ArnoldWatch.Org
Arnold Takes Huge Contribution From Company That Wants Business With State
by
Doug Heller
December 10, 2003 - 7:42 PM
Arnold has reported a $50,000 contribution from ACS State and Local Solutions, Inc. The Texas firm provides information technology support and outsourced labor to governments throughout the country. In their own words:
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"Federal, state and local agencies around the world turn to ACS for taking on the demands ranging from homeland defense to e-government, from information sharing to information assurance... We create proprietary applications and systems that have set industry standards in our niche marketplaces."
http://www.acs-inc.com/government/index.html
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That niche they are talking about is government contracts.
ACS is a special interest even in Arnold�s narrow definition of the term. In defense of the huge contributions he has received from a host of corporate and other special interests, the Governor has attempted to define special interests as only those that actually negotiate contracts with the state (a definition with which ArnoldWatch and Merriam Webster disagree). But ACS is all about negotiating contracts (their own) with state government. Getting government contracts is how they make their money. The company lobbies around the country in order to get politicians to subcontract taxpayer-funded projects to their firm rather than letting those projects be carried out by government employees.
Arnold has repeatedly noted that he will not take donations from government employee unions, but seems to have no problem taking money from a firm that would gladly contract with the state and take those union jobs. ArnoldWatch is calling on Governor Schwarzenegger to return the ACS contribution and commit to never hiring the firm because of the conflict that has been created.
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