Dawn Arnall
Dawn Arnall, of California, is the wife of U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands Roland Arnall, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 8, 2006.
It just so happens that Arnall, her husband, and "their companies have been the biggest political contributors to Bush since 2002." [1]
- "Major 527 donor Dawn Arnall should be happy to have her husband, Roland, nominated as Ambassador to the Netherlands. Roland is Chairman of Ameriquest, and Dawn is co-Chairman. Dawn Arnall gave [over] $5 million in August 2004 to Progress for America Voter Fund, a 527 organization," PoliticalMoneyLine commented July 29, 2005.
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Political Contributions
Progress for America Voter Fund
On August 9, 2004, Dawn Arnall contributed $1,000,000.00 to the Progress for America Voter Fund and an additional $4,400,000.00 on August 18, 2004. [2]
The California Orange County Register reported July 24, 2005, that the largest contributors to PFA-VT -- for a total $15.7 million -- were Dawn Arnall and Alex Spanos.
Bush's Second Inauguration
The Ameriquest Capital Corporation donated $250,000 for the second Bush inauguration. The Arnalls, Ameriquest co-chairmen, were both fund raisers for Bush-Cheney '04 Inc., achieving Ranger status by raising $200,000. [3]
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Roland and Dawn Arnall were also the largest donors, contributing $5 million, to the California Recovery Team, a political action committee that "raises money for initiatives backed by" Arnold Schwarzenegger. [4]
"Though committees for statewide candidates [in California] have contribution limits of $21,200 per donor, no such limit applied to committees for ballot measures until the day after the Nov. 2 election, when controls established by the state Fair Political Practices Commission took effect. Schwarzenegger had opposed the controls. ... In the weeks before that window closed, Schwarzenegger took in millions through the Recovery Team account," Christian Berthelsen wrote in the November 17, 2004, San Francisco Chronicle.
"Schwarzenegger also received a pair of donations totaling $500,000 from Ameriquest Capital Corp., a lender to distressed borrowers that is based in Orange. The company has been criticized by consumer advocates for allegedly predatory business practices, such as inducing borrowers into loans on terms they cannot meet.
"In reports filed with the secretary of state, Ameriquest disclosed it had lobbied lawmakers on eight separate pieces of legislation as well as five general issues. It also said it had lobbied the governor's office directly on 'California business climate issues, discriminatory application of unfair competition statute as applied to California based companies, and civil liability issues'," Berthelsen wrote.
Related SourceWatch Resources
External links
- "An energetic push to inaugural fund," New York Times News Service (The Hindu), December 26, 2004.
- "Top 10 recipients of financial support," Orange County Register, July 24, 2005.
- Kirstin Downey, "Bush Picks Ameriquest Owner as Ambassador. Firm's Lending Tactics Investigated," Washington Post, July 29, 2005.
