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:
"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."
www.acs-inc.com/government/index.html
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.
