Big business is spending big to defeat Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, D-Compton, in his bid for the state Senate, hoping to elect a moderate Democrat, former Assemblyman Rod Wright.
With just under two weeks until the June 3 primary, various business and tribal interests had spent more than $715,000 in independent expenditures as of Wednesday, making Wright, D-Inglewood, the biggest beneficiary of outside interest money in the state this year.
Of the funds, more than $650,000 went to pump up Wright's candidacy. That sum quadruples the total amount Wright raised in all of 2007 and 2008, according to campaign filings. Another $60,000 was spent specifically to oppose Dymally.
"I'm at a loss because I am not anti-business," said Dymally, citing his close relationship with the pharmaceutical and auto industries. "That's what is so puzzling about it."
Despite repeated phone calls, the California Chamber of Commerce, which is tied to the PAC spending much of the funds, would not comment for this report.
The independent expenditure funds have paid for everything from polling to radio, TV and newspaper ads and what campaign filings describe as pro-Wright "ground campaign" spending. The money keeps pouring in - with another $200,000 reported from the business coalition and the real estate industry on Tuesday.
Dymally, who had reported raising more than $660,000 from 2007 to March 2008, has scrambled to compete, collecting another $200,000 in direct contributions in the last two months.
Most of the pro-Wright money came through a committee called the Alliance for California Tomorrow, which in turn, received money many of the biggest business interest in the state.
Top donors include the real estate industry ($150,000), Sempra ($100,000), Anthem Blue Cross ($50,000) and Philip Morris ($45,000). The committee received more than $300,000 from another business-backed political action committee, JOBS-PAC, which has ties to the California Chamber of Commerce.
"What is very strange is I have a good relationship with PG&E and Sempra," said Dymally. "How anti-business can I be?"
The Morongo Band of Mission Indians, the real estate industry and the California Apartment Association launched independent pro-Wright campaigns, as well, totaling roughly $150,000, campaign records show.
Shant Apekian, political director for the apartment association, said his group was backing Wright because he understands their issues. "Rod is a rental property owner himself," said Apekian.
Voter-approved contribution caps limit to $3,600 what donors can give directly to candidates. But those same donors can spend unlimitedly in so-called "independent expenditures."
The state's Fair Political Practices Commission, which monitors campaign finance, released a report this week calling independent expenditures "the giant gorilla in campaign finance."
"The emergence of independent expenditures has thwarted the will of the people, dramatically undermined California's campaign finance laws and doubtlessly influenced the outcome of numerous statewide and legislative elections," the report concluded.
In Dymally, the business groups are trying to beat one of the elder statesmen of African-American politics in California. Dymally, 82, served as lieutenant governor in the 1970s and in Congress in the 1980s, before joining the Assembly six years ago.
Wright, who is also African American, counts the backing of 12 current Senate Democrats, including Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, as well as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Although Wright has that Democratic support, the corporate contributors appear to be hoping he would be more business-friendly in the state Senate.
Two years ago, business advocates hailed the 2006 elections as a turning point in moderating the traditionally liberal state Senate.
Known moderates (and former Assembly Mod Squad veterans) Sens. Lou Correa, Gloria Negrete-McLeod and Ron Calderon were swept into the upper house, replacing the more reliably liberal Sens. Joe Dunn, Nell Soto and Martha Escutia. In Alex Padilla, a freshman senator from Los Angeles, business interests also saw a potentially friendly vote.
By most accounts, however, the Senate did not shift substantially toward business interests.
Senate leader Perata cracked down on Correa, Negrete-McLeod and Calderon early on - locking the moderate trio out of their offices for attending a fundraiser for moderate Democrats. Padilla, who had competed with Sen. Darrell Steinberg to become the next Senate leader, also didn't stray far from the party line in 2007.
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