Receptions Here Are Warm--and Fuzzy

Back in Washington, it’s nearly impossible for the head of a major energy company to get a one-on-one meeting with Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson.

It’s a far different story at this week’s Democratic convention.

Richardson was cornered by the chief executive officer of Sempra Energy in a dimly lit downtown restaurant at a swank party his company threw Monday evening for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and its head, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard.

The San Diego firm forked over $50,000 to host the lavish, late-night affair, and Sempra’s chief wasn’t about to let the Cabinet official who regulates his industry escape without getting an earful about price controls.

CEO Steve Baum said he pleaded with Richardson to maintain government-imposed price caps that have helped lower the cost of electricity during this summer’s energy crunch.

Such exclusive, invitation-only events are not fund-raisers, but they allow lobbyists and corporate executives extraordinary access to top public officials without any of the scrutiny or disclosure that lobbying activity usually requires.

“I was using my temporary bully pulpit. . . ,” said Baum, who also buttonholed House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) at the event. “This is not back-room politics.”

No, instead, it’s dining-room politics, the sort that has come to dominate this year’s conventions as big corporations spend millions of dollars on private celebrations in honor of individual members of Congress.

Richardson said he attended the event because it was held for Roybal-Allard, a Los Angeles Democrat who had three such corporate parties thrown in her honor.

Richardson said he couldn’t have attended the dinner if it had been thrown in his honor, because Cabinet ethics rules prohibit such events to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

Richardson, a Latino appointee and former New Mexico congressman, said Baum’s lobbying efforts were appropriate and that he only promised to “consider” what Baum suggested. Still, Richardson said voters were right to be concerned about such celebrations.

“I suspect there is an advantage to staging events like this,” he said.

Though Democrats have shown more willingness this week than Republicans during their convention to throw open the private parties to reporters, watchdog groups say the events create an impression of corporate favoritism.

The Millennium Convention Project, a Web site dedicated to tracking events at the conventions, counted 29 receptions this week, compared to 14 events during the Republican convention.

“You have to pay to play,” said Scott Harshbarger, director of Common Cause. “It’s about influence, it’s about access, and it’s about a perceived quid pro quo.”

Roybal-Allard, a rising star who serves on the influential Appropriations Committee, may have been feted more than any other House member this week. She agreed to let a Times reporter accompany her to the events.

First came a modest gathering at the San Antonio Winery held by Bank of America on Monday. The bank, one of the biggest mortgage lenders in the state, stands to benefit from a Roybal-Allard bill that would award tax credits for making second mortgages available to low-income homeowners.

Also at the event were other lawmakers of interest to BofA: House Banking and Financial Services Committee members Nydia M. Velazquez (D-N.Y.) and Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.), and Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles), who sits on the Ways and Means Committee.

Next was the evening reception downtown at Cicada, where 450 guests dined on heaping trays of steak served beneath a gold-leaf ceiling. The final event was Tuesday, when Roybal-Allard attended a reception in her honor at Union Station thrown by Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway.

One of the rail line’s most heavily traveled routes runs through Roybal-Allard’s district. It has been the subject of numerous complaints from neighbors and city officials about noise and traffic congestion. Roybal-Allard’s staffers acknowledge such complaints but say they have died down in the past year.

Roybal-Allard said that, as long as the sponsors of the events are disclosed, there is little chance for a conflict of interest.

“We should always be vigilant to make sure the process is open,” said Roybal-Allard, daughter of the legendary Rep. Ed Roybal. “I think in general . . . there’s always a concern.”

One of the biggest events for a member of Congress was the Tuesday night fete at Paramount Studios for Sen. John B. Breaux, a Louisiana Democrat widely seen as one of the primary deal makers on Capitol Hill and a member of the influential Commerce and Finance committees.

Guests arriving at the bash were greeted by the sight of Breaux dressed in a fluorescent orange jumpsuit, wearing a washboard and playing spoons onstage as he imitated James Brown.

As Breaux danced, a banner hung above him with the names of the event’s 25 sponsors, including pharmaceutical companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, which gave $25,000; energy firms such as Southern Co., a $25,000 donor; and lobbying groups such as the Federation of American Hospitals, which contributed $10,000.

All have an interest in Breaux, sponsor of an ambitious Medicare reform bill, or one of his committees. Pharmaceutical companies are fighting against a new Medicare prescription drug benefit; the hospitals want to make sure the benefit is big enough to reimburse them; and energy companies are jostling to mold energy deregulation efforts moving through Congress.

The estimated tab: up to $500,000--all of it deductible by the corporate sponsors as a business expense.

Breaux said he was comfortable with the sponsors and the amount of money spent.

“I’d be uncomfortable if we had only one or two or three sponsors. But we had something like 32. They don’t get anything special out of this.”

Many of the same groups sponsored similar events during the GOP convention. The American Gas Assn. ponied up cash both for Breaux’s party and a reception in Philadelphia for Rep. J.C. Watts Jr. (R-Okla.) that featured a performance by the Temptations.

The group also was one of four sponsors for a $100,000 soiree Wednesday at the House of Blues for Democratic Michigan Rep. John D. Dingell, who sits on both the House Commerce and the Energy and Power committees.

One of the major legislative concerns this year for the gas association is a measure to require certain tools for use in inspecting gas pipelines. The association opposes the bill as too rigid and hopes to persuade legislators such as Dingell to modify it.

All told, the gas association was expected to spend about $250,000 at the Republican convention and another $250,000 at the Democratic convention.

“How exciting is it normally to talk about natural gas?” asked Daphne Magnuson, a spokeswoman for the association. “This gives us a nice opportunity in a loose, casual, more social atmosphere to promote our industry’s benefits.”

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Times Washington Bureau Chief Doyle McManus contributed to this article.