This Sacramento Bee story is too good to pass up and not post in it’s entirety.
Not too long ago I posted a similar, yet lower cost, junket by the Florida League of Cities bringing local city council members to enjoy Orlando’s entertainment area. These elected official junkets needs to end.
You will not convince me that these trips are critical to performing their jobs and that they have no relationship or subliminal relationship with those who sponsor these get aways. Larry Gilbert
from Sacbee / Politics / California Politics.
Steve Wiegand: Solons say aloha to toil at a resort
By Steve Wiegand – swiegand@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, November 10, 2007 You may have noticed a story earlier this week on this very page, by my colleague Jim Sanders, regarding the business trip some of your duly elected legislators are on over in Hawaii.
Maybe 15 to 20 of the Golden State’s solons have journeyed to the island paradise of Maui. (We don’t know exactly which legislators, since they don’t have to tell us, at least not yet, and some of them are apparently a bit touchy about it.)
There, among the swaying palms and pineapple-chunk-fringed alcoholic beverages served in plastic coconut shells, the lawmakers are taking advantage of, as Jim put it, “a chance to escape the capital’s glare for bipartisan policy discussions, scuba diving and beachcombing.”
This is all happening at the plush Fairmont Kea Lani.
“A luxurious haven in one of the most scenic places on earth, the Fairmont Kea Lani Maui rests gracefully on Polo Beach, on the sunny southwest shores of Maui,” enthuses one Web site about the joint.
“Snorkeling, kayaking, sailing, windsurfing, and a myriad of island-wide excursions are sure to keep you busy – or if you prefer a more leisurely pace, relax by one of their pools or pamper yourself with a rejuvenating treatment in the full-service Spa Kea Lani,” the site advises.
This was thus an appropriate setting for legislators to participate in grueling four-hour discussions on issues such as pesticide regulation, energy and how hard the approach to the green is on the fifth hole of the North Course at Makena.
See, the reason the legislators are there is to participate in a weeklong conference put on by a nonprofit group called the Pacific Policy Research Foundation.
The PPRF was established in 2005 mainly to put on annual weeklong “conferences” in Hawaii for California legislators and representatives of the various special interests that do business under the Dome.
Its board of directors consists of two former legislators, the wife of a current legislator, the wife of a former legislator, and a former legislative staffer who now works for a major pharmaceutical company.
Two of the directors are partners in a firm that got paid $77,368 by the foundation last year to put on the conference. But because it’s a nonprofit, the PPRF doesn’t have to say where it gets its dough to finance the annual soiree.
By this point, some readers may be jumping to the conclusion that lolling about a Hawaiian beach in the company of special-interest lobbyists at a conference put on by spouses and/or former cronies is not the most productive use of time for legislators who are getting paid $113,097 a year, plus another 26 to 30 grand in expense money.
Or at least they are until Dec. 3. On Dec. 3, they get a raise. To $116,208.
But this would be focusing on the negative, while missing very valid points which I’m sure these lawmakers would be making if they were here, instead of in Hawaii.
For one thing, the legislators had to pay their own way over there. Which is to say that their campaign treasuries paid for it, which is to say that the special-interest types they are over there trading tanning tips with are the ones who paid for it.
For another, it’s really difficult for California legislators to find anyplace in their own 158,302-square-mile state to really hunker down and focus without being distracted.
Plus even though the Kea Lani’s “Italian marble” bathrooms come “complete with deep soaking tub, walk-in shower, twin pedestal sinks, hair dryer (and) lighted make-up mirror,” there’s only one per suite.
So before you criticize them, remember these dedicated public servants are over there learning valuable stuff so some of them can appear on next year’s election ballots with their heads held high.
Or at least remember they’re going to be on the ballot.
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Larry final thoughts.
I thank the Sac Bee for this report. The real problem is that these trips will often go unnoticed. Check the Registrar of Voters web site and you will find that a huge majority of our statewide office holders, running for another term, win reelection every cycle. We have a gerrymandered system that unless it is changed we will continue seeing that the incumbents will not lose their seats in the Nov. General election. They pick the voters, not the other way around where we pick them!
Larry–You had me going until you mentioned that members paid their own way. If taxpayer funds are used to pay for a trip to Hawaii thats one thing. But frankly, I don’t care if they spend campaign money to go to Hawaii. It’s not coming out of my pocket(now if there was public financing I’d be all for putting a stop to it). People aren’t forced to donate.I doubt the contributors are complaining. You and some of the Common Cause comrades are the only ones needing Kleenex.
Here’s why I like it: if campaign funds are used we know who is paying for these gigs. The press can take their licks and they do–witness the Speaker’s recent time in the public stocks. As demographics change and when your party gets out from underneath the Minuteman rock, the state should get more competitive seats and the full disclosure of these junkets and other ethical issues could leave electeds vulnerable to getting Pomboized.
What you ought to be concerned with is those electeds—including a certain statewide official who comes from the same political party as you–who have their travel expenses taken care of by a non profit organization. Who pays the bills for the non profit?We don’t know. But you can be sure that certain statewide Republican knows. And in my book that’s more of a problem. Sunshine is a great disinfectant.
So until you deal with the non profit issue, color me uninterested.
Bladerunner.
I will agree that elected officials have the same freedom enjoyed by either of us as it relates to their travels, on personal time, and their own credit cards. At times legislators should venture outside the box to see how others deal with policy issues and effective solutions.
Campaign accounts can be tricky. i.e. In my latest follow up on this junket it names names including “Indian gambling tribes” who may have contributed to these same officials. I spent most of my working years owning and operating a high tech sales and marketing C corporation and know the value of networking to establish friendships to help our cause. For our elected state officials to be off in Hawaii at a conference that ends around 12:30 daily leaves too much free time for special interests to get cozzy and win favor with our Democratic and Republican representatives.
As to non profits who legally may not be obligated to show their sources of funding I will agree with you. In time we will flush them out or those they support.
As always your comments are well stated. Thank you, Larry