Lobbyists tee up to raise money for good causes
Lobbyists are used to hitting the golf course to help their clients give to political campaigns and schmooze with lawmakers.
But this week, more than two dozen lobbyists and other Capitol advocates headed to the links with a different purpose: to raise money for the children of two deceased Capitol staff members and for scholarships to students pursuing careers in government.
Monday's game at Morgan Creek in Roseville raised $25,000, said Matt Back, a lobbyist who organized the event. The money is going toward education funds for the children of Will Smith, former Sen. George Runner's chief of staff who died of a heart attack last year at age 41, and Parrish Collins, an adviser to former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez who died unexpectedly in 2009 at age 30. Contributions are also going to the Bob Moretti Memorial Scholarship Foundation, which helps students interested in careers in government or politics.
The game pitted contract lobbyists against in-house lobbyists, all of whom had to give at least $250 to participate. (The contractors won.) The rest of the money raised came from some well-heeled corporate sponsors, including PG&E, Chevron and Anheuser-Busch.
<;MX| ><;MX| >THE STATE WORKER
Fewer state workers are taking their first pension check this year than last, the latest CalPERS data show, although the number of new retirees remains well above 2009 levels. Only 817 filed papers last month, down nearly 15 percent from September 2010. The number of retirements has fallen five months in a row compared with the same period in 2010.
<;MX| >WORTH REPEATING
"This initiative gets to the heart of one of the most corrosive elements in politics: campaign contributions."
GEORGE SHULTZ, former U.S. secretary of state and a supporter of the "paycheck protection" measure to, in part, prohibit unions from deducting dues from members' paychecks for political purposes. Supporters turned in signatures Friday, hoping to qualify for next year's ballot.
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