Valentine’s Day Week Going To Be a Hectic One For Lobbyists

The week of February 14 is shaping up to be fairly frenzied.

Besides spending Valentine’s Day giving $1,000 to Sen. Elaine Alquist, a Santa Clara Democrat, Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, a Los Angels Democrat and Sen. Alex Padilla, another Los Angeles Democrat there’s the 15^th, 16^th and the 17^th.

Assembly Speaker John Perez, a Los Angeles Democrat, wants $2,000 on the 15^th to share margaritas or tequila shots at Zocalo, a noisy Mexican restaurant near the state Capitol.

Mike Davis, another Los Angeles Democrat, is termed out. He wants help – at $1,000 a throw — retiring some debt from earlier campaigns over breakfast at Gallaghers Irish Pub.

Davis has competition from his new Assembly colleague Holly J. Mitchell, a Culver City Democrat. She hosts a $1,000 breakfast at Chops, across the street from the Capitol.

Assemblyman Jerry Hill, a South San Francisco Democrat, has a cocktail reception that’s half as much as Perez, also at Chops, but the same as cocktails with Sen. Noreen Evans, a Santa Rosa Democrat. She’s at Aioli’s, a popular tapas joint.

A $1,500 lunch with Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, a San Diego Republican, rounds out the day.

There’s two lunches on the 16^th: One to support termed out San Rafael Democratic Assemblyman Jared Huffman’s 2016 campaign for Senate and another for $1,300 to re-elect Paul Fong, a Mountain View Democrat, to his third and final term.

There’s a $1,000 lunch with freshman Democratic Assemblyman Roger Dickinson of Sacramento at the Esquire Grill. And another $1,000 for Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, a Long Beach Democrat, who is lunching at Chops.

Four cocktail parties vie for attendance.

Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, a Lodi Democrat, and freshman Sen. Anthony Canella, a Ceres Republican, have the most expensive ones at $1,500.

Assemblyman Mike Morrell, another freshman getting right into the swing of it, is a close second at $1,250. The Upland Republican’s Assembly webpage offers some suggested readings for the month – at no additional charge.

Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada, a Davis Democrat, is at Wayside Noodles, a downtown Vietnamese place, for $1,000.

In a rare Thursday morning fundraiser, freshman Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, a Concord Democrat, hopes to get in under the wire and make $1,300 before the lower house’s floor session begins and the Assembly adjourns for the rest of the week.

For lobbyists, that leaves the rest of Friday and the weekend free – plenty of time to rest up for the 12 fundraisers scheduled – so far – for the following week.

-30-