Some lobbyists call it “hell week” or, more fondly, “the giving week.”
The brief period after the holidays and before state lawmakers go back to work — already busy with pre-session preparation — is also crammed full of fundraisers so that political insiders can help refresh campaign accounts before session starts and restrictions kick in that prevent lawmakers from taking their money.
And it might have been even busier this year, since session started five days earlier than last year and marked the start of a new term. During the first full week of January, there were about two dozen fundraising events to benefit three dozen lawmakers, with as many as nine events held on one day.
The fundraisers ranged from early-morning meetings over coffee, to happy-hour meet-and-greets that may have raised a couple thousand dollars, to a major reception for new House Speaker Kirk Adams that he said likely netted him more than $50,000.
Most of the fundraisers were for the campaign accounts of privately financed Republicans, but there also were fundraisers to benefit the officeholder accounts of Clean Elections candidates, including one fundraiser for all of the Senate Democrats.
The hectic fundraising schedule on the cusp of the legislative session is, ironically, a byproduct of campaign finance restrictions and lobbying laws designed to curb the influence of special interests.
The laws coalesce to create a narrow window in the New Year for lobbyists to donate money: Individual donation limits reset Jan. 1. Limits on the amount candidates can accept from specific individuals or Political Action Committees reset at the start of the new two-year term, also Jan. 1 this year. And lawmakers cannot accept donations from lobbyists once the Legislature is in session. 
“It is a logistical nightmare for those four reasons,” said Kevin DeMenna, of DeMenna & Associates. “The law creates this jammed period of time.”
What has evolved is a busy week of fundraising geared toward a small number of lobbyists and other Capitol insiders, who travel event to event with checks in hand from their personal accounts, their clients or affiliated Political Action Committees.
Mike Williams of Williams & Associates described the annual tradition as “a progressive dinner without the food.” Virtually the same people appear at each fundraiser, spend a few minutes vying for the candidate’s time and catching up with each other before moving on to the next event on the calendar.
Just making it to all of the fundraisers can be a challenge. DeMenna said he plots an efficient route between events on Google Maps before setting out for the day. Other contract lobbyists, such as Kurt Davis and his partners at First Strategic Public Affairs and Communications (formerly Hamilton, Gullett, Davis & Roman), divide the workload so they can make appearances at as many events as possible.
By the end of the week, many lobbyists have already maxed-out their annual campaign giving limits, or come close.
Gretchen Jacobs of Greenberg Traurig, who refers to the time period as “hell week,” said she expected to max out her personal campaign-giving limit by the end of week after writing checks to 26 candidates’ campaign or officeholder accounts.
Jacobs, like other lobbyists, said she does not necessarily expect the contributions to lead to votes in favor of the legislation she and her clients are pushing this session.
“It’s not a quid pro quo,” Jacobs said by phone as she zipped between fundraisers on Jan. 6. “If I give this week, I don’t feel people owe me.”
Jacobs said she gives to candidates she supports, who work hard for the good of the state and with whom she connects the most. But the contributions do matter, especially for lobbyists just starting out: “When they are typing up who gave them checks, it does get you noticed, like this person is supportive of me,” Jacobs said.
Some lobbyists describe campaign donations as “the cost of doing business.” But they say the annual limits on the amount any individual can donate to state political campaigns are so low that there is no way it is enough money to buy votes.
Individuals can donate $5,610 annually to state political campaigns with a maximum donation of $390 per candidate. While the Clean Elections system is designed to lessen the impact of special-interest money, publicly financed candidates can take donations for seed money for their campaigns or for their officeholder accounts (capped at $130 and $65 per individual, respectively).
While lobbyists say the financial support does not buy them votes, many concede that it does grant them a level of access to lawmakers that those outside the system do not have.
“If a policymaker has two messages on their desk, one from someone they have never heard of and one (from someone) who has donated to them, they are going to call the donor back first,” DeMenna explained.
Williams said he supports candidates who “keep an open mind and listen to you and give the constituents you represent a chance to be heard.” He does not just support them financially, he added. He also may go door-to-door campaigning for the lawmaker, too.
Regardless, he does not expect his support will guarantee him votes on his issues.
“No member is going to vote for every bill you have,” Williams said.
Adams, who took over leadership of the House this session, said he does not think that campaign donations buy influence with him or any other lawmakers. A vocal opponent of public financing, Adams said he would like to see the restrictions that have created the pre-session crush of fundraising re-examined as part of an overhaul of the state’s campaign finance laws.
While contract lobbyists and other Capitol insiders form the bulk of the fundraiser crowd, Adams said his major fundraiser at the former home of Republican icon Sen. Barry Goldwater on Jan. 6 attracted more than 150 guests, including community and business leaders. The reality, he said, is that contract lobbyists represent too many clients for lawmakers to always support their issues anyway.
“If the underlying question is one of influence… the fact is when you receive a contribution from a contract lobbyist, that lobbyist is going to represent interests you agree with and disagree with,” Adams said. “You will vote ‘yes’ on their issues and ‘no’ on issues. For me and other members, there is no implied quid pro quo.” 

Campaign finance limits by the numbers
The limits are set to be readjusted soon for the current election cycle. Individual amounts can be doubled for those with joint accounts.
$390 — Amount an individual can contribute to a legislative candidate in a two-year term.
$65 per individual* — Amount an individual can contribute to a candidate’s officeholder expense account in a two-year term.
$130 — Amount that an individual can contribute in seed money for a publicly financed candidate in a two-year term.
$5,610 — Total amount an individual can contribute to political campaigns annually.
$12,920 — Total amount legislators can accept from Political Action Committees during a two-year term.
*Officeholder expense accounts/constituent services accounts set to be phased out in April 2010.
Source: Arizona Secretary of State’s Office and C
itizens Clean Elections Commission.