The California Patriot Coalition is the main group behind the recall effort that manages the "RecallGavin2020.com" website where official recall petitions can be printed out and mailed in. The group that received the contributions, however, is Rescue California, a high-profile political action committee that is merely assisting the main recall efforts, not leading it. That $600,000 donation is now fueling a spat between the two groups.
Randy Economy, a senior advisor to the official recall campaign led by California Patriot Coalition, said he's unsure of what the Rescue California PAC will do with the money.
"There are like four or five different groups out there raising money for their own interests," he said. "I have no freaking clue what they're going to do with the money. They could be sticking it in their own pockets for all we know. This happens every recall, you've got this PAC, you've got that PAC, it’s like leeches coming out of the woodwork to suck blood."
Those remarks contrast sharply from public statements made a month ago by Orrin Heatlie of Folsom, the lead proponent of the California Patriot Coalition recall efforts and a retired sergeant in Yolo County Sheriff’s Office. While speaking to the California Globe, Heatlie called Rescue California "a perfect complement to our volunteers."
"We are the army, and they are the cavalry," he said at the time. "I could not be more pleased.”
Now, Economy says that Rescue California has "nothing to do" with the official recall campaign despite the two previously being touted as partners.
Heatlie said Wednesday he is appreciative of Rescue California's efforts — the group has mailed recall petitions to over 1.5 million registered Republicans in the state — but said the two groups have not worked as closely as they had in the past.
Neither Heatlie nor Economy elaborated on what caused the two groups to splinter, but a source familiar with the partnership told SFGATE it was primarily over strategic disagreements over the use of full-time paid signature gatherers.
"That was all money that they brought in and we have no control over how it’s spent," Heatlie said of the two large donations. "They haven’t consulted with us or told us what they’re going to do with it."
Rescue California co-chair Anne Dunsmore, a veteran GOP mega-fundraiser who served as Rudy Giuliani's deputy campaign manager for finance during his 2008 presidential bid, strongly pushed back against suggestions that Rescue California will pocket the money.
Dunsmore said they intend to use all of the new funds to mail more petitions out to registered voters, and pointed towards Heatlie's previous "cavalry" quote when asked about the relationship between the two groups.
"We intend to do everything we can to help their coalition reach their goal," she said. "At the end of the day, they’re going to look like the heroes they deserve to be.”
Rescue California hopes to send petitions to another 2 million Republicans in the state before moving on to no-party affiliation voters. Dunsmore estimated that mailing 500,000 petition forms costs close to $250,000, but yields around 100,000 valid signatures.
Put differently: They'll need more large donations like the ones received this week to hit their goal of 2 million signatures (they're shooting to have 500,000 more signatures than the 1.5 million required to force a recall election since some will be rejected in the review process). In the 2003 recall of Gov. Gray Davis, Darrell Issa donated $1.7 million of his own money, which would be worth $2.4 million today when adjusted for inflation.
"Every time we raise money we pull the trigger on mailing more petitions," she said. "But I think money begets more money. These latest donations are going to help send a message that this is doable, and it gives people confidence and show's that we're capable of winning."
Economy and Heatlie said they would prefer if large donations were made to their group.
"There's only one recall organization and there's only one recall chairman, and that's Orrin Heatlie," Economy said. "This always happens with recalls, sharks want a piece of the pie."
Dunsmore repeatedly denied that Rescue California is acting out of self-interest.
"We're not going to leave the fight, there are too many people out there who want and need this to happen," she said.
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