Government for Sale : Orange County assemblyman issues, then walks away from, a crude fund-raising letter

Invitations to politicians’ fund-raisers almost never are so obvious as to spell out a quid pro quo. The cover story is that people contribute because they like the candidate’s philosophy and are only interested in good government, just as it says in the civics textbooks. By that rationale, last week’s letter from Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) was extraordinary. The stench it emitted was so bad that an intended beneficiary, Assembly Republican Leader Jim Brulte, quickly backed away from it.

Conroy is the new chairman of the Assembly’s Utilities and Commerce Committee, which will be handling major issues such as deregulation of the natural gas, electrical power and telephone industries. He sent a letter to about 30 people “specifically in the utilities and commerce arena,” inviting them to shell out $2,500 apiece to watch a Sacramento Kings basketball game from a luxury suite. But the main attraction was “access (3+ hours to discuss your utilities and commerce issues with Leader Brulte and me).” The checks were to be written to Brulte’s committee, the Assembly Republican Leadership Fund. They didn’t even have to be mailed; someone would pick them up at the donor’s office. How efficient. How outrageous.

It’s bad enough that lawmakers put on fund-raisers that merely imply a chance to get a legislative ear; it’s appalling to auction off an audience explicitly. This offers grounds for the cynical belief that those whose only currency is their vote have little hope of getting their representatives’ attention--that the rich get the laws written the way they want.

Conroy said he authorized a junior staffer to sign his name and send the letter, which he had not seen. A later version dropped the line about access and was signed by another staffer. Conroy should exercise more supervision; this is a legislator who, in running for a seat on the County Board of Supervisors, is accusing his incumbent opponent of not paying enough attention to fiscal matters before the bankruptcy.

Brulte quickly recognized that the solicitation was inappropriate and said he would not attend the fund-raiser. Even Conroy belatedly called it off. But an aide to another legislator offered a chilling commentary, saying that if The Times had not learned of the letter, the event would have gone on as scheduled.