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Cocktailing with Nixon

It’s not on the scale of Watergate, but Sempra Energy’s recent gift to one Republican state politico bears a whiff of nostalgia for the good old days of the 1970s. This March 5, the utility giant picked up a $65 food-and-beverage tab for Gary Neely, district staff representative for GOP state senator Bob Huff of Walnut. The locale: the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda.

Sempra’s other venues for wining and dining legislative officials were less colorful: GOP assemblyman Martin Garrick’s senior field representative Marie Joyce and Andrew Poat, a member of the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, each got $65 in food and beverage at Roy’s restaurant at the San Diego waterfront Marriott. And Gerard Loaiza, staffer to GOP senator Roy Ashburn of Kern County, got a $90 meal and drink at the Visalia Convention Center. Ashburn was one of the few Republicans to back Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s tax increases, spawning an ongoing attempt to recall him.

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Meanwhile, AT&T has been spreading good cheer too. In January, Christy Crozby, staffer to GOP senator Mark Wyland of Solana Beach, got tickets to a Sacramento Kings game, with refreshments, valued at $120. In February, she attended World Wide Wrestling’s Raw, also at the Arco Arena, valued at $120 as well.

On March 13, Wyland himself bunked down in a room worth $96.12 at the Barona Resort and Casino, thanks to the Barona Indians. He also got a meal worth $113. 22. Julie Griffiths, chief of staff to GOP assemblyman Joel Anderson of La Mesa, did the same. Her boss apparently didn’t stay the night, but he received a $113.22 meal courtesy of the tribe.

Over at the Viejas Casino, Democratic assemblyman Marty Block of San Diego chowed down at a $41.49 lunch at the Grove Steakhouse, as did staffer Chris Ward. Other Block staff members, including Jonathan Goetz, Rich Grosch, Lisa Silverman, Martha Rañón, and Joyce Temporal, each got lunches worth $37.11.

Also partaking of the Viejas hospitality was Republican Anderson, who got a meal worth $40.63. His staff members, including Collin McGlashen, Rorick Luepton, and Maggie Winn, each ate $39.47 meals. … Kelly Burt, president of the 22nd District Agricultural Association, whose efforts to give a 29 percent raise to Del Mar Fairgrounds CEO Tim Fennell were foiled after a public outcry in March, has given $25,000 to the Republican gubernatorial primary campaign of former eBay chief Meg Whitman. Fair-board appointments are made by the governor.

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It’s not on the scale of Watergate, but Sempra Energy’s recent gift to one Republican state politico bears a whiff of nostalgia for the good old days of the 1970s. This March 5, the utility giant picked up a $65 food-and-beverage tab for Gary Neely, district staff representative for GOP state senator Bob Huff of Walnut. The locale: the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda.

Sempra’s other venues for wining and dining legislative officials were less colorful: GOP assemblyman Martin Garrick’s senior field representative Marie Joyce and Andrew Poat, a member of the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, each got $65 in food and beverage at Roy’s restaurant at the San Diego waterfront Marriott. And Gerard Loaiza, staffer to GOP senator Roy Ashburn of Kern County, got a $90 meal and drink at the Visalia Convention Center. Ashburn was one of the few Republicans to back Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s tax increases, spawning an ongoing attempt to recall him.

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Meanwhile, AT&T has been spreading good cheer too. In January, Christy Crozby, staffer to GOP senator Mark Wyland of Solana Beach, got tickets to a Sacramento Kings game, with refreshments, valued at $120. In February, she attended World Wide Wrestling’s Raw, also at the Arco Arena, valued at $120 as well.

On March 13, Wyland himself bunked down in a room worth $96.12 at the Barona Resort and Casino, thanks to the Barona Indians. He also got a meal worth $113. 22. Julie Griffiths, chief of staff to GOP assemblyman Joel Anderson of La Mesa, did the same. Her boss apparently didn’t stay the night, but he received a $113.22 meal courtesy of the tribe.

Over at the Viejas Casino, Democratic assemblyman Marty Block of San Diego chowed down at a $41.49 lunch at the Grove Steakhouse, as did staffer Chris Ward. Other Block staff members, including Jonathan Goetz, Rich Grosch, Lisa Silverman, Martha Rañón, and Joyce Temporal, each got lunches worth $37.11.

Also partaking of the Viejas hospitality was Republican Anderson, who got a meal worth $40.63. His staff members, including Collin McGlashen, Rorick Luepton, and Maggie Winn, each ate $39.47 meals. … Kelly Burt, president of the 22nd District Agricultural Association, whose efforts to give a 29 percent raise to Del Mar Fairgrounds CEO Tim Fennell were foiled after a public outcry in March, has given $25,000 to the Republican gubernatorial primary campaign of former eBay chief Meg Whitman. Fair-board appointments are made by the governor.

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