Dollar Days : Legislators Mount Frenzy of Fund-Raisers as Session Nears End

It’s late summer and the end of the 1995 legislative session, a good time for lobbyists to meet the Murray family--at a price.

During the past two weeks, Assemblyman Willard H. Murray (D-Paramount) staged a $1,000- a-person “Evening of Jazz” and his son, freshman Assemblyman Kevin Murray (D-Los Angeles), held a $750-a-person reception.

And Wednesday, a third member of what her brother jokingly refers to as the “Murray Caucus,” Assembly candidate-in-waiting Melinda Murray, held a $500-a-person event. So what is going on here?

Fund raising is in full swing in Sacramento, and the timing is no accident: Friday is the Legislature’s official adjournment day for 1995, and a flood of bills face crucial action before then.

As a result, appeals for money can be especially effective right now as special interests of all kinds press for action, and dozens of events have been scheduled. They range from golf tournaments and a Sacramento River cruise to breakfasts and, arguably the most unusual, a celebration of cigars--that traditional symbol of back-room wheeling and dealing--on behalf of Assemblywoman Marilyn C. Brewer (R-Irvine).

While such widespread fund raising is common this time of year (incumbent lawmakers took in about $20 million two years ago, the last non-election year), both lobbyists and lawmakers say 1995 is different. There are more events, and the intensity is higher.

What sets this year apart is that, because of turnover caused by term limits, more potential candidates are vying for open seats and heading to Sacramento to solicit funds. Other factors include the advancing of next year’s primary elections from June to March, the amassing of funds by lame-duck lawmakers, and the intense maneuvering for control in the narrowly divided Legislature.

Also fueling the fund-raising frenzy are at least 10 ambitious daughters, sons, wives and even grandchildren of lawmakers poised to parlay their names and family connections into seats in the Legislature.

“It’s been very rare in the past for a candidate who isn’t already a member of the Legislature to hold a Sacramento fund-raiser,” said Ruth Holton, a lobbyist for Common Cause, one of several groups circulating petitions to place a political reform initiative on the November, 1996, ballot. It would ban legislative fund raising until six months before an election.

Veteran business lobbyist George Steffes agrees that the system needs to be overhauled.

“I think the basic issue that bothers me is that the average citizen thinks money controls the government, and I think the Legislature should take steps to alleviate that feeling, even a little bit,” Steffes said.

“The perception that, at the time the Legislature is making final decisions on major, major issues for the year . . . there should be 80-plus fund-raisers sends exactly the wrong message.”

Some lobbyists and lawmakers privately bristle about solicitations from legislative hopefuls, saying prospective candidates should first draw on financial support in their districts before trying to reach into the pocketbooks of those with business in the Capitol.

“I’m sorry if anyone feels insulted because they get an invitation,” said Michael Vicencia, a Lakewood attorney whose father, Democrat Frank Vicencia, was in the Assembly leadership in the 1980s.

“If that’s how they feel, they ought to throw it away,” said Vicencia, an Assembly candidate whose fund-raiser was hosted by several lawmakers of Portuguese heritage who served with his father.

Besides Michael Vicencia and Melinda Murray, a partial list of relatives expected to seek Assembly seats includes Elaine White Alquist, wife of state Sen. Alfred E. Alquist (D-Santa Clara); George Miller Jr., son of U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez) and grandson of a former state senator; Matt Moretti, son of the late Robert Moretti from Van Nuys, who served as Assembly Speaker in the early 1970s, and Mark Dymally, son of former Lt. Gov. Mervyn Dymally.

Although Murray’s son Kevin won an Assembly seat last year, the offspring of other politicians--including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and Los Angeles County Supervisor Deane Dana--have not fared as well in their bids to follow in their parent’s footsteps.

Still, one lobbyist, who asked not to be identified, said that in the future, family ties may provide more of a boost. He said name identification gives these candidates instant legitimacy with special-interest donors who are flooded with requests for money.

Elaine White Alquist, who has been married to Sen. Alquist for three years, acknowledged that being the spouse of an admired lawmaker helps her in some ways. But, she said, “I’m really running in my own right,” noting that she formerly served on a Santa Clara County school board.

Mark Dymally held a Sacramento fund-raiser in July, and although he said he raised only $5,000 to $7,000 from the Capitol lobbying corps, he found that his name was a big help in getting attention. “My last name served me incredibly,” he said.

But Assemblyman Kevin Murray, an attorney, said family ties have some drawbacks. “When I came up here, the assumption was made that I wasn’t qualified, and I had to prove to people that I could do this job.”

His father, Willard, is being forced out of the Legislature by term limits and is running for Congress next year. Melinda Murray, a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles, intends to run for her father’s seat.

Willard Murray said he did not set out to establish a political dynasty. Instead, his offspring followed in his footsteps, Murray said, because he emphasized “a sense of public service, and [that] they should give something back to society because they’ve had opportunities.”

The cost of attending fund-raisers this time of year are as high as ever. One lobbyist said the typical ticket to a Senate fund-raiser this year costs $1,000, while the price tag for Assembly events averages between $500 to $750. Assembly Speaker Doris Allen (R-Cypress) threw a $500-a-head, black-tie bash last week at which she expected to attract more than $60,000 in contributions.

The struggle over leadership of the Assembly, where Democrats lost power last year, has further fueled the sale of fund-raising tickets. As part of that leadership strife, two expensive recall elections have been conducted this year, along with several hotly contested special elections.

Even after capturing a legislative seat, newcomers say they must continue to think about raising funds. Some search for a gimmick to attract contributions.

Take the case of rookie Assemblywoman Brewer, who last week staged a smokers’ night attended by more than 120 people at a Sacramento restaurant. Providing Macanudos and other pricey cigars, Brewer attracted some of the Capitol’s most powerful figures, who were willing to plunk down $500 to light up.

“Cigars are making a comeback. They are like the hot, trendy thing, so I decided it would be fun to incorporate that into a fund-raiser. I like to do things that are a little bit unique and a little bit different,” said Brewer, who waved a cigarette lodged in an antique cigarette holder as she stood in front of a table filled with boxes of cigars.

“I thought it would be fun, especially for a woman legislator to do a smokers’ night,” Brewer said. She joked that her event was a step toward softening the image of the cigar as a political symbol. Men used to be the only ones in smoke-filled rooms making big decisions, she said, “and now women are doing it.”

Common Cause’s Holton said that term limits, by bringing in new faces such as Brewer, were supposed to curtail the fund-raising process.

Citing the current fund-raising season, Holton said, “So much for term limits cleaning up the system. Term limits were supposed to bring the wave of clean legislators. . . . Now, instead, what we have are freshmen legislators learning very quickly the way to raise money is to turn to Sacramento lobbyists.”

The funds are used for a variety of purposes--from campaign expenses such as targeted mailers and TV commercials to such non-traditional items as livestock raised by youngsters at county fairs and toilet paper for district offices.

Non-election year donations are also an insurance policy for incumbents to fend off potential challengers. Take the case of freshman Assemblyman Bob Margett (R-Arcadia), who won his seat in a special election earlier this year and who late last month held a Sacramento function.

“If I’m all of a sudden targeted by Democrats,” Margett said, “I can’t be standing there naked.”