Group finds California governor worst at unreported gambling donations

Don Thompson

Tuesday, June 6, 2000 | 9:35 a.m.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Gray Davis is California's worst offender in underreported gambling industry donations, failing to report $169,526 given to his campaign over the past several years, Common Cause said Monday.

Davis is hardly alone, the government watchdog group said in a complaint to the Fair Political Practices Commission. Common Cause cited 332 instances of what it said are campaign reporting violations involving more than $1.5 million.

It said 54 of the 309 gambling contributors had apparent violations, including nearly half of the 72 donors who gave more than $1,000.

Common Cause Executive Director Jim Knox said that shows the need for more disclosure and tougher laws, and ultimately for public funding of elections to prevent the kind of influence gambling interests have demonstrated.

The group's study of contributions from 1995 through 1998 shows a "meteoric" rise in the influence of Indian tribes, Knox said.

They not only contributed $8.5 million to state candidates, but financed two Indian gambling voter initiatives and boosted their lobbying spending by 370 percent during those four years, he said.

The Democratic governor failed to report $169,526 given to his campaign by gambling interests during the period, the Common Cause report said.

Davis' chief political adviser, Garry South, called that "total unmitigated B.S."

"That accusation is simply false," South said. "We have never been accused of hiding or failing to disclose contributions because we don't do it. It's a violation of the law - how dumb do they think we are?"

All told, gambling organizations spent $13 million to lobby state officials over the four years, in addition to $15.7 million in direct contributions. Indian lobbying expenses grew from $362,287 in 1995 to $1,711,695 in 1998.

That paid off, Knox said, when Davis and legislative leaders devoted the closing weeks of last year's session to passing a new Indian gaming initiative to replace one struck down by the courts, and put the measure at the top of the March ballot. It won easy approval from voters.

"I don't think you can come to any other conclusion but that the governor and the Legislature are now in the business of auctioning off favorable ballot positions to the highest bidders," Knox said.

South responded that it is no secret the tribes wanted gambling, which was twice approved by California voters.

A spokeswoman for the California Nations Indian Gaming Association said the group is still reviewing the report and could not comment.

Common Cause reached its conclusions by comparing donation reports with candidate disclosure reports to find discrepancies in reporting.

It said the problems it found argue against recommendations from a bipartisan commission on political reform that would raise the threshold for major donor reports and eliminate them once the campaign contributions are posted on the Internet.