Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, D-Alameda, will turn 60 this Friday, and how better to celebrate this momentous birthday than with… a fundraiser.

Yes, Swanson’s holding a black-tie cash bash Saturday night at Scott’s Seafood Restaurant in Oakland’s Jack London Square; it’s $100 a head, or from $1,000 to $3,900 for various levels of table sponsorship. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, for whom Swanson used to be chief of staff; Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles; and Assemblywoman and state Senator-elect Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, will be there.

The invitation bills the event — “Bring your dancing shoes!” — as a birthday and re-election victory celebration. Now, there’s certainly nothing wrong with celebrating re-election, but keep in mind that Swanson won this month with almost 88 percent of the vote to Republican Jim Faison’s 12 percent — little wonder, considering his 16th Assembly District is registered about 65 percent Democrat to about 8 percent Republican. Neither did much strenuous campaigning, yet Swanson appears to have raised at least about $421,000 and spent at least about $395,000 in the 2007-08 election cycle.

The biggest single chunk of that spending went to… raising more money! His campaign spent $145,280.80 on fundraising events. Another $62,075 went to campaign consultants (the biggest chunk of which, $37,000, went to Carol Jones, who is both his district director and his campaign events director/staff contact.)

His campaign finance records also indicate where he likes to eat: 21 “meetings and appearances” tabs totalling $931.55 at the Angel Fish sushi restaurant near Swanson’s home on Alameda’s Bay Farm Island; 20 totalling $1,319.13 at P.F. Chang’s; 17 totalling $783.12 at Nellie’s Soul Food; 8 totalling $729.20 at Scott’s; eight totalling $525.45 at the Fat Lady near Oakland’s Jack London Square; six totalling $367.13 at McCormick and Schmick; 14 totalling $258.98 at the Buckhorn Restaurant; six totalling $852.17 at Kincaid’s in Jack London Square; one for $352.66 at Joe’s Seafood and Stone Crabs; five totalling $301.38 at Zocalo in Sacramento; six totalling $286.45 at Aioli Restaurant (not sure where this is); two totalling $275.61 at Oakland’s Le Cheval; eight totalling $273 at the Harbor View Restaurant, also on Bay Farm Island; three totalling $273 at Yoshi’s near Jack London Square; one at Sushi Roku for $130.60; one at Morton’s steakhouse for $180.26; and one at San Francisco’s Waterfront Restaurant for $116.57. If you’re counting, that’s 128 tabs totalling $7,956.26. Yum!

But he also gave $30,415 to the California Democratic Party, and $26,150 to other local Democratic campaigns and committees. And as we all know, throwing money to the party is an important way in which lawmakers build their clout.

So if you’re going to Swanson’s birthday/re-election bash Saturday, feel certain your money is helping not only Swanson but lots of other Democrats. And campaign fundraisers and consultants. And restaurants.

The latest attempt to boycott a company associated with Proposition 8 targets a self-storage chain with several Bay Area locations.

Californians Against Hate founder Fred Karger said he’s running an online campaign to boycott San Diego-based A-1 Self Storage because of owner Terry Caster’s financial support of the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. A-1 has 30 locations throughout California, including Oakland, Concord, Belmont and four in San Jose.

From Karger’s Huffington Post column yesterday:

Why would someone contribute $693,000 to take away the rights of an entire minority group in California? Terry Caster and his family did just that. Caster, his 8 children and many of their spouses gave a total of $293,000 to help qualify Proposition 8 for the ballot earlier this year. Then when the plea went out for more money from the Yes on 8 campaign in late October, Caster opened up his checkbook and gave an additional $400,000 to take away same-sex marriage in
California. That’s $693,000 to Yes on 8! Terry Caster was the 2nd largest contributor in California to the Yes on 8 campaign.

Caster told the San Diego Union-Tribune in May that marriage equality threatens society. “Without solid marriage, you are going to have a sick society,” he said.

