BALLOT IGNITES CASH BATTLE FIERCE FUNDRAISING FOR ELECTION AHEAD.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO - With the prospect for compromise measures on the November special-election ballot declared dead last week, powerful political forces throughout the state have started gearing up for a contentious election season that could generate more than $200 million in spending.

Eight measures will be on the Nov. 8 ballot and fundraising has already far exceeded $100 million - a figure that could double as voters are inundated with high-pressure advertising in the next several months.

``The bottom line is it's going to be a very expensive election and people are going to be very tired of the commercials,'' said Bob Stern, president of the Los Angeles-based Center for Governmental Studies.

The most expensive battle so far is shaping up not over Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's reform agenda, but over two competing pharmaceutical-discount measures - one proposed by the drug industry and one by consumer groups.

The drug industry already has raised more than $70 million for the fight, while consumer groups are able to raise only a fraction of that amount.

But Schwarzenegger's measures - a new state spending cap, redistricting, and longer probation for teachers - still are expected to receive the most public attention, with the governor saying he wants to raise $50 million for the fight.

This month, he launches a 17-event national fundraising tour that features a high-priced reception at the Rolling Stones tour kickoff at Boston's Fenway Park set for today.

Tickets for that event range from $10,000 to $100,000, but sales so far are reportedly ``about as anemic as a girlie man,'' according to the Boston Herald.

That's partly because Schwarzenegger is governor of a state 3,000 miles away and partly because the Rolling Stones have released a new song that appears to bash President George W. Bush, making it awkward for some Republicans to appear at the event.

Schwarzenegger also has fundraisers planned in New Jersey and Lake Tahoe, as well as throughout California, including Los Angeles and Lancaster.

While Schwarzenegger during the recall campaign of Gov. Gray Davis criticized Davis' heavy fundraising, his advisers say he is pressed to raise money now because his opponents are expected to be well-funded.

``Unlike our opponents who are exceedingly better-funded than we are, the governor has to raise his funds one donor at a time,'' said Marty Wilson, executive director of Schwarzenegger's California Recovery Team.

``Which puts us at a significant disadvantage over the public employee labor unions, who seem to have almost limitless funds, and when they run out, they just raise the dues on their hard-working members,'' Wilson said.

Schwarzenegger will be fiercely opposed by a coalition of unions and Democratic allies, the Alliance for a Better California.

The unions are fired up not only about Schwarzenegger's agenda, but also about the ``Paycheck Protection'' measure that would force unions to get annual permission from their members to spend a portion of their dues on political activities.

Business interests have been pushing the measure in an effort to weaken the state's powerful unions, and unions are expected to put up a fierce fight - and funds - against the measure.

The California Nurses Association, which has been one of the governor's most aggressive opponents this year, plans to have protesters follow Schwarzenegger on the campaign fundraising trail.

The nurses remain bitter at the governor for attempting to override a law that improved the nurse-patient ratio in California and have broadened their opposition to his reform agenda.

This weekend they will be in Boston at the Stones concert and also are taking out anti-Schwarzenegger ads in Boston newspapers and intend to fly a banner over the baseball park with a message referring to ``Arnold's Beast of Burden - corporate cash.''

``Nurses started this movement against the governor and we're not going to quit,'' said Kelly DiGiacomo, a CNA board member and registered nurse who plans to fly to Boston to be part of the protest. ``We've been following him around for months now and we're going to keep it up until he backs off.''

And adding more fuel to his opponents, the Federal Election Commission ruled last week that members of Congress can raise unlimited amounts of soft money to fight his redistricting initiative.

Schwarzenegger and Democrats had worked for weeks to avoid the drawn-out election battle that is now developing, trying to negotiate a series of compromise measures that both sides could support.

But they ended those discussions Thursday night, which Secretary of State Bruce McPherson had said would be the deadline for printing a supplemental ballot for the election.

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuez, D-Los Angeles, had indicated earlier Thursday morning that he thought they could take at least another week to come to a deal.

But a final meeting Thursday evening between Schwarzenegger and the legislative leaders failed to achieve any deals and they declared the talks over, blaming McPherson and saying they might've been able to work out a deal if they had a few more days.

Political analysts said Democrats ultimately had little incentive to reach a deal because many of them feel the governor is on the ropes, with drooping poll ratings for himself and his measures.

Steve Maviglio, a spokesman for Nuez, said that while Democrats tried in good faith to bargain a compromise measure, they remain confident that the governor's measures will fail.

``Right now they're polling poorly all across the board,'' Maviglio said. ``There's not a whole lot of incentive to have this election in the first place. We've said before it's a big election about nothing. Californians by a wide majority don't want this election and I think they'll express that in November.''

The last Field Poll in June found only about a third of the state's likely voters would support the governor's budget and redistricting measures, while 59 percent would support his teacher-tenure initiative, considered the lowest priority of the governor's three measures.

The Field Poll also found that only 37 percent of voters approve of the governor's job performance, a steep decline from his peak of 65 percent only nine months earlier.

Schwarzenegger said Thursday that he expects the campaign to be polite, though that has not always been the case.

In previous efforts he has called for bipartisan cooperation while simultaneously relying on aggressive campaign tactics and name-calling such as ``girlie-men'' to get legislators to do his will.

``Campaigns are all about getting the information out there and to be courteous,'' Schwarzenegger said Thursday. ``I try to be above all the big fighting and all this.''

And he added that he remains ``very confident'' in the outcome.

``We need the reforms,'' Schwarzenegger said. ``We need to straighten out the mess. It's very clear that we have a structural problem in California. That's what created the huge deficit, that's what created the structural deficit that we have also, and all of those things.

``So I think it is important that we take it to the people and let them make the decision. And I think the people will be behind it.''

Harrison Sheppard, [phone]

harrison.sheppard(at)dailynews.com

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SPECIAL ELECTION AT A GLANCE

SOURCE: Daily News research