Since the beginning of his
administration Arnold has filled his staff with big industry lobbyists
and executives, but everyone knows that for any relationship to work
there has to be some give and take. According to yesterday’s Roundup
the Gov’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Cassandra Pye, is leaving the
Administration to work for one of the pharmaceutical industry’s leading
PR firms, APCO Worldwide. Pye’s announcement comes on the heels of
Deputy Communications Director Denise Davis’ own recent transfer to
APCO.
The PR company just received $25K from the drug industry to push an
initiative that mimics Arnold’s drug plan, SB 19, which has been
criticized as a sham and was recently killed by the Senate Health
Committee. The industry has collected enough signatures for the
initiative to appear on the next ballot and is awaiting verification by
the Secretary of State.
Last year the Gov vetoed four bills that would have provided relief to
skyrocketing drug costs. Arnold has taken over $370,000 from the drug
industry.
The revolving door between Arnold’s team and big business continues in
perpetual motion. Having staffed his team with industry executives
Arnold is now staffing the industry team to push his agenda.
