SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 31 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Two of the most prolific special interest campaign givers in Sacramento, the big business lobby and the California Teachers Association, gave up their usual enmity and teamed up today to announce their opposition to campaign finance overhaul, California Proposition 89, on the November ballot.
Both groups will have to file campaign finance reports today showing the scope of their political contributions to candidates, which Proposition 89 virtually eliminates.
"Only a genuine campaign finance reform overhaul like Proposition 89 could force big labor and big business onto the same team because no cash-rich special interest will be able to buy the legislature if Prop 89 passes," said Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR). "Consultants like Goddard Clausen, that represent big corporations and Republicans, and Gale Kaufman, who works for labor unions and Democrats, see their gravy train ending under Prop 89. The fact that such large and incompatible special interests oppose Prop 89 makes the case for why it will work."
The League of Women Voters, California Common Cause, and Public Campaign have joined FTCR in supporting Prop 89, placed on the ballot by the California Nurses Association.
Excluding today's reporting, which has yet to be made public, the California Teachers Association's candidate committee has given $13,660,191 to candidates since 1999. The Chamber of Commerce's members have easily matched the teachers' spending.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Special Interests Oppose Proposition 89
