Don Perata is the leading candidate to be Oakland’s next
mayor — unless he gets indicted on public corruption charges. He
has considerable name recognition, is a prodigious fund-raiser, and has
a reputation for getting things done. But a review of the now retired
senator’s long legislative career reveals that much of his reputation
is more myth than reality. And his last months in Sacramento serve as a
stark reminder that whenever the going got tough, the senator usually
put his needs — and desires — first.
In fact, during his last year as president pro tem of the Senate,
Perata failed to achieve a single significant legislative
accomplishment. He can point to no bill, or act as Senate leader, that
made California or the East Bay a better place. Although he grabbed
headlines last summer for sponsoring a new foreclosure law, it had
virtually no effect on the housing crisis. Instead, his last year in
Sacramento will be remembered for his love of hardball politics and a
vindictive recall drive against Republican Senator Jeff Denham
that backfired miserably. And when he left office in December, the
state’s budget was in shambles, and Democrats had just suffered a
stinging defeat over legislative redistricting.
Public records also show that Perata chose last year not to use his
single greatest gift — his ability to milk campaign donors for
money — to help Democratic causes. Instead, he stood mostly on
the fund-raising sidelines, and then transferred nearly all of what he
had left of his personal campaign cash, nearly $2 million, into his
legal defense fund while embarking on a brief, but lavish, spending
spree.
Campaign finance records show he spent $2,480 on four meals at
Scott’s Seafood in Oakland’s Jack London Square, plus $215 on a dinner
for two at Oliveto restaurant in Rockridge. He also spent $215 for a
dinner for two at Morton’s of Chicago, one of Sacramento’s finest
restaurants. He also took five trips to his favorite bookstores, Diesel
on College Avenue and Barnes & Noble in Walnut Creek, spending $986
on “office supplies.” Perata has spent tens of thousands of dollars
over the years on “office supplies,” although he has never had a formal
campaign office. It’s in his home. Always a generous gift giver, Perata
also plopped down $932 at Philippa Roberts Jewelry in Oakland on
jewelry for some of his closest aides, including his longtime personal
political consultant, Sandi Polka.
After the Express exposed Perata’s over-the-top spending
practices nearly two years ago (see “Living Large,” May 16, 2007), the
senator drastically reduced his habit of using campaign funds to
feather his own nest. He occasionally spent money on meals and “office
supplies,” but it was nowhere near the torrid pace he set from 1997
through 2006, when he spent more than $1 million of his donor’s money
on expensive meals, hotel stays, and other questionable expenditures.
Still, he apparently couldn’t leave office without wetting his beak one
last time.
Over the past few weeks, Perata also has been criticized for not
doing more to fight Proposition 11, the redistricting measure that
barely passed in November. Backed by Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Prop. 11 stripped Democrats of their power to draw
legislative district lines. It was a huge setback for Democrats who
have dominated both statehouses for years in large part because they
have gerrymandered districts to limit Republican opposition. Prop. 11
promises to alter the balance of power in California.
Perata could have played a significant role in stopping it, but
chose not to. At the beginning of autumn, he was sitting on $2.7
million in campaign cash. But he spent only $162,000 of it helping
fight Prop. 11. By contrast, he transferred $1.9 million to his legal
defense fund, and went on his spending spree. Ironically, he reported
on his campaign disclosure forms that several of his expensive dinners
were supposedly “meetings” about Prop. 11. For some longtime political
observers, it was classic Perata. “Don Perata’s first priority has
always been Don Perata,” said Doug Heller, executive director of
Consumer Watchdog. “When the final choice came to fight for causes or
issues, he looked after himself.”
In fact, last year was a microcosm of Perata’s career. He’s long had
a reputation for being an effective legislator and political leader,
but it’s largely a myth. In 2004, this newspaper published a report
showing that he had one of the capitol’s worst records for getting
legislation passed and signed into law (see “Fund-Raising and
Bill-Passing,” December 8, 2004). His one signature accomplishment, a
statewide assault weapons ban, passed when he pressured the legislature
to approve it — before he took office in Sacramento.
The truth is Perata rose to power and prominence because of his
fund-raising ability and because he spread his wealth within the
Democratic Party and to his fellow legislators. Last year proved it was
all about self-interest. When the party needed him most, he was
glaringly absent, and Prop. 11 won by fewer than 2 percentage
points.
As for the four-plus-year FBI probe, Perata had better hope the feds
never indict, because he’s nearly broke. Not long after he transferred
the $1.9 million to his legal defense fund, he gave it all to his
lawyers. In fact, he spent $2.2 million on his legal defense last year,
raising his four-year total to $3.8 million. And he only has about
$600,000 left.
