Silicon Valley Supporters Rethink Links to Clinton

For years, high-tech businessman Mitchell Kertzman was one of those big donors Democratic Party officials counted on to buy tickets whenever President Clinton visited the Silicon Valley for top-dollar fund-raising dinners.

In the 1996 election cycle, he contributed more than $150,000 to the reelection coffers of Clinton and other Democrats. But when he is asked now to make a donation or attend a fund-raiser--like the one Clinton is headlining for the Democratic National Committee in Silicon Valley tonight--he says he cannot sign such checks anymore.

Prodded by his wife, Kertzman has come to believe that Clinton should resign. Clinton “has become ineffective in his job. There is so much that needs doing. You need someone who is effective--not two years of Clinton abuse by the Republicans.”

Kertzman is not alone. A small but growing number of generous donors in Silicon Valley--one of the president’s strongest bases of support--is having second thoughts. Offended by the president’s affair with onetime White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky and his months-long denial of it, they are showing signs of disaffection.

Other Democratic fund-raisers suggested that the reaction of Silicon Valley reflects a broader reality across the country. The president’s transgressions have turned off a small percentage of normally dependable donors nationwide.

Nonetheless, Democratic fund-raisers are reaching their targets for big-dollar events. Many donors are saying that they continue to give because they want to support the party, even though they are angry with the president.

Difficulty in Selling Tickets

Organizers for tonight’s fund-raiser said the $25,000-per-couple tickets were sold with difficulty. In fact, according to one political operative, several mid-level employees at technology companies were offered free tickets last week to fill out tables. Even the venue raised eyebrows, when planners shifted from the home of venture capitalist John Doerr to the new Tech Museum of Innovation. And the trouble had nothing to do with the menu of steak, French fries and apple pie.

“There’s clearly less enthusiasm this time around and it’s clearly due to what’s going on in Washington,” said one of the organizers, who spoke on condition that he not be named.

Halsey Minor of C-NET, the businessman who hosted last year’s fund-raiser in his home, decided not to attend this year, a decision, associates said, that had more to do with what he thinks about Clinton than with scheduling conflicts.

And Reed Hastings, who heads TechNet, the Silicon Valley political organization sponsoring the fund-raiser, confirmed that the presidential crisis has “impacted” the fund-raiser.

“Our membership mirrors the general population,” Hastings said. “Some people are really angry. Some people are dismayed. Some only care that the economy is still strong. The president’s closest supporters have been the most angry. Some of them have forgiven him. Some have not yet. I assume Friday will be a continued part of that healing process.”

Democratic fund-raising officials suggested that the fallout from Clinton’s affair with Lewinsky is not restricted to California’s high-tech Silicon Valley.

But the Silicon Valley disaffection is particularly painful because the area was not fertile ground for Democrats until Clinton and Vice President Al Gore started working it. While technology companies and their employees in the rest of the nation favor Republicans, Silicon Valley has emerged as one of the administration’s and Democratic Party’s most generous sources of cash.

A review of Federal Election Commission records shows a small club of big-dollar donors in Silicon Valley whose donations have dried up since the presidential scandal hit the news. Some of the disparity can be explained by the fact that this is an off-year cycle, which attracts fewer donors. But much of the rest can be attributed to Clinton’s troubles.

Some of those who have pulled back--and will be no-shows at tonight’s fund-raiser: Brook Byers, a venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins; Lawrence Ellison CEO of Oracle Corp.; Charles Geschke of Adobe Systems; Regis McKenna, a veteran high-tech executive, and John Chambers of Cisco Systems. All of them donated $50,000 or more in 1996-1997 but had made only negligible donations--or contributed nothing--this year by Aug. 10.

For his part, Kertzman said he could no longer attend a fund-raiser with the businessman’s justification that rubbing shoulders with power gives you influence that is well worth the money--whether you like the politician or not.

“Sometimes I believe personal principle overrides pragmatic politics,” said Kertzman, CEO of Emeryville-based Sybase Inc., an information technology company. “It would be a violation of personal principle to donate. It would send a horrible message that political support is somehow separate from principle. I think we’re all in trouble when we get to that point.”

There also is a gender aspect to the discontent. Kertzman’s wife, Julie, protested loudly that her husband should sign no big check for this president.

“She has become a person who shouts at the television,” Kertzman said. “Seeing the strength of her reaction has had an impact on me.”

When organizers of tonight’s event made calls, they got an earful about Clinton and the scandal.

Several potential donors suggested that an alternate headliner might be more effective, like Gore, who is technology savvy and popular in Silicon Valley, or First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, said one organizer.

Kertzman is not the only Silicon Valley executive balking at the chance to break bread with the president but none of the others who turned down invitations to tonight’s event returned phone calls.

Many Attending Express Conflict

Perhaps more telling, among the 35 people attending, many feel conflicted.

“I’ve been one of the strongest supporters and advocates of the president out here,” said one long-time Democrat who will attend but asked not to be named. “But this [the Lewinsky scandal] was disappointing, and it made it more difficult personally for me to support him.”

That alienation stands in stark contrast to the mood a year ago when a small group of high-tech executives were aglow with excitement after sitting on couches in the living room of a colleague and talking at length with Clinton.

Times staff writer Alan C. Miller contributed to this story.