Robbins Urges Cleanup of California Politics : Speech: The former state senator and ex-felon tells how money talks in Capitol and proposes a reform plan.

In his first public appearance since his release from prison, former state Sen. Alan Robbins held an audience of environmentalists rapt Saturday with tales of political corruption and an insider’s view of how money talks in the state Capitol.

And as he pointed out, he ought to know.

After representing the San Fernando Valley in the Legislature for nearly two decades, the veteran Democrat was snared in an FBI sting that led to his pleading guilty to charges of racketeering and tax evasion in 1991.

Robbins’ plea means he admitted using his Senate office as a racketeering enterprise to extort money from lobbyists and his former business partners. He also later pleaded guilty to separate federal charges of providing false information to obtain a loan.

Since his release from federal prison last spring, Robbins has maintained a mostly low profile.

But on Saturday he turned up the volume with a call for reform of what he regards as a money-tarnished system that left him forever branded an ex-felon.

Saying, “I don’t think too many people expected me to be quiet, to become some sort of shrinking violet,” Robbins vowed to tell his story wherever it will help mobilize a movement to clean up California’s legislative process.

For several hundred environmental activists gathered at a symposium at Sacramento City College, Robbins outlined the everyday practice in the Legislature through which “millions of dollars are contributed (to politicians) by groups who want to influence legislation.”

“What I’m describing to you is not a fantasy, it is not fiction,” Robbins said. “But that’s what goes on in the state Capitol.”

Savvy lobbyists for wealthy companies or individuals routinely manipulate the outcome of bills by doling out huge checks, Robbins said. “It’s generally the side that contributes the most money that wins the vote,” he said.

Looking at ease but formal in a double-breasted navy-blue pin-striped suit, Robbins urged the group to form a coalition of nonprofit organizations to push for a cleanup of state politics.

“If you want to do something about it, there are enough other organizations that have been victimized by the system that you can change the way things are done in California,” Robbins said.

Several steps are needed to achieve this goal, he said, sharing a blueprint for change that he drafted “in a room where I had no distractions--a 7-by-9-foot cell in the El Dorado County Jail.”

First, lobbyists should be forbidden to deliver or arrange campaign contributions. Second, a limit ought to be imposed on how much money can be contributed. Third, the cost of running for office needs to be reduced, possibly through partial public funding of campaigns, Robbins said.

As for term limits, the former legislator had praise for the intent of the voter-approved mandate that in part attempted to break the link between money and politics. In practical terms, however, he said, “So far, its (result is) different faces and different hands that are reaching out to accept the campaign checks.”

Using a hand-held microphone and an easy, talk-show-host manner, Robbins appeared to win over his initially skeptical audience. Before his speech, some environmental lobbyists had gathered at the side of the room, swapping stories about how Robbins used to put the squeeze on them for campaign contributions.

At the end of his presentation, Robbins received a huge round of applause.

Gerald H. Meral, executive director of the Planning and Conservation League, which sponsored the event, said he invited Robbins to be keynote speaker because he hoped to impress upon attendees the need to back campaign reform, possibly through a ballot initiative.

“The goal is to get the panelists emotionally involved,” Meral said. “I’m hoping that Alan being here will galvanize them to reform the system.”

Robbins said he was the perfect choice because “I’m the only person who was part of that process who can speak with total honesty and candor without concern for prosecution. I’ve been there, done that, served my time.”

Still, Robbins made it clear he did not want to lead such a movement.

And before closing his talk, to which he was accompanied by his 24-year-old son, Jake, Robbins issued a disclaimer:

“The fact that the system is wrong does not in any way excuse the conduct of myself and others. If I had had greater resolve, I would not have violated the law; I would not have had to go to federal prison.”