Schwarzenegger aide used government resources for campaign against ballot proposal, taxpayer group says

An aide to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used government resources for a political campaign against a proposal that would suspend California’s anti-global warming law, according to documents released by a taxpayer group Thursday.

Lisa Kalustian, a chief deputy director in the governor’s Los Angeles office, sent an e-mail from her state account at 11:09 a.m. March 30 that included an “endorsement form” with the letterhead and address of Californians for Clean Energy & Jobs, the name of a political group formed to fight the proposal.

“Would be interested in your thoughts as to what your position may be, or if you’ll be getting involved at all?” Kalustian wrote. “Thanks much!”

The endorsement sheet was to be returned to Mercury Public Affairs, a consulting firm that does campaign work for the governor. “State law prohibits the use of public resources — including government employees’ time at work — for campaign activities.

Schwarzenegger considers the 2006 anti-global warming law one of his biggest achievements. A proposed ballot measure would suspend the law, which is set to begin taking effect in 2012, until California’s unemployment rate remained at 5.5% for a full year.

Kalustian also included fact sheets that had the Californians for Clean Energy & Jobs letterhead and referred to the proposed measure. One read, “ Valero Oil Company’s Initiative Would Kill Clean Energy & Air Pollution Standards in California.”

Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger’s spokesman, said the governor’s office “absolutely has the right to educate Californians on the benefits” of the law. But he added, “An e-mail went out with campaign materials that shouldn’t have, and we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

In her e-mail, Kalustian referred to a conversation she’d just had with the recipient about “efforts underway to undermine” the law. The recipient’s name was removed by the Howard Jarvis TaxpayersAssn., which released the e-mail Thursday. The group opposes the global warming law, which it says will hurt the economy.

“The governor’s office is misusing taxpayer funds, taxpayer-funded staff and potentially other public agencies to undermine a ballot initiative just because he disagrees with it,” Jon Coupal, president of the taxpayers group, said in a statement. “It is not only illegal, it is a violation of the public trust.”

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