Democrats will play on
State senators’ golf fundraiser was canceled this year after several colleagues were charged with crimes. But it will resume next year.
SACRAMENTO — Democrats in the state Senate will resume an annual golf fundraiser next year after canceling it this year in the wake of criminal charges filed against three of their own.
The event at Torrey Pines golf course in San Diego is the caucus’ largest fundraiser for the state Democratic Party. The senators have been criticized for allowing special interests to mingle with lawmakers in exchange for tickets costing between $15,000 and $65,000 per person.
The federal indictment of Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) on public corruption charges a week before this year’s event was to be held led Democratic leaders to cancel the event. They included Sen. Kevin De León (D-Los Angeles), who has since become Senate president pro tem.
At the time, he and others said the reason was the criminal charges against Yee, and other allegations against Sens. Ronald Calderon and Roderick Wright. Lawmakers “bear a high and profound responsibility to do all we can to repair the excruciating breach of public confidence they [those charged] left behind,” De León and his predecessor, Darrell Steinberg, said then.
Wright, who was accused of lying about living in his district, resigned in October. Calderon, who is accused of taking bribes in exchange for official action, was forced by term limits to leave office last month, as was Yee.
An email from Senate Democrats to supporters, sent Friday and obtained by The Times, said the golfing fundraiser will be held on March 20 and 21. Asked about the email, a spokesman for the Senate Democrats said the fundraiser is important in helping party members compete in elections.
Democrats did not do well in this year’s elections, failing to regain supermajorities in both houses.
“Fundraising is an important and unavoidable outgrowth of modern politics, and we cannot afford to unilaterally disarm after an election cycle where political opponents spent more than $12 million against Senate Democrats,” said spokesman Jason Kinney.
Kathay Feng, president of California Common Cause, said the re- sumption of the outing looks bad: “With the trials of two senators for bribery charges pending, it is unseemly for Senate Democrats to be selling access to special interests at this event.”
Also on Friday, De León’s office said he was eliminating the Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes, created by Steinberg. The office’s members were part of Steinberg’s staff, and he has left the Legislature because of term limits.
De León’s office said in a statement that the Senate Budget and Policy committees, the Legislative Analyst’s Office and the Joint Legislative Audit Committee would continue to provide oversight.