Robbins Pens Letter From Prison on Danger of Mixing Money, Politics

If you stay squeaky clean, you won’t survive long in the jungle of Capitol politics. If, on the other hand, you accept special-interest contributions, you may buy time, but probably will pay for it with your integrity.

Those are some of the lose-lose lessons on life in the Legislature--”a system which relies far too much on money”--that former state Sen. Alan Robbins highlighted in an “open letter” he penned in federal prison to freshman lawmakers.

The article, published in the Sacramento Bee’s Sunday opinion section, depicts a soul-searching convicted felon who now preaches the need for reform to separate money from politics.

In the article, Robbins, a Democratic state senator from Van Nuys for 18 years, identifies himself as No. 05957-097 at the Lompoc prison camp and says he has been moved to tears by the hardships of his fellow inmates.

“If my experience causes new legislators to pause and reflect, I want to pass on a simple thought: Don’t discuss money and legislation in the same conversation,” wrote Robbins, now serving two years after pleading guilty to racketeering and income-tax evasion.

But some first-term lawmakers said Monday that they viewed the article with skepticism because they had to consider the source. Others said they hardly recognized the dismal, power- and money-hungry Legislature that Robbins portrayed.

“I have not given much thought to falling into the kind of trap Alan Robbins fell into because I don’t have any of the ambitions for power and limelight that Robbins speaks of,” said Assemblyman William J. (Pete) Knight, a Republican from Palmdale. “I think he feels that by blaming the system, it’s one way he can vindicate himself.”

Assemblywoman Vivian Bronshvag (D-Kentfield) said, “I was surprised by a lot of the things he said about the Legislature. I have never had the experiences that he has. He just said some really bizarre things.”

According to Robbins, he began manipulating the system by trading influence for political contributions because he viewed it as a victimless crime.

“I became a wise guy in the first place because I thought I was smart enough to bend and break the rules,” he wrote.

He went on to say that virtually every legislator is caught up in the intense competition for lobbyists’ dollars. Those who resist, he said, “eventually take the only option available and leave office, either through retirement or defeat.”

Assemblywoman Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey), co-author of a campaign finance reform bill stalled in the Legislature, is one freshman legislator who thinks Robbins’ call for reform is especially timely.

“Most people will not sell their votes, but we need to deal with those who are willing to,” Bowen said.

But state Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica), who regularly attacks what he calls state government driven by special interests, noted that it was only after Robbins resigned and was ostracized by the Senate that his colleagues found the courage to criticize him.

“Now he’s being utterly disowned and isolated as if he were the crooked exception to the rule,” Hayden said. “He’s an extreme form of what’s wrong in Sacramento, but he’s not a totally isolated one.”

In his advice to freshman lawmakers, Robbins cautioned: “As a new legislator, how long can you kid yourself into believing you are so perfect that you can accept large contributions without being influenced?”

Robbins said he learned his lesson the hard way and that “the ability to see where I’ve failed has brought the kind of inner peace that eluded me for a very long time.”

But where Robbins wrote of self-realization, attorney Donald Heller read self-interest. Heller is representing leading lobbyist Clayton R. Jackson, whom Robbins helped convict on political corruption charges Dec. 1, in Jackson’s request for a new trial.

Observing that Robbins still faces sentencing in Los Angeles on federal bank fraud charges, Heller said, “It’s obvious to me that Alan is trying to curry as much favor as he can and present himself in the light of a remorseful corrupt official.”