Candidates received gifts galore
Those vying to become California governor reported receiving nearly $30,000 in gifts and free travel in 2017
From Rose Bowl tickets to helicopter rides to all-expenses-paid junkets to China and Mexico, the candidates running for California governor reported receiving nearly $30,000 in gifts and free travel last year — including from organizations with vested interests in state policy.
At the top of the list was State Treasurer John Chiang, who reported a total of $21,855 in gifts and free travel. He was given three separate trips to China over a four-month period, including one paid for by a foundation led by a major donor to his campaign.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa received $5,265.24 in gifts and travel; State Assemblyman Travis Allen got $1,490.83; and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom took in $1,259, according to state financial disclosure forms the candidates filed this month.
San Diego businessman John Cox, former state schools chief Delaine Eastin and former Hillary Clinton aide Amanda Renteria reported no gifts or paid travel expenses.
California politicians are allowed to accept most gifts as long as they don’t add up to more than $470 from a single source each year. Good government ad-
vocates say the gift-giving lets special interests curry favor with elected officials, but they note that at least state politicians are being more transparent about it than in past years.
“They’re reporting lots of gifts, and that’s great,” said Bob Stern, the former general counsel at the Fair Political Practices Commission. “In the past, people were receiving gifts and weren’t reporting them — but it seems like there’s a lot of detail here.”
According to state ethics rules, public officials and candidates for office can’t accept payment for speeches or appearances. But they can be reimbursed for travel expenses as long as they’re discussing a public policy or the trip is related to a governmental purpose — and either they make a speech, or the payments are provided by a nonprofit or government agency.
Most of Chiang’s reported gifts involved trips to China paid for by nonprofits.
He received $5,561 from the U.S. China Innovation Gateway, a Palo Alto group promoting tech investment between China and the U.S., for a trip to Beijing from May 24 to May 28. Chiang joined a delegation of Silicon Valley mayors, speaking at an event and meeting with investors at Zhongguancun Software Park, a technology hub that’s considered China’s version of Silicon Valley.
He also led a delegation of U.S. mayors on a diplomatic trade mission to Beijing, Chengdu, Dujiangyan, Fuzhou, and Guangzhou between July 27 and August 2. That $5,850 trip was paid for by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, a Chinese nonprofit with close ties to the government that promotes international exchanges.
And he received $4,815 from the Rongxiang Xu Foundation, a foundation in honor of a Los Angeles surgeon and medical researcher, for another twoday trip to Beijing from August 15 to August 16. Chiang reported speaking at a conference on “regenerative life science” and at the 30th anniversary of MEBO International, the corporation Xu founded. Xu died in 2015.
Kevin Xu, Rongxiang’s son and the chief executive of the foundation, has given $40,000 to Chiang’s campaign for governor.
In addition, Chiang reported receiving 25 free meals over the course of 2017 from real estate developers, unions, and other groups. He also got free Rose Bowl tickets from the nonprofit that puts on the annual game, and a free $400 helicopter ride from “Uber for helicopters” company Blade. The chopper flew him to a party at the Rockefeller Estate in New York hosted by the Kairos Club, an exclusive club that brings together tech executives, government leaders and celebrities, where Chiang got a $100 dinner. The candidate’s staff said that was the only mode of transportation arranged for the guests.
Not all of his gifts were so swanky — the Northern California Carpenters Council gave him a $75 ticket to their annual “moose feed” holiday dinner, where moose is the main dish.
Chiang’s staff said the treasurer always erred on the side of caution and transparency in his financial disclosures, pointing out that he reported even the smallest gifts, like a pin he received from UC Riverside worth $1.82.
“As the person who manages the finances of the world’s sixth largest economy, John Chiang has the responsibility to act as an ambassador and work with the second largest economy in the world,” said spokesman Nicholas Jordan. “Moreover, as one of the highest ranking Asian elected officials in the United States and the only person to ever occupy California’s three elected financial positions, John is often sought out to help bridge economic opportunities.”
Villaraigosa’s biggest gift was $3,707 in travel expenses from the University of Guadalajara to attend its annual book fair in Guadalajara, Mexico. He’s been visiting the festival for several years and met his wife, Patty Govea, there in 2015. The university also paid for Govea and a staffer to travel with Villaraigosa.
In addition, the California Building Industry Association paid $463 for Villaraigosa to travel to Sacramento and speak at their meeting, and the Latino Leaders Network paid $688 to fly him to Miami to speak at a U.S. Conference of Mayors event. He also received a $114 meal from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, which profits from a gambling industry heavily impacted by state regulations.
As mayor, Villaraigosa paid $42,000 in fines in 2011 for failing to report dozens of free sports and entertainment tickets he received.
Allen reported receiving a total of $832 from Google, Amazon, Paypal and the Internet Association for food and hotel expenses at a tech conference in May. And he got $600 worth of free parking from John Wayne Airport in Orange County.
Newsom, who started his own wine company, received $771 worth of wine from the Mexican consulate, two other vineyards, and high-profile lawyer David Boies. He also got two free meals from two California Native American tribes that rely on gambling industry profits, and $270 in football tickets from NFL agent Doug Hendrickson.
It isn’t surprising that gift-givers are hoping to influence the people who could be California’s next governor, said Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola University and the president of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission.
But while some of the payments might seem extravagant, “if it’s private money funding it, it’s not on the taxpayer dime,” she said. “I’d be more troubled if those candidates who are currently public officials were saying, ‘it would be really good for me to travel overseas on the public dollar.’”