Arnold getting a little shady

http://www.ArnoldWatch.org Weblog - December 12, 2003 – 11:35 am

Getting a Little Shady
By Jamie Court

Arnold’s fundraiser in Orange County Wednesday night at Shady Canyon Country Club was hosted by the Irvine Company’s Donald Bren. Bren’s company developed Shady Canyon, where golf club membership costs $220,000. And Bren and his wife have contributed $62,400 to the Gov. But Bren’s not just a big Terminator fan. The Irvine Company may have a bigger stake in Arnold’s re-review of all Gray Davis-era regulations than any other corporation in the state.

The Irvine Co.’s lobbying so far this year was targeted at a wide range of regulatory bodies including the Department of Food And Agriculture, Department of Conservation, Resources Agency, Department of Fish and Game, Water Resources Control Board, the Coastal Conservancy, and CAL Trans. With pending regulations on hold at each agency for a review of their impact on companies like Irvine, and five years worth of old regulations to be revisited, Bren’s got big business with the state.

It will be months before we know if The Irvine Company succeeds in rolling back regulations it opposed. That’ll be a clue as to whether the Gov is the Man Of The People he claims, or just another Country Club Republican.