Republicans Donate to Reform Initiative

The San Jose Mercury News has a story by Steven Harmon on the massive donations by Republican donors to the Voters First initiative campaign:

“If they don’t fix that, they’re in trouble,” said Barbara O’Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and the Media at California State University-Sacramento, who has served on the Voices of Reform board advocating redistricting reform. “If Democrats don’t start contributing, people will say who’s this helping and whose ox is being gored?”Westly would not publicly commit to investing any of his vast personal wealth into the campaign, but insisted Democrats will be just as involved as Republicans.

“You will see Democrats step up,” Westly said. “I don’t think this will affect the partisan balance in the Legislature one bit. The only difference is that this will be the first time we’ll have competitive districts.”

Steven Maviglio at the California Majority Report is quoted in the article and has more information on the donor in his blog:

William Powers, an investment manager with PIMCO, wrote the check. Last year, he’s given
$250,000 to Arnold’s California Recovery Team, $50,000 to California Counts, Make Your Vote Count! (infamous ballot electoral college reform measure), $13,700 in kind contribution of auction items for the California Republican Party, $4,600 for Republican Congressman Ken Calvert, and $4,600 for Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman’s re-election campaign.

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