By DAVID DANELSKI and JEFF HORSEMAN The Press-Enterprise
A southwestern Riverside County developer has been a major donor and fundraiser for the election campaigns of all five Temecula City Council members, a review of public records has found.Daniel L. Stephenson and his companies have contributed more than $48,000 to the current council representatives since the beginning of 2004 -- nearly three times as much as the second-most-generous donor, according to a computer analysis of all campaign donations and expenditures the council members reported between Jan. 1, 2004, and Dec. 31, 2007, on public disclosure forms.During the same period, Stephenson also helped the candidates raise campaign cash by organizing fundraising events. In exchange for a contribution, supporters could board a bus for a trip to a professional sports event. One donor, for example, said he made $500 donations to two candidates and joined them and about 30 other people on a bus trip to Los Angeles for a Kings hockey game.The city has no limits on campaign contributions, and Stephenson's giving does not violate any laws or regulations. However, some experts question the wisdom of having one person have such a large financial impact on the city's elected representatives.Three of the five council members also have other financial ties to Stephenson: Councilman Jeff Comerchero works for him; Mayor Michael Naggar's consulting company works for Stephenson on some projects; and Councilman Chuck Washington has invested in a Stephenson development north of Temecula.Developers and real estate professionals often are the biggest city and county campaign supporters because of their interest in land-use decisions, said Massie Ritsch, a spokesman for The Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington, D.C-based nonpartisan, nonprofit research group that tracks money in politics and its effect on policy. Large contributions from one business interest should raise questions, he said."If the money comes from more diverse sources, there is less potential for favors," Ritsch said.All five council members and Stephenson declined to be interviewed by phone or in person for this article. They instructed reporters to submit questions in writing. Council members Comerchero, Ron Roberts and Maryann Edwards answered several of the newspaper's questions in e-mailed responses. Naggar and Washington did not answer specific questions, instead referring reporters to the campaign documents that prompted the questions.Stephenson said through a receptionist that he was on vacation and unavailable. He did not answer questions e-mailed to him. In a brief e-mail, he praised the council members and said he did not have access to information needed to answer the questions."I couldn't be more pleased to see how Temecula has flourished," Stephenson wrote. "I admire those who have been responsible for that and I support them in continuing their efforts."Council members and City Manager Shawn Nelson have said the council ties to Stephenson are a nonissue because the developer has no projects pending in the city.Stephenson has been involved in real estate in Riverside County since the late 1960s. He has formed dozens of companies that put together development teams, secures land-use approvals and often sells properties to builders. Under the umbrella name The Rancon Group, Stephenson has spun off other companies to handle real estate sales, financing and other development-related business. In December 2006, he declared in a court document that he and his trust had a net worth of more than $217 million.On the BusComerchero wrote in an e-mail that Stephenson over the years has helped with many fundraisers."The format is usually the same...," Comerchero wrote. "He buys about 40 tickets to a game and arranges for a bus to transport people. People are invited to go and they make a contribution."Most Stephenson fundraisers involved treating donors to charter-bus outings to pro-sports events, including Lakers basketball and Kings games. The council members benefiting from the fundraiser went along, giving donors time to socialize with them."It would have been a bus load full of people talking about their families, sports, their jobs, who knows what," Comerchero wrote.The candidates' campaign committees pay back the cost of the bus, tickets and other expenses that Stephenson would have covered in advance. It's unclear, based on campaign records, how much money the trips generated for the candidates.Stephenson, through Rancon Real Estate, has organized fundraisers for other city and county candidates, including Riverside County Supervisor Bob Buster.Buster said the event was a joint fundraiser for himself, Naggar and county Supervisor Jeff Stone that involved a charter bus trip to Staples Center in Los Angeles for a Lakers game in March of last year.Stephenson is not the only large donor, Buster said.Campaign-finance records confirm that several development-related