the public. Charges for most other events are nominal.

In contrast to the $2.5 million to be spent by Wilson, Karl Samuelian, the Los Angeles attorney who spearheaded outgoing Gov. George Deukmejian’s two inauguration events, said the first cost about $750,000 and the second $900,000. Citing severe economic conditions, Deukmejian’s predecessor, former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., did not solicit contributions or stage celebrations at the beginning of either of his two terms.

“We could have thrown a party for Pete Wilson’s 100 closest friends for significantly less money but our intent was to put together a celebration that as many people as possible could enjoy,” said Schnur. “The more people you include the more events you have and the greater the level of expense.”