This is the third boycott launched by Karger’s group against Proposition 8 contributors. One of the earlier efforts targeted Doug Manchester, owner of San Diego’s Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel and Grand del Mar Resort as well as another resort in Idaho; that boycott is still ongoing. Another boycott targeted Bakersfield-based Bolthouse Farms after former CEO William Bolthouse Jr. gave $100,000 to the Yes on 8 campaign; Karger dropped that one in October after Bolthouse’s current CEO launched a comprehensive diversity program and agreed to contribute to several LGBT groups.

Californians Against Hate already began a “Call Terry Caster” campaign back in August, asking people to call Caster’s personal office and A-1’s headquarters; that’s now being replaced with the boycott, Karger said. He’s also asking people to leave comments on A-1’s Yelp pages.

Now, I blogged earlier this week about how boycotts are a time-honored, fair-game means of political expression, and one that conservative groups have used in the past against businesses supporting gay rights. I’d neglected then to note that Proposition 8’s proponents just last month sent a letter to almost three dozen businesses which had contributed to the campaign against the initiative, essentially demanding that they give equal money to Yes on 8 or risk conservative blowback.

Many thought that skated pretty close to extortion, so let’s not hear any whining about boycotts, OK?

$25,000-and-up contributions to California campaigns and committees, which skyrocketed last week, continued in a mighty flood this week with just days to go before the election. This is my roundup as of about 5 p.m.; I’m sure they’ll continue to roll in…

The highlights in brief:

Tons of money moved for and against Proposition 8 this week, including a tide of cash from Mormons and out-of-state donors supporting the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

Chesapeake Energy anted another $1 million — bringing its total so far to $3 million — for Proposition 10, the alternative fuels intiative from which it stands to make a bundle (though its ante is still chump change next to the $18.75 million put up by Prop. 10 proponent T. Boone Pickens‘ Clean Energy Fuels Corp.)

A whole lot more incumbent or otherwise safe Democratic candidates continued tithing money back to the state party.

And children’s hospitals across California made a last-ditch effort to prop up Proposition 3, the Children’s Hospital Bond Act.

Details after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

While starting to compile my “This week in big-time campaign cash” roundup for tomorrow, I noticed a sudden burst of donations to support Proposition 11, the legislative redistricting reform measure, came in Saturday from far, far away:

So, who are these folks taking such an interest in California redistricting?

Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler partner/founder Scott W. Rothstein has raised at least $500,000 for John McCain. He and his wife have given McCain $113,100; partner Stuart A. Rosenfeldt and his wife have given McCain $135,600; and partner Russell Adler and his wife have given McCain $80,000.

Fourth Quarter Properties owner Stanley Thomas is a significant Republican donor who was involved in a controversial land deal with Republican Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue a few years ago.

Ashbritt CEO Randal R. Perkins has raised at least $100,000 for John McCain, and his firm was in the middle of a flap over big companies getting small-business contracts for the Hurricane Katrina clean-up; he and his wife have given McCain $78,600.

GEO Group founder, chairman and CEO George C. Zoley was a Bush Pioneer, having raised at least $100,000 for the president’s re-election in 2004.

Autonation founder H. Wayne Huizenga bundled contributions for Mitt Romney but later gave $47,025 to John McCain this year.

Ronald Book has given $35,000 to John McCain.

Eastern Waste Systems owner Angelo Marzano is the only one on this list who gave more money to Democrats than to Republicans in this election cycle.

So by and large, these donations are Republican money coming in from afar.

And even so, I still don’t see how Proposition 11 is a “Republican power grab,” as some foes claim.

First of all, it’s telling that Prop. 11’s supporters include not only nonpartisan groups well-versed in fair elections — such as California Common Cause and the League of Women Voters — but also prominent Democrats including former state Controller Steve Westly, former Gov. Gray Davis, former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg and a slew of Democratic state and local officials and candidates who’ve bucked their party’s opposition to the measure.

But second, and perhaps more important, the way Proposition 11 would work seems to belie any party advantage.

The measure would take responsibility for redistricting the Assembly, state Senate and Board of Equalization away from the Legislature and give it to a 14-person commission.

