This story is taken from politics at sacbee.com. 
 

Jones says Davis hit 'new low' in N.Y. trip

The governor's GOP rival says mixing fund raisers and a visit to Ground Zero was unseemly.

By Emily Bazar -- Bee Capitol Bureau - (Published November 17, 2001)

The secretary of state said the most disturbing thing about Davis' trip was that the governor failed to say he would be attending fund-raisers, instead publicizing only his meetings with federal officials about security issues.

Davis was in Florida, New York and Washington, D.C., from Oct. 26-30.

As a result of the Democratic governor's actions, Jones suggested Davis add the following statement to the seal that appears on his letterhead: "Neither rolling blackouts nor terrorist attacks nor an ailing mother and economy can keep me from making my appointed fund-raising rounds."

Davis spokesman Steve Maviglio dismissed Jones' remark. "We'll file that under the 'How low can you go' " category, he said.

The governor was in Florida to visit his 78-year-old mother who is elderly but not "ailing," Maviglio said. Davis canceled a visit to his mother's home about a month ago because of the terrorist attacks, he said, and wanted to make it up to her.

Garry South, Davis' top political adviser, also blasted Jones' remark.

"Those are the statements of a desperate man. He ought to be ashamed of himself," South said. "I've said a lot of unkind things in my political career. But I don't think I've ever criticized someone's mother."

Later in the day, Jones conceded that he was incorrect in using the the term "ailing" to describe Davis' mother, and should have used the word "elderly."

He said his point was that Davis should make his schedule public and speak honestly about his commitments, whether they involve fund-raisers or not.

"It's important to realize this governor is not being candid with respect to how he's using his time," Jones said. "Everything is done in secret."

South countered that Davis doesn't "need to invent reasons to go anywhere." He added that Davis' political campaign pays for all of his out-of-state and foreign travel in addition to any in-state travel that is political in nature.

South urged Jones to spend more time fund raising instead of criticizing the governor. Jones has raised little money compared to his two challengers in the Republican gubernatorial primary, businessman Bill Simon and former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan.

But excessive fund raising has long been one of Jones' top complaints about Davis.

On Friday, he questioned two contributions Davis accepted from energy companies on Oct. 30, even though the governor publicly swore off taking money from utility companies and power generators last winter.

Caithness Energy LLC in New York and FPL Energy LLC in Florida each gave Davis $25,000, and Jones wanted to know if the governor had changed his policy.

"I don't understand this double standard," he said. "They say one thing and do another."

But South said the governor's policy still stands. He said Davis refuses contributions from power companies that have been identified by the state's Independent System Operator as "gougers" and from utility companies such as Pacific Gas and Electric Co. The governor can, however, accept donations from alternative energy suppliers that have not engaged in price manipulation, South said.

"I never certainly meant to suggest that no energy-related entity whatsoever ... ," he said. "We looked specifically at Caithness and FPL and determined they did not fit into the categories of energy-related companies from which we had forsworn contributions."

Though South added that Davis would refuse contributions from "gougers" and utilities "until further notice," the governor appeared to leave the door open Thursday.

"The worst of the energy crisis is behind us," Davis said. "My concern was in not taking money from people who were actively selling us power during the difficult early months of 2001."