the great Gropenator.....FULL OF CRAP as are all PUBLICANS....
"I won't take special interest money"
he bangs on the DULY ELECTED GOV DAVIS for taking contributions from the prison GUARDS.....and now THIS!
Prison Firm Donates to Governor
By Dan Morain, Times Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who rejects donations
from the state prison guards union, accepted $53,000 last week from a
corporation that operates private prisons and has clashed with the union over
private lockups.
The money came as the state prepared to close a 224-bed Wackenhut
Corrections Corp. facility Dec. 31 in the Central Valley town of McFarland.
Wackenhut made the
donation after its
president read a news
report in which
Schwarzenegger voiced
support for prison
privatization, the
executive said.
The firm also gave
$5,000 to
Schwarzenegger's recall campaign.
The $58,000 amounts to the largest contribution
the company has given to any California politician.
In a telephone interview, Wayne H. Calabrese, president of Wackenhut, based in Boca Raton, Fla.,
said Schwarzenegger did not solicit the contribution and might know nothing about the company and its
dealings in California.
"We have a large investment in California, in infrastructure and our employees," Calabrese said.
"We want to do everything we can to preserve our business base in California."
Last year, in a move fought by Wackenhut and other prison companies, former Gov. Gray Davis
canceled state contracts with three private prisons — to save money, he said. The California
Correctional Peace Officers Assn. had pushed for the closure. The union has long opposed private
prisons and was one of Davis' biggest benefactors, giving him $1.4 million during his first term.
"We were frustrated with the previous administration," Calabrese said. "We thought we should support
a candidate and governor who has articulated support for public-private partnerships."
The company gave to Schwarzenegger's gubernatorial campaign and to a separate fund he established
to support the recall of Davis, a top company executive said.
Schwarzenegger spokesman Vince Sollitto, asked whether the donations would affect the
administration's decision on the Wackenhut contract, said, "Of course not."
The contract won't "rise to the level of the governor's consideration," he said.
Corporations operate nine private facilities in California that house 3,000 minimum-security inmates,
although three of the lockups are slated to close next month. Wackenhut has four, including the one in
McFarland.
Payments from the facility represent less than 1% of Wackenhut's revenue. Whether or not the state
continues to send inmates to McFarland, the company is obligated to make $5 million in lease
payments, according to a recent Wackenhut filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The
company holds out hope that it can reverse the decision to close the facility.
The firm's Florida lobbyist, David L. Ericks, is close to Schwarzenegger's finance director, Donna
Arduin, who was Florida's budget director before coming to Sacramento. Ericks was in Sacramento
last week when the governor was sworn in. He could not be reached Tuesday for comment
Schwarzenegger spokesman H.D. Palmer said California's Department of Finance would have no role
in deciding whether to extend Wackenhut's contract. "We don't do line approval," he said. "That is
handled by agencies."
Palmer said Ericks' relationship with Arduin would have "zero" impact on such a decision. "He is a
registered lobbyist in the state of Florida," Palmer said. "He is not registered in California."
The governor has raised more than $1.2 million since the Oct. 7 recall election and plans fund-raisers
starting next week to repay $4.5 million in bank loans he took out to help finance his campaign.
Schwarzenegger has a policy of refusing campaign donations from public employee unions, including
that of the guards. He has said he does not want to take donations from such unions because he must
negotiate pay and other labor issues with them.
"It sounds to me that Wackenhut is doing exactly what they accuse us of doing — getting involved in
'pay to play,' " said Lance Corcoran, executive vice president of the guards union.
"Wackenhut is a savvy corporate entity," he added. "They have great influence in other states. I'm sure
they are bringing that playbook to California."
Corcoran said he doubted that Schwarzenegger would be influenced by the donations: "Ultimately, he
will do the right thing for public safety."
Corcoran said the union opposed private prisons because "corrections is a public function and should
not be sold to the lowest bidder."
Advocates of private prisons have said that the union opposes their efforts because it fears that they
could reduce the need for state-employed prison officers.
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