Applicants to serve on this commission, or their immediate relatives, could not in the past decade have been a political candidate for state or federal office; been a lobbyist; or contributed $2,000 or more in any year to a political candidate. The nonpartisan State Auditor’s office would create a panel of three auditors to narrow the applicant pool to 60 — 20 Democrats, 20 Republicans, 20 of neither party — and then the two Democratic and two Republican leaders of the Legislature each would be able to strike two applicants from each of the three subsets, thus reducing the pool by a maximum of 24, from 60 to 36.

From those remaining names, the State Auditor would then randomly draw the first eight commissioners, and those eight would pick the remaining six. But the panel would have to end up with five Democrats, five Republicans and four of neither party, and no redistricting plan could be approved without the consent of at least three Democrats, three Republicans and three of neither party.

So how is that a Republican power grab? Sure, it takes redistricting authority away from a Legislature likely to have a Democratic majority for the foreseeable future, but it doesn’t seem to put that authority in any particular party’s hands. And just because you have a majority doesn’t mean you get to fix the game.

UPDATE @ 3:14 P.M.: The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Alert is now reporting that the Democratic-backed campaign against Proposition 11 has paid $30,000 for a spot on a Republican slate mailer accusing the redistricting measure of having a “hidden agenda to give liberal Democrats lifetime control of Congress” even after months of arguing it’s a Republican power grab. Hypocrisy, thy name is electoral politics.

California’s 11th Congressional District race between freshman Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, and Republican challenger Dean Andal of Stockton was never a cordial affair, but it took a rapid series of ugly turns today.

First a blogger at the progressive Democratic Calitics noted that despite Andal’s vow that he wouldn’t have his campaign staffers track McNerney with video cameras at public events, his campaign manager, John Franklin, might’ve done exactly that at the candidates’ debate Saturday in Tracy.

Andal campaign spokesman Richard Temple replied there’s a big difference between tracking a candidate at every public gathering, as McNerney’s campaign has – “We think it’s stupid, Dean’s kind of bemused by it” – and finding a campaign manager with a camera in his hands at the first and only debate between the candidates. “Obviously we had people there, Franklin was there, but we’re not following him (McNerney) around.”

Then the California Democratic Party later today issued a statement calling on Andal to cancel his fundraiser tonight with Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs. The Dems noted Andal at the candidates’ debate last week had “launched a series of vicious personal attacks” against McNerney “by repeatedly saying that McNerney’s votes in Congress on funding for the Iraq war were ‘immoral,’ ” yet Bono Mack also voted four times against bills to fund military operations in Iraq. “Will Dean Andal confront Congresswoman Bono Mack about her ‘immoral’ votes? Or will Andal just look the other way, take the money and run?”

Temple said “the fact of tying a timetable for withdrawal to whether or not they (troops) get their money is immoral” but Bono Mack could’ve had other, valid reasons for voting against the bills that didn’t involve “using soldiers as pawns in your political game.” Temple said Andal “likes Congresswoman Bono Mack quite a bit and they respect each other,” and isn’t likely to cancel a fundraiser with her on the Democratic Party’s say-so.

The National Republican Congressional Committee fired back on Andal’s behalf today, issuing a news release questioning the McNerney campaign’s ties to Fletcher-Rowley-Chao-Riddle Inc., a Democrat political consulting firm caught up in the scandal around Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Fla. It seems Mahoney paid off a woman with whom he had an affair, and promised that woman a job with FRCR as part of a legal settlement; FRCR says it had to knowledge of any such deal, and has now severed all ties with Mahoney.

But the NRCC disputes FRCR’s claim it didn’t know about the cover-up. “With his consultant and colleague embroiled in a front-page ethics scandal, Jerry McNerney’s failure to distance himself from these shocking allegations speaks volumes about his character,” NRCC spokesman Brendan Buck said in the release. “Unless McNerney condones these reprehensible actions by his strategist and his fellow congressman, he should immediately end his relationship with FRCR and denounce these immoral and potentially illegal practices.”

Responded McNerney campaign spokesman Andy Stone: “There’s not an ounce of truth to it. Honestly, they don’t work for this campaign.”

Campaign finance reports show McNerney’s campaign paid FRCR $5,000 on April 17, 2007 and $20,000 on July 29, 2008 for media consulting. “But if you look closely at the report you’ll note that it’s all outstanding debt from the ‘06 campaign,” Stone said.

