GOP Fund-Raising Letter Starts Furor : Assembly: Invitation promises lobbyists ‘access’ to Mickey Conroy and Republican Leader Jim Brulte in return for attendance at event costing $2,500. Affair is canceled after questions are raised.

One of the unwritten rules of politics in this town is that legislators grant “access” to lobbyists who give them campaign donations.

It’s unwritten for good reason: At best, it looks bad to voters back home; at worst, lawmakers who grant access in exchange for donations are in line for a call from the FBI.

So on Wednesday, after reporters obtained a fund-raising letter by Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) explicitly promising lobbyists extraordinary “access” to him and Assembly Republican Leader Jim Brulte, the scramble was on.

Brulte, asked about the letter early in the day, said he had not seen it before it went out. Then he denounced it as “thoroughly inappropriate.” Later in the day, the consultant who sent the letter said he was considering getting out of the fund-raising business. By day’s end, Conroy had announced he was canceling the high-priced event.

But all that gets ahead of the story.

It begins with the GOP gaining control of 39 seats in the 80-seat Assembly, to the Democrats’ 39. With their new parity, Republicans have taken over as chairmen of a dozen committees for the first time in more than 20 years.

And with such control comes newfound fund-raising ability.

As the new chairman of the Utilities and Commerce Committee, Conroy, using a letterhead that lists his committee chairmanship, sent the letter dated last Thursday to roughly 30 prospective donors “specifically in the utilities and commerce arena.”

Conroy’s committee will be handling major issues such as deregulation affecting the gas, electrical power and telephone industries in the next two years.

The letter solicits a hefty $2,500 each for the privilege of attending a Sacramento Kings basketball game in a luxury suite with Conroy and Brulte on March 30, with food, cocktails and VIP parking included.

As originally sent, the letter reads: “This is like no other fund-raising event you have attended. Consider:

“* size (only a dozen guests);

“* venue (a fabulous 26-seat luxury suite at ARCO Arena, including VIP reserved parking);

“* access (3+ hours to discuss your utilities and commerce issues with Leader Brulte and me).”

The rub was in the final line.

Political operatives and the lawyer who defended Capitol lobbyist Clay Jackson in a 1993 federal corruption trial that dealt with campaign contributions said the letter took fund raising to a new level.

“I find it absolutely mind-boggling,” said Sacramento defense attorney Donald Heller, who represented Jackson. Jackson is serving a six-year term in federal prison.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has decreed that lawmakers break no law when they give access to political donors. But Heller said the Conroy letter seemed “to be linking matters pending before the Legislature to this fund-raiser for $2,500.”

The letter “comes very close to being a violation of federal law,” Heller said. If such a letter had been produced in the several Capitol corruption trials of recent years, Heller said, “it would have been a great piece of (prosecution) evidence.”

“It demonstrates they have learned nothing,” Heller said. “As the Jackson conviction fades, their guard is going to be dropped and it will be back to business as usual.”

“I haven’t seen anything like this. Usually, the less said, the better,” said Gale Kaufman, an aide and political adviser to Assembly Speaker Willie Brown. “The truth of the matter is that when stuff like this gets picked up, they run for cover. But had (The Times) not picked it up, the event would have occurred.”

Although the letter is signed “Mickey,” Conroy said Wednesday that a junior staffer, acting on orders, read and signed the letter’s final draft.

“I didn’t see the letter until now,” Conroy said after reading The Times’ copy. “This is the first time I have seen the letter. The bottom line is that there will be no event.

“No one is ever going to accuse me of paying to see me. Never ever, ever, ever,” Conroy said.

Tickets to legislators’ fund-raisers typically sell for $500 or $1,000. Some appeals are self-deprecating. Others are witty. Brown, a master at the game, often features big-name entertainers.

Conroy’s chief of staff, Pete Conaty, said $2,500 was not high, given the time those attending would have spent with Brulte and Conroy.

Conaty also said he was unaware of the final wording of the letter until a lobbyist questioned him about the use of the “A word” on Tuesday.

Conaty sent a new letter, also signed “Mickey,” on Tuesday, dropping the line about access and adding one that says: “a super basketball game as the Kings go for a playoff spot.”

Conaty said he signed the “Mickey” on the second letter.

The fund-raising appeal says the checks were supposed to be made out to Brulte’s committee, the Assembly Republican Leadership Fund.

“And, for your convenience, we’ll even arrange to have your check picked up at your office,” the letter said.

On Wednesday, however, Brulte, shown a copy of the original letter, said it was so inappropriate that he would not be attending the event.

“Mr. Conroy offered to do a fund-raiser for me. A date was set,” Brulte said. “I didn’t see the letter. Now that I have seen the letter, I told him it was an inappropriate letter, and I would not attend.”

Inappropriate or not, five or six recipients already had pledged to attend by Wednesday, said David McNeil, the consultant who wrote the letter.

“It is a favorable response,” McNeil said.

McNeil called it a mistake to use the word access and said that although he has been involved in political operations for 10 years, he is new to fund raising.

“I blew it,” McNeil said. “I don’t like to get knocked out of this business. But my guess is that is what will happen. We should not have made that mistake.”

Conroy’s decision to cancel the event came as news to at least one of the recipients, Pacific Telesis, a Pacific Telesis spokesman said.

“We looked at this as an opportunity to contribute to the Republican leadership and get to know Conroy as chairman of utilities and commerce,” Michael Runzler of Pacific Telesis said.