Governor Gala

Arnold Schwarzenegger will be in a familiar position on his inauguration day, surrounded by fawning admirers and the super-rich, who will join forces to put on a garish ball in his honor. Of course, there's a little conflict of interest over who's actually paying for it.

Donna Summer will sing at the black-tie gala. Tony award-winner Jennifer Holliday will croon at the swearing-in ceremony. A 20-foot-long fresh-water aquarium will grace the Capitol lawn. And construction firms, insurance companies, developers and other private donors — most with business in the governor's office — will pick up the tab of at least $1.4 million for a lavish party to kick off Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's second term.

Schwarzenegger's inaugural committee Friday announced the plans for next Friday's celebration, along with a list of donors. Campaign finance watchdogs have called the whole affair unseemly. Unlike other donations from special interests with business before the state, contributions to the inaugural committee are not subject to legal limits. Nine donors contributed at least $50,000 each to the event, which earned them the designation of "Gold Sponsor." Half the $1.4 million raised came in during the last two weeks.

Critics of the event say donors are less interested in funding a good party than being in the good graces of the governor when they need a favor.

"These donors aren't stupid," said Derek Cressman, an analyst with the Sacramento-based Poplar Institute, a nonprofit organization that studies the role of money in politics. "They are shrewd businesspeople who give money for sound business reasons. They give because they feel it will improve their bottom line by getting them access and goodwill with the governor's office…. I think it's inappropriate."

Aside from the new-money tastelessness of it all (and that goes for any of these inaugural balls, for my money, whether it's Nancy Pelosi or the Governor of Texas), this is a clear-cut case of conflict of interest and pay to play. I mean, they're not even trying to hide it. There are construction firms ponying up cash who want infrastructure bond projects; the Chamber of Commerce slapping down dollars so they get pro-business policies; and the lead sponsor, Chevron, maybe as a thank-you for the governor supporting their position on Prop. 87, the Big Oil tax-for-alternative energy research which went down in November.

Arnold isn't the only governor to do this, but he's got the biggest party (surprise, surprise), so he's the most obvious target of criticism. And it's well deserved. I mean, this guy's paying aides bonuses out of re-election fund money in what appears to me to be a violation of all known campaign finance laws. This is Hollywood economics - spread around the cash to friends, and everybody washes everybody's back. Only when it's going on in Sacramento, the citizens of the state get screwed.

To compound this unfortunate incident, practically every high-profile Democrat in California has signed on as a co-chair of this gala bought and paid for by special interests - including Gavin Newsom, Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein, Fabian Nuñez, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Nancy Pelosi. Do they even know what kind of system they're endorsing here? Sadly, I think they do.

NOW do you see why I'm running as a delegate for the state party?