One-Stop Influence Shopping

Share this

The Sacramento-based public relations firm run by California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's chief fundraiser "is representing a local developer who, while working to block a bill at the Capitol, has agreed to help host a fundraising dinner on the governor's behalf." It's the fourth time that clients of fundraiser Marty Wilson's firm, Wilson-Miller Communications "have had bills or other business pending with the state." (The firm also works closely with Manning Selvage & Lee.) The developer, the Gidaro Group, "will contribute in the $25,000 range" for Schwarzenegger's ballot measures. State assemblywoman Lois Wolk, who introduced the bill Gidaro opposes, said, "The combination of lobbyists, public relations and political consultancy all under one roof is a growing phenomenon, and it raises a lot of ethical questions." It's also bipartisan; a lead fundraiser for former governor Gray Davis "built a multimillion-dollar lobbying business in Sacramento after Davis took office."