Wal-Mart's Political Giving

Wal-Mart and its Founding Family, a report by the Insititue on Money in State Politics (followthemoney.org), breaks down political donations by the Walton family and Wal-Mart.

Notably, they gave $10,000 to Robert Hertzberg between 1998 to 2002. After his term in the Assembly, Hertzberg later became a leader of the LAEDC, a group that later wrote a defense of Wal-Mart in Los Angeles.

Now, Hertzberg is running for Mayor of Los Angeles. I wonder how much Wal-Mart is going to pay him to be their "associate" in city government.

Of course, it was only $10,000. If 1,000 people gave $10 each, the politician could have turned down the biggest corporation in the world.... though I suspect that Hertzberg might actually have a thing for Wal-Mart.

(Actually, he probably won't get cash from Wal-Mart. It could be political suicide in LA. Maybe they can pay him with a fancy addition to his house, or maybe a great deal on a car.)