UPDATE @ 3:50 P.M.: I couldn’t spot it before, but now I do see where McNerney had listed outstanding debt to FRCR as a “win bonus” from the 2006 election cycle.

Third-quarter fundraising reports show Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, kept on out-raising and out-spending his Republican challenger, Dean Andal of Stockton, in California’s 11th Congressional District race.

McNerney’s report shows he raised $601,851.63 in the third quarter, for a total of $2,743,057.42 raised in this election cycle. He spent $957,901.95 in the third quarter, leaving him with $1,022,121.33 as of Sept. 30, the report says.

Andal’s report shows he raised $348,062 in the third quarter, for a total of $1,150,957.03 raised in this election cycle. He spent $195,081.44 in the third quarter, leaving him with $849,727.75 as of Sept. 30, the report says.

Andal issued a news release earlier today saying it feels great to know he has so many supporters, “and with the election only a couple of weeks out, we’re continuing to garner strong support – in both voices and fundraising. … (T)hanks to my supporters and their generous contributions, we have the resources to end this campaign on a very strong note.”

But truth is, he’s still at something of a competitive disadvantage. And as my colleague Lisa Vorderbrueggen noted in her blog earlier today, it looks as if the National Republican Congressional Committee well has run dry for Andal and other challengers as the national GOP turns its attention to protecting its endangered incumbents.

UPDATE @ 11:07 P.M.: Richard Temple, Andal’s consultant/spokesman, says I “missed the mark” with this post:

We enter the last month of the campaign with virtually the same cash on hand as the incumbent at the precise time when voters will be making up their minds. I doubt that McNerney is pleased knowing we have significant resources and issues to use against him. And if the DCCC comes in with a lot of money at the end, it will be water overflowing a bucket. They can outspend us 2-1 and it won’t make a difference as long as we have enough resources to get an effective message out — and we do. The shorter the time frame, the less that volume of spending makes a difference in campaign — after a certain amount voters tune campaigns out. McNerney squandered his early financial advantage and we enter the last month within striking distance, with enough resources to get our message out, stronger issues in our favor, and a good district. I’ll take our chances. Watch this race closely and see what happens.

UPDATE @ 2:24 P.M. THURSDAY: From McNerney campaign spokesman Andy Stone: “Richard Temple may be feeling lucky, but he probably shouldn’t hit the tables at Cache Creek just yet.”

Topping this week’s roundup of big ($25,000 or more) spenders on California campaigns and committees is Arizona education and communications magnate Peter Sperling’s $1.75 million Thursday for Proposition 7, which would require California utilities to procure half of their power from renewable resources by 2025. This brings Sperling’s stake in the measure to $9 million so far.

Bob Wilson of Brooklyn, N.Y., gave $1.4 million Tuesday to the campaign for Proposition 5, which would expand state funding and oversight for treatment and rehab programs for nonviolent drug offenders and parolees while reducing criminal penalties and limiting courts’ authority to lock up offenders who violate probation or parole. (This donation double’s Wilson’s prior investment in the measure to a total of $2.8 million so far; I’m pretty sure this Bob Wilson is the same retired hedge fund manager and philanthropist Robert W. Wilson who has given substantially to the campaign against Proposition 8.) Meanwhile, the Police Officers Research Association of Califorina (PORAC) political action committee put up $50,000 Wednesday to oppose Proposition 5.

Natural gas giant Chesapeake Energy of Oklahoma City, Okla., put up $1 million Tuesday to support Proposition 10, a $5 billion bond measure called the California Alternative Fuels Initiative that would provide cash incentives to buyers of certain high-fuel-economy and alternative-fuel vehicles as well as to companies researching and developing renewable energy and cleaner cars.

