Farmer campaigns against Schwarzenegger water plan
Judy Lin, Associated Press Writer
San Francisco Chronicle
09/03/2008
SACRAMENTO -- Despite Cortopassi's claim that Schwarzenegger is supporting the canal as part of backroom deal with Republican lawmakers, it certainly hasn't worked so far.
The state Legislature set a record over the weekend for the longest budget stalemate in state history, and it shows no sign of ending. Republicans remain fixated against tax increases, even as the governor proposed a temporary, one-cent hike in the sales tax.
Senate Minority Leader Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, said he has not negotiated that way.
Schwarzenegger said water issues do not come up in direct budget negotiations.
"We don't trade water for the budget or vice versa," the governor said in an interview with The Associated Press.
When asked if he knew Cortopassi, the governor turned to his aides and asked, "You guys know who it is?"
His aides said they were aware of the ads, but the governor reiterated that he would not trade a canal for a budget compromise.
The Schwarzenegger-Feinstein water proposal has gone nowhere since the two introduced it last month, in part because the Legislature continues to be mired in unproductive budget negotiations. The earliest any water bond could go before voters would be next year, and even then only if Schwarzenegger called a special election.
Cortopassi's crusade marks a sharp turn for the former Schwarzenegger fan.
Campaign records show he and his wife have contributed a total of $369,600 to Schwarzenegger's election campaigns. Cortopassi said he has dined with Schwarzenegger and smoked stogies him. The governor's office confirmed that Cortopassi was a guest at a 2005 fundraiser.
Cortopassi won't say how much he is spending to campaign against Schwarzenegger's water proposal, but records indicate it's tens of thousands.
According to a contract with KCRA-TV, Sacramento's NBC affiliate, Cortopassi spent $17,400 for commercials to run over a two-week period that ended last Thursday.
While the amount Cortopassi paid for the full-page ads in the Bee is not known, the general rate for the duration and size of his first five ads is estimated to be $83,000, said Suzanne Deegan, the Bee's national advertising manager. He ran another full-page ad on Tuesday.
Cortopassi, a former Republican who is now registered as an independent, also has hired Democratic political consultant Sandi Polka. She also works for Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, an Oakland Democrat who has a reputation for butting heads with Schwarzenegger and has offered only tepid support for the Schwarzenegger-Feinstein water plan.
In December, Cortopassi donated $250,000 to Perata's failed bid for a $6.8 billion water bond for February's presidential primary ballot. He said it's simply a coincidence that he is using Perata's consultant.
"Perata's not involved at all," Cortopassi said.
His campaign against the water proposal has incensed other farmers, some of whom have responded with ads of their own.
It's disingenuous for Cortopassi to fight the canal when part of his own wealth came from processing tomatoes grown by farmers that receive water from the delta and would benefit from a peripheral canal, said Thomas Birmingham, general manager of the Westlands Water District, which supplies water to 600,000 acres of farmland in western Fresno and Kings counties.