companies give substantial sums to local candidates, either through a few large donations or numerous smaller ones.Among the larger single donations to a city candidate, records show that The Garrett Group, a Temecula-based developer, donated $8,000 to Comerchero in March 2005. And a company called Highland Fairview Properties, based in Florida, gave $10,000 to Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley's campaign in 2006 and again in 2007, according to his campaign filings.Although Stephenson and his companies occasionally gave a large donation, most contributions were $1,000 or less. But they were numerous: For example, Stone's campaign in 2004 received 20 separate contributions ranging from $10,500 to $119, for a total of $26,000.From 2004 through 2007, Stephenson companies donated $58,246 to Stone's election committee. Stone's district includes Temecula, Murrieta and Hemet. In the same period, Stephenson entities gave a little more than $33,000 each to Buster and Ashley.Buster said he wants Riverside County to impose limits on how much individual donors can give to one candidate for county office. He proposed doing so in 2004 but could not get support from other supervisors, he said in a telephone interview."The public wonders, and rightfully so, what is going on," Buster said. "There is a perception of undue influence, even if there is nothing illegal about it. ..."He (Stephenson) is playing by the current rules, and we are playing by the rules, but the rules need some strengthening," he said.As many as 50 California cities limit campaign donations, said Bob Stern, president of the Los Angeles-based Center for Governmental Studies, a nonpartisan political research organization.Los Angeles City Council candidates, for example, cannot accept more than $500 from any one donor per election. Santa Monica's cap is $250. Such limits can be imposed by city councils or by the voters through ballot initiatives, Stern said.None of the Temecula council members responded to a question about whether they would favor limiting campaign donations.Better Than a BanquetTemecula businessman Fred Grimes, who donated $500 to Edwards in 2006, said Stephenson-sponsored pro-sports outings have been common in Temecula council campaigns. "There is nothing seedy about it," Grimes said. "It's just a way to get people to make donations. ... It's a lot easier to get people to the game than the banquet room at The Sizzler."Grimes, who is with Grubb & Ellis/WestMar commercial real estate company, said he supports Edwards because she has worked hard to improve Temecula."She is the kind of dedicated public servant the city needs," he said.Developer Al Rattan, a City Council critic who owns land in the Old Town district of Temecula, said campaign donations can secure access to decision-makers.Rattan said that Rancon Real Estate brokered his land purchases in recent years and that Rancon officials, including Stephenson, suggested that he make campaign donations and socialize with the candidates.After paying $500 each to the campaigns of Edwards and Washington, Rattan said, he and about 30 other people met at Rancon's Murrieta office to board a bus to a Kings hockey game in Los Angeles.The party sat in luxury box seats, where they had drinks and catered food, Rattan said. Stephenson arrived later and socialized with council members and donors, he said.Rattan said he had a chance to talk with Comerchero and Edwards about his Old Town plans on the bus. The project remains stalled, Rattan said, because he did not get the redevelopment subsidies he considered necessary to proceed.Last year, Rattan said during a City Council meeting that he believes the financial ties linking Comerchero and Naggar to Stephenson are a potential conflict of interest. Council members have said they consult the city attorney to avoid such conflicts.Nelson, the Temecula city manager, sent The Press-Enterprise an unsolicited e-mail pointing out that Stephenson has no pending business within the city.Rancon, however, is planning housing and three wineries next to Temecula's eastern city limit, off Butterfield Stage Road. The project is in Riverside County jurisdiction.Several land-use experts said cities routinely try to influence development occurring at their doorsteps, and county officials listen because cities are affected by traffic and other issues. Such city involvement "is unequivocally a good planning practice," Daniel P. Selmi, a land-use expert and professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.Comerchero said in an e-mail that he would have to abstain because of his work for Rancon.Roberts said by e-mail that he has a conflict of interest that would prevent him from taking a position on the project. He works for Stone, the county supervisor who represents the district in which the project area is located.Edwards said in an e-mail that she hasn't heard of the project.
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