CalChamber Public Affairs Council Chair Gillian Zucker, a CalChamber Board member and president of Auto Club Speedway, welcomes council Fall Retreat attendees to a reception Wednesday evening at The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside.

(November 19, 2010) Perspectives on what the November 2 election means for 2011 and beyond were the subject of discussion last week at the California Chamber of Commerce Public Affairs Council fall retreat.

More than 110 people attended the November 10–12 gathering at The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside to gain critically important insights that will help make informed policy and political decisions in the 2011 legislative session.

With California at a crossroads, the post-election retreat asked several questions: What happened in the 2010 election? What does it mean for California’s long term future?  Can Governor Brown and our Legislature meet these challenges? What will the business community have to do differently to make a difference?

Public Affairs Council Chair Gillian Zucker, president of the Auto Club Speedway, presided over the two-day gathering.

The conference opened on Wednesday evening with a reception hosted by Rob Lapsley, CalChamber vice president of public affairs. Joining Public Affairs Council members were Cindy Roth, president and CEO of the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce, Riverside Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge and members of Riverside city council. 

Thursday

Larry McCarthy

Jan van Lohuizen

Thursday kicked off with Jan van Lohuizen, president of Voter Consumer Research, offering a polling presentation with an insider’s perspective on what the voters had to say about the November election.

Larry McCarthy of McCarthy, Marcus Hennings highlighted the best and worst political ads of 2010. McCarthy showed the group ads that aired nationwide and included candidate and issue ads. 

The first panel of the day discussed the gubernatorial and senate races. Bill Devine, vice president, legislative affairs for AT&T, moderated the panel, which included Darry Sragrow, interim director of the Los Angeles Times Poll; Julie Soderlund of the Carly Fiorina campaign; Roger Salazar, from Acosta Salazar, which ran several Democrat independent expenditure campaigns; Rob Stutzman of the Meg Whitman campaign; and Rose Kapolcynski, Barbara Boxer campaign.

Panelists for a discussion offer a behind-the-sceens look at the race for California Governor and U.S. Senate are (from left) Julie Soderlund, Carly Fiorina campaign; Rob Stutzman, Meg Whitman campaign; Rose Kapolcynski, Barbara Boxer campaign; Roger Salazer, from Acosta Salazar, which ran several Democrat independent expenditure campaigns; and Darry Sragow, Los Angeles Times  poll. The panel moderator was Bill Devine, vice president, legislative affairs for AT&T.

Luncheon keynote speaker Steve Cooley, current Los Angeles County District Attorney and Republican candidate for state Attorney General, provided an update on the race and took questions from the audience, elaborating on how he perceives the role of the Attorney General and how he would interact with Governor-elect Jerry Brown.

More than 120 attendees were treated to a true insider’s view at the Auto Club Speedway including pace car rides, professional go-cart racing and hosted dinner.

Assessing the legacy of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger are (from left) award-winning investigative journalist Ian Halperin; Margita Thompson, former press secretary to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; and Joe Mathews, a journalist and Irvine senior fellow at the New America Foundation. The panel moderator was Patricia Clarey, former chief of staff to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and current chief operating officer of Health Net.

After dinner, attendees were privy to a special “fireside chat” examining the Schwarzenegger legacy. Patricia Clarey, former chief of staff to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and current chief operating officer of Health Net, moderated the panel. Panelists were award-winning investigative journalist Ian Halperin; Joe Mathews, a journalist and Irvine senior fellow at the New America Foundation; and Margita Thompson, former press secretary to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The panelists discussed their fond memories of the “horseshoe” and reflected on Governor Schwarzenegger’s high profile time in office. 

Friday

Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist and CNN commentator, presents her interpretation of the November election results.

Friday morning began with an address by nationally renowned political commentator Donna Brazile. Brazile is an adjunct professor, author, syndicated columnist, television political commentator, vice chair of voter registration and participation at the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and former chair of the DNC’s Voting Rights Institute.

Brazile spoke to attendees about the electoral earthquake that changed the balance of power in Washington, D.C. She echoed the message the CalChamber has been sharing, which is that jobs are the number one priority for voters and that was the main message of the election. She closed with some matter-of-fact recommendations for all elected officials:

• Encourage the parties to be less partisan;
• Find projects that both parties can work together on; and
• Parties should work together to help rebuild the “American dream.”

The conference closed with a panel that offered pragmatic advice for business advocates in the Brown era and was moderated by Cassandra Pye of APCO Worldwide. Panelists included Barry Brokaw, president of Sacramento Advocates; Michael Gunning, vice president for the Personal Insurance Federation of California; Steve Baker, legislative advocate with Aaron Read and Associates; and Nancy Peverini, legislative counsel for the Consumer Attorneys of California.

More Information

Additional follow up coverage on the 2010 retreat will appear on the CalChamber website at www.calchamber.com/publicaffairs. 

For additional information on the council and how to become a member, please contact Rob Lapsley at rob.lapsley@calchamber.com.