Conservative O.C.-Based PAC Becomes Instant Powerhouse

After just one year of existence, an Orange County-based political group that pushes a conservative Christian agenda has elbowed into the ranks of California’s top campaign contributors, a state watchdog group announced Wednesday.

The entry of Allied Business PAC as the fourth-largest donor during 1992 is nothing short of “historic,” according to officials with California Common Cause, which annually lists the state’s big political donors.

Common Cause, which is considering an initiative to impose limits on campaign contributions, contends that the relatively small group of top contributors has a disproportionate say in public policy because of the money they spend to elect legislators.

“These special interests dump millions of dollars into the river of campaign money that floods the Capitol and drowns out the voice of the public,” said Common Cause lobbyist Kim Alexander.

Among the top 10 were groups representing physicians, prison guards and public school teachers. But the newest entrant was Allied Business PAC, an alliance of four wealthy Christian businessmen that includes Home Savings and Loan heir Howard F. Ahmanson Jr. of Newport Beach and newly elected state Sen. Rob Hurtt (R-Garden Grove).

The group was formed in November, 1991, at the suggestion of Hurtt, who felt the four businessmen could prove more effective by pooling their money. During 1992, the group or its members combined to donate more than $2.2 million to candidates or causes.

That political generosity has made Allied the first “ideological” group to rank among California’s top 10 since Common Cause began tabulating its list in 1984, Alexander said. Every other political action committee represented on the list of top donors represents a business or professional group.

Ahmanson alone contributed more than $1.1 million, while Hurtt, owner of Container Supply Co. in Garden Grove, gave more than $750,000 and also loaned his own campaign $235,000 to help him win a March special election.

The other members of the group are magazine publisher Roland Hinz of Mission Hills and Edward Atsinger III of Camarillo, part-owner of a broadcasting firm that owns 18 Christian radio stations throughout the country.

Alexander said Allied may represent “the future of campaign fund-raising” in an era of term limits and unlimited campaign financing. She also suggested that no other group had a greater effect on the outcome of races for open legislative seats in 1992 and that the emergence of Allied led to “factionalism” that weakened the Republican Party in 1992.

“Allied Business PAC was not shy about breaking what had been a cardinal rule among Republicans--never challenge a Republican incumbent,” Alexander said in her report. Of the 17 candidates supported by Allied in the June, 1992, primary, 12 beat out more moderate candidates supported by Gov. Pete Wilson. In the general election, Allied didn’t fare as well, winning in just 12 of 26 races where the group provided financial support to Republicans.

The group’s contribution patterns diverged dramatically from other political action committees, Common Cause said. While the California Teachers Assn. spread its money among 126 legislative candidates, Allied gave financial support to just 26.

Candidates supported by Allied Business PAC invariably ran on conservative platforms, taking a stand against abortion, gay rights and gun control, supporting a private school voucher system, promoting less government regulation and lower taxes. Many candidates wanted to see tighter controls over pornography and supported having creationism taught in public schools, usually alongside evolution, according to the Common Cause report.

The platform “closely mirrors” that of Christian fundamentalists such as Pat Robertson and his 250,000-member Christian Coalition, according to Common Cause. In addition, Allied candidates enjoyed strong support from Christian political activists.

Among the Orange County candidates supported by Allied Business PAC were Republican Assemblymen Curt Pringle of Garden Grove, Mickey Conroy of Orange and Bill Morrow of Oceanside, as well as defeated candidate Jo Ellen Allen.

Hurtt complained that his group has been singled out unfairly. “We’re the new one on the street and we’re getting an undue amount of attention,” Hurtt said.

He also rejected the label of “Christian right.” “It’s not an accurate description of us,” Hurtt said, although he agreed that the principals in the Allied Business PAC were churchgoing businessmen.

Hurtt asserted that his group has no specific agenda other than to improve the state’s business climate. And he said he told Common Cause that he would support campaign reform “as soon as we get a responsible . . . representation around here. Then let’s change the game rules and let’s keep it that way.”

After less than half a year in the Legislature, Hurtt said he personally finds serving in Sacramento frustrating, enough that he might not try to serve out the full limit of his Senate seat. “I don’t want to last out eight years,” he said.

Altogether, the 10 top political donors paid $7.8 million to help elect candidates--10% of the total received in all the legislative races combined in the two years leading up to the 1992 election.

“Now more than ever we need campaign finance reform,” said California Common Cause executive director Ruth Holton. She said she is actively seeking support to place a contribution limit initiative on the November, 1994, ballot.

Holton said that among those expressing a strong interest in getting the issue before voters are Ross Perot’s United We Stand, the League of Women Voters and Campaign California, the political organization launched by state Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica).

Unlike the federal system, which bars corporate and union contributions and puts caps on everyone else, California election law allows unlimited contributions to state candidates.

In 1988, however, voters approved Proposition 73, an initiative that imposed contribution caps on state races. But just weeks before the 1990 general election, a federal judge struck it down as unfair to challengers. The ruling released a deluge of large contributions, particularly in the contest for governor between Democrat Dianne Feinstein and the eventual winner, Republican Wilson.

The Common Cause study, titled “Deep Pockets,” points out that almost all the top 10 contributors lobby the Legislature heavily.

The California Medical Assn. topped the list, spending $1.3 million on legislative races during the 1991-92 election cycle. The group lobbied successfully to amend a bill that would have allowed hospital disciplinary action against physicians to be made public.

But the physicians’ top lobbyist, Steven M. Thompson, attacked Common Cause for portraying the group as “an unseen, unknowing monolith of purported evil . . . working against the public interest.” In fact, he said, the group uses its considerable clout in support of a range of bills including anti-smoking legislation, tougher pesticide standards and protection of health insurance benefits.

Thompson also noted that putting a cap on contributions would not end the role of doctors in elections, because the 4,000 physicians who donate to the group’s statewide political action committee could still contribute individually to smaller district committees.