Doctors, Teachers Union Among Top Political Donors

Organized medicine, a statewide teachers union and real estate agents were among the top contributors to state political campaigns in the first half of 1992, according to a report released Monday by Secretary of State March Fong Eu.

These groups--along with others on a list that also included trial lawyers and prison guards--have long had a strong presence in the Capitol and a big stake in the outcome of legislation.

With an unusually large number of competitive legislative races this year--because of redistricting and the impact of term limits--these special interests are well-positioned to influence the makeup of the new Legislature. And under current California law, there are no limits on how much an individual, corporation or group can donate to a candidate--except in special elections.

But, as the report shows, the large contributors do not always back winners.

The list also reflects large infusions of cash by groups with narrow agendas--such as the Allied Business PAC, an Orange County-based group that backs conservative Republicans, and a coalition of public employee groups that collected $235,000 for four Assembly races.

However, the top contributor is a perennial power in election politics--the California Medical Assn. The group’s political action committee gave $757,079 to state candidates and officeholders in the first half of this year--by far the highest total of any group. Much of the doctors’ money went to incumbents, many of whom had little opposition in the June primary.

But the group also played an active role in contested primaries--where its record of picking winners was mixed. Generally, in Republican primaries, the physicians’ group sided with candidates backed by Gov. Pete Wilson in races against conservatives.

Like many big contributors, the doctors’ committee sometimes found itself spending money on losing candidates. For example, the group contributed $30,000 to Mary Hornbuckle, a Republican who unsuccessfully challenged Assemblyman Gil Ferguson of Newport Beach in the June primary.

The Democratic State Central Committee was the second-highest contributor to state candidates this year, spending $479,000 of its $557,255 total to ensure that Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti was returned to the Legislature. Roberti ran successfully in a special election, where limits on contributions applied to all contributors except political parties.

In third place is the California Teachers Assn., which contributed $374,522 to state candidates this year.

In a series of speeches this month, Gov. Wilson has singled out the teachers union as responsible for the 63-day budget impasse because of the group’s lobbying to increase state support for schools.

But Wilson also took money from special interests. According to the campaign report, the governor took $5,000 from the California Real Estate PAC, a group that spent $346,000 on state candidates this year.

Wilson also received $21,750 from the Atlantic Richfield Co., the report said.

Leading Contributors

Following are the top 20 contributors--many of them political action committees, or PACs--to state candidates and officeholders in 1992. 1) California Medical PAC: $757,079 2) Democratic State Central Committee: $557,255 3) California Teachers Assn. / Assn. for Better Citizenship: $374,522 4) California Real Estate PAC: $346,000 5) California Correctional Peace Officers Assn. PAC: $299,000 6) California Trial Lawyers PAC: $240,382 7) PAC of the Assn. of California Insurance Cos.: $238,680 8) Allied Business PAC: $233,770 9) California Dental PAC: $233,613 10) Committee of Working Californians for an Effective Legislature: $218,120 11) California State Council of Service Employees: $208,992 12) California Optometric PAC: $201,868 13) California Professional Firefighters: $194,925 14) Atlantic Richfield Co.: $185,628 15) California State Employees Assn. PAC: $169,903 16) Container Supply Co.: $163,905 17) California Chiropractic PAC: $156,713 18) Defeat Roberti Committee / A project of Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. PAC: $147,005 19) Philip Morris USA: $146,523 20) California Cable Television Assn.: $142,909

SOURCE: Secretary of state