Ponying up this week for the campaign against Proposition 2 — which would prohibit confinement of certain farm animals in ways that don’t let them turn freely, lie down, stand up and fully extend their limbs — were Demler Enterprises of Wasco, with $182,827.10 Monday; the Demler-owned Pine Hill Egg Ranch of Ramona, with $105,000 Monday; the Washington, D.C.-based American Farm Bureau Federation, with $50,000 Wednesday; Norco Ranch Inc. of Norco, with $35,967.95 Tuesday; and McAnally Enterprises of Norco, with $25,631.74 Tuesday. Meanwhile, the San Francisco-based Caufield Family Foundation gave $50,000 Wednesday and the New York City-based Humane Society of the United States gave another $33,000 Monday to support Proposition 2.

Healthcare supply heir and billionaire philanthropist Jon Stryker of Kalamazoo, Mich., gave $200,000 Wednesday (bringing his total so far to $550,000); UNITE HERE’s New York City-based issues fund put up $100,000 Saturday; the Oakland-based Service Employees International Union United Health Workers West PAC coughed up $100,000 Wednesday; Jonathan Lewis of Coral Gables, Fla., gave $100,000 Wednesday; “Grey’s Anatomy” star T.R. Knight of New York City sent $50,000 Tuesday; the PAC of SEIU Local 1000, representing state workers, gave $50,000 Wednesday; and firedoglake.com editor Susan McIntosh of Menlo Park gave $30,000 Wednesday for the campaign against Proposition 8, the proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Equality California shifted $500,000 it had collected into the main “No on 8″ fund Thursday. Meanwhile, Dr. Josephine Templeton of Bryn Mawr, Pa., gave $100,000 Tuesday and Laguna Niguel businessman Richard Jordan gave $25,000 Tuesday to support Proposition 8.

The Democratic State Central Committee of California gave $185,000 Monday to Manuel Perez’s 80th Assembly District campaign; $184,000 Tuesday to Fran Florez’s 30th Assembly District campaign; and $35,960.42 Wednesday to former Assemblywoman Hannah Beth Jackson’s 19th State Senate District campaign. The Merced County Democratic Central Committee kicked in $60,000 Tuesday to Jackson’s campaign, too, and the San Diego County Democratic Party gave her $50,000 Wednesday. The Yolo County Democratic Central Committee gave $50,000 Wednesday to Assemblywoman Lois Wolk’s 5th State Senate District campaign.

Across the aisle, the California Republican Party gave $100,000 Thursday — after the Republican Central Committee of Orange County had given $30,200 and the Republican Party of Riverside County had given $27,600, both Tuesday — to former Assemblyman Tony Strickland’s 19th State Senate District campaign. The state GOP also handed over $90,000 today for Gary Jeandron’s 80th Assembly District campaign; the Fresno County Republican Central Committee had given Jeandron $30,000 Tuesday. And Livermore businessman and rancher Robert Rao must’ve had some debt left over from his unsuccessful bid in the 15th Assembly District’s GOP primary, because he put $93,818.19 of his own money into his campaign fund Tuesday.

The construction industry’s California Alliance for Jobs Rebuild California Committee gave $300,000 Thursday to support Proposition 1A, the $10 billion bond measure for high-speed rail.

Crime Victims United of California gave $100,000 Saturday to the campaign for Proposition 6, a tough-on-crime package including adult prosecution for gang-related criminals 14 and up; annual criminal background checks for public housing residents; harsher bail conditions and penalties for certain crimes; and so on. Meanwhile, the California School Employees Association’s political action committee put up $50,000 Tuesday to the joint campaign against Proposition 6 and Proposition 9, the latter of which would expand crime victims’ rights including restitution.

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles gave $107,900 Tuesday and the UCSF Foundation in San Francisco gave $35,000 Saturday to support Proposition 3, the Children’s Hospital Bond Act, which would authorize almost $1 billion in bonds to be repaid from state’s General Fund to pay for construction, expansion, remodeling, renovation, furnishing and equipping of children’s hospitals. Also, the California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems dumped $83,333 into its own issues fund Wednesday, presumably on its way somewhere else… wanna bet where?

Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla of Portola Valley gave $50,000 Wednesday and Judith Koch of Mountain View gave $25,000 Tuesday to oppose Proposition 4, the proposed state constitutional amendment which would require doctors to inform the parent or guardian of a minor 48 hours before providing an abortion to that minor.

