Questions About Governor's Japan Trip( Arnold at it again)

[caligirl]

Mar 1, 2005 10:33 am US/Pacific
(CBS 5) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected as a reformer, campaigning against big-money influence.

But now there are questions about one of the administration's own deals -- the governor's November trade mission to Japan.

The cornerstone of the trip was a rally in Tokyo, called the California Festival. To make sure that the event came off without a hitch, the state signed a contract with a major public relations company to do the work. But CBS 5 Investigates has now uncovered new information about that contract that raises serious questions about potential conflicts of interest and favoritism in Governor Schwarzenegger's own administration.

It starts with documents obtained by CBS 5 Investigates that show that although that trade mission had been in the works for months, state officials apparently didn't hire a PR firm to put that festival together until the last minute. Then, they didn't put that contract out for public bid. Why is that important?

"You need to allow firms to fairly compete for the state's business," says Bruce Cain, a political scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. "We have rules in place that say you need to have an open competition."

Cain says open competition allows the taxpayers to get the best deal.

"That way you can choose from the competing bids the firm that's going to give you the best value and do the best job," he says.

Instead, these documents clearly indicate state officials found a way around that bidding process.

"Obviously, they've found a loophole around all this," says Cain.

How did it happen? Well, state officials first billed the California Festival as an "event," and it certainly looked like an event. But just days later, the festival was dubbed a "conference" in the final contract.

Why is changing one little word such a big deal? Because state rules say conferences under $250,000 are exempt from public bidding, and the contract for the California Festival ended up at $212,000. So now all the state had to do was choose a company, or in this case two companies, to do the work. And who did they choose? They're partners -- one U.S. company, one Japanese -- and as it turns out, both have connections to the governor.

Take the Japanese company, Dentsu. Schwarzenegger the actor worked with Dentsu throughout the 90's, plugging products in Japanese TV ads and reportedly making millions of dollars doing it.

http://www2.cbs5.com/investigates/local_story_060133730.html

[Us vs Them]

1. Some of his commercials can be found here

http://www.japander.com/japander/schwarz.htm

Funny, odd, and somewhat sickening all at the same time.

[Moderator]

2. caligirl

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