Topping this week’s roundup of big ($25,000 or more) spenders on California campaigns and committees is the $4 million that T. Boone Pickens‘ Seal Beach-based Clean Energy put Wednesday into the campaign for Proposition 10, a $5 billion bond measure called the California Alternative Fuels Initiative that would provide cash incentives to buyers of certain high-fuel-economy and alternative-fuel vehicles as well as to companies researching and developing renewable energy and cleaner cars. This was Pickens’ idea; he stands to make a bundle from it; and his company has put up about $7 million of the almost $7.75 million collected for the campaign to date.

Next up is the $2 million that Arizona education and communications magnate Peter Sperling sank Monday into the campaign for Proposition 7, which would require California utilities to procure half of their power from renewable resources by 2025. This brings Sperling’s stake in the measure to $7.25 million so far.

Lots of money continued to roll in this week for the campaign against Proposition 8, the proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Healthcare supply heir and billionaire philanthropist Jon Stryker of Kalamazoo, Mich., gave $350,000 Wednesday; International Flavors and Fragrances heir and philanthropist Henry Van Ameringen gave $100,000 Tuesday while the Democratic State Central Committee of California gave $100,000 Wednesday; the Proteus Fund’s Civil Marriage Collaborative of Amherst, Mass., gave $80,000 Monday; the Human Rights Campaign PAC gave $75,000 Tuesday; billionaire Dreamworks CEO David Geffen gave $50,000 Monday; and it was $25,000 each from bank president’s wife and retiree Mary Judith Meelia of Walpole, Mass., on Monday, the San Diego-based Center Advocacy Project Issues PAC on Tuesday, Good Green Home founder and CEO John Barabino of Chevy Chase, Md., on Tuesday, and Bubble Factory founder and film producer Sid Sheinberg of Beverly Hills on Wednesday. There’s also a $50,000 contribution listed as coming in Wednesday from Fall Out Boy of Point Richmond — is this the Chicago-area pop-punk band, and if so, why the East Bay address? Elsewhere, Equality California moved $500,000 Tuesday and Californians Against Elimination of Basic Rights moved $100,000 Friday of the money they’d collected into a central No on 8 account. Meanwhile, J. Cliff Johnson of Yuba City gave $25,000 Sunday to support Proposition 8.

The Democratic State Central Committee of California was busy this week, putting another $210,676.40 Monday into Manuel Perez’s 80th Assembly District campaign; $164,500 Thursday to Fran Florez’s campaign for the 30th Assembly District; $80,000 Tuesday into former Assemblywoman Hannah Beth Jackson’s 19th State Senate District campaign; $41,248.14 Tuesday into Marty Block’s 78th Assembly District campaign; and $33,886.68 Monday into Assemblywoman Lois Wolk’s 8th State Senate District campaign. Meanwhile, the a different California Democratic Party account gave $30,000 Tuesday to Joan Buchanan’s 15th Assembly District campaign.

On the other side of the aisle, the California Republican Party gave $250,000 today to former Assemblyman Tony Strickland’s 19th State Senate District campaign. Republican Bill Berryhill put $100,000 of his own money into his 26th Assembly District campaign Monday, and the Fresno County Republican Central Committee did pony up $116,675 Thursday for Gary Jeandron’s 80th Assembly District campaign.

Childrens Hospital Los Angeles anted up $435,000 Wednesday for Proposition 3, the Children’s Hospital Bond Act, which would authorize almost $1 billion in bonds to be repaid from state’s General Fund to pay for construction, expansion, remodeling, renovation, furnishing and equipping of children’s hospitals.

Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside Counties gave $150,000 while Concord-based Planned Parenthood Shasta-Diablo gave $100,000 Tuesday and the Democratic State Central Committee of California gave $100,000 Wednesday to the campaign against Proposition 4, the proposed state constitutional amendment which would require doctors to inform the parent or guardian of a minor 48 hours before providing an abortion to that minor. The Sacramento-based Campaign for Teen Health and Safety moved $200,000 of what it has collected against Proposition 4 into Planned Parenthood’s No on 4 account. Meanwhile, Irvine attorney Timothy R. Busch’s Lenawee Trust gave $25,000 today to support Proposition 4.

Egg producer Moark LLC of Norco gave $280,803.20 today to oppose Proposition 2, which would prohibit confinement of certain farm animals in ways that don’t let them turn freely, lie down, stand up and fully extend their limbs. In support of Proposition 2, retired hedge fund manager Michelle Thomson of Philadelphia gave another $25,000 Sunday and Houston entrepreneur and investor William W. Nicholson, a former Amway executive and Ford Administration official, gave $25,000 Monday.

Gap Inc. chairman Emeritus Donald G. Fisher of San Francisco gave $100,000 Monday to support Proposition 11, the legislative redistricting reform measure.

Crime Victims United of California gave $100,000 Monday to support Proposition 9, which would expand crime victims’ rights including restitution.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) gave $30,200 and the California Council of Laborers PAC gave $25,000 today to the Merced County Democratic Central Committee.

My nomination for mystery contribution of the week is the $50,000 that former Los Angeles Mayor, 2002 GOP gubernatorial primary candidate and former California Secretary of Education Richard Riordan gave Tuesday to Protecting California’s Children. That’s a Los Angeles-based, statewide ballot-measure committee which said in its initial filing that it supports increased funding for foster care and child-welfare programs; it had collected only $2,500 earlier, so this marks a sudden money infusion.

STV Inc., a Rancho Cucamonga-based engineering, architectural and planning firm, gave $30,000 Tuesday to support Proposition 1A, the $10 billion bond measure for high-speed rail.

And the Lakeside-based Barona Band of Mission Indians gave $25,000 Thursday to the campaign against Proposition 5, which would expand state funding and oversight for treatment and rehab programs for nonviolent drug offenders and parolees while reducing criminal penalties and limiting courts’ authority to lock up offenders who violate probation or parole.

Topping this week’s roundup of big ($25,000 or more) spenders on California campaigns and committees is the $1.25 million that Equality California dumped Wednesday into the campaign against Proposition 8, the proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

Other notable No on 8 contributions this week included $500,000 Tuesday from GeoCities cofounder, venture capitalist and philanthropist David Bohnett of Beverly Hills; $250,000 Wednesday from the Service Employees International Union’s California State Council; $100,000 Monday from San Francisco’s Robert Haas, chairman emeritus of Levi Strauss Inc.; $70,000 Saturday from the National Center for Lesbian Rights; $50,000 Saturday from Anita May Rosenstein of Beverly Hills, a philanthropist and and founder of AR Asset Management Inc.; $25,000 Monday from Vinik Asset Management CEO Mark Hostetter of Boston; $25,000 Tuesday from Johnson Family Foundation chairman James Johnson of New York City; and $25,000 Wednesday from Angle Slate Inc. of Los Angeles.

Fieldstead & Co. — the personal philanthropic organization through which banking heir Howard Fieldstead Ahmanson Jr. funds conservative causes — put up $300,000 Wednesday to support Proposition 8, bringing its total thus far to $900,000. Other contributions supporting Proposition 8 this week included $100,000 Monday from the Brea-based Evangelical Christian Credit Union; $100,000 Tuesday from Los Altos retiree Joseph Moran; and then $25,000 each Tuesday from former teacher Susan Facer of Rancho Palos Verdes, retired Safeway executive and former Oakland Mormon Temple president Lorenzo Hoopes, Atherton property manager Parley Livingston, and Jaquetia Zinn of San Jose. Laura Armstrong of Irvine gave $25,000 Wednesday to support the measure.

The Democratic State Central Committee of California gave a total of $288,473 Monday and Tuesday to Manuel Perez’s campaign for the 80th Assembly District seat; $164,500 Thursday to Fran Florez’s campaign for the 30th Assembly District; and $130,000 Tuesday to former Assemblywoman Hannah Beth Jackson’s campaign for the 19th State Senate District seat. The Santa Barbara County Democratic Central Committee kicked in $28,000 Thursday for Jackson’s campaign.

The Burlingame-based California Teachers Association gave $350,000 Monday to oppose Proposition 4, the proposed state constitutional amendment which would require doctors to inform the parent or guardian of a minor 48 hours before providing an abortion to that minor. That same day, the New Haven, Conn.-based Knights of Columbus gave $200,000 Monday to support the measure.

Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital anted up $347,812.50 Monday to support Proposition 3, which would authorize almost $1 billion in bonds to be repaid from state’s General Fund to pay for construction, expansion, remodeling, renovation, furnishing and equipping of children’s hospitals.

The New York City-based Fund for Animals and the Washington, D.C.-based Humane Society of the United States each gave $250,000 Tuesday to the campaign for Proposition 2, which would prohibit confinement of certain farm animals in ways that doesn’t let them turn freely, lie down, stand up and fully extend their limbs; Gil Michaels of Beverly Hills, owner of GNM Financial Services, gave $50,000 Monday, while retired hedge fund manager Michelle Thomson of Philadelphia and Merriman Curhan Ford & Co. of San Francsico each gave $25,000 Thursday. Ponying up against Proposition 2 this week was the California Grocers Association, which gave $25,000 Wednesday.

The Service Employees International Union’s California State Council gave $200,000 Tuesday to the joint campaign to defeat Proposition 6 and Proposition 9. Proposition 6 is a tough-on-crime package including adult prosecution for gang-related criminals 14 and up; annual criminal background checks for public housing residents; harsher bail conditions and penalties for certain crimes; and so on. Proposition 9 would expand crime victims’ rights including restitution.

The campaign for Proposition 1A, the $10 billion bond measure for high-speed rail, got two big contributions this week: $25,000 each Tuesday from the American Council of Engineering Companies California and from the Members’ Voice of the State Building Trades, a “section 527″ group set up by the State Building & Construction Trades Council of California.

And billionaire former Univision chairman and CEO Jerry Perenchio gave $25,000 Wednesday to the campaign for Proposition 11, the legislative redistricting reform measure.

I got a news release this morning from the National Republican Congressional Committee noting Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, has given away to charity $5,000 he received from the leadership PAC of Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., who is under investigation for alleged ethics violations:

Hoping he could get away with keeping Rangel’s money, all eyes are on fellow Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA) who is still standing by the scandal-scarred Congressman. So how much longer will Jerry McNerney hold out?

The still mounting evidence of Rangel’s infractions is overwhelming and the voters will not forget that Jerry McNerney chose to endorse the status quo and turn a blind eye to corruption. Just last week McNerney voted to kill a resolution that would have convened a House Ethics Committee investigation to look into Rangel’s mounting scandals (House Roll Call 609).

It might be a stretch to say “all eyes” are on McNerney – he’s one of almost 100 Democratic House members or candidates who have accepted donations from Rangel’s PAC in this election cycle, and the NRCC is sending these releases to media in any of those districts deemed competitive.

Also, it’s true that McNerney voted to table House Minority Leader John Boehner’s H.Res.1460, which not only would’ve convened a House Ethics Committee investigative subcommittee to probe Rangel’s doings but also would’ve instantly removed Rangel as House Ways and Means chairman. The vote was 226-176, with five Republicans crossing the aisle to vote with Democrats in favor of tabling the resolution.

Truth is, Rangel by then already had requested an Ethics Committee investigation and pledged his cooperation, and Boehner hasn’t been so quick to demand action on GOP members facing ethical questions.

But that doesn’t change the fact that McNerney’s campaign has accepted $10,000 from Rangel’s PAC this cycle – just as his Republican challenger, Dean Andal, has received $5,000 from the Future Leaders PAC run by California’s own Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, and $1,000 from the Midnight Sun PAC run by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska. Both Lewis and Young reportedly are under federal criminal investigation for influence peddling; both Lewis and Young have resisted calls for them to step down from key committee posts. And in a less direct parallel, Andal’s campaign has received $5,000 from the Rely on Your Beliefs PAC run by House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, who through that same PAC had controversial ties to disgraced former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and imprisoned former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Potentially dirty money is never good, but hypocritical, canned outrage isn’t so great, either.