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Indian gaming money sticking to Bustamante Last Sunday, in an attempt to take the air out of the controversy -- and reverse his sinking poll numbers -- Bustamante announced he wouldn't spend the money on his campaign. Instead, he said, he'd shift "every dollar" of the gaming money (that came in over the $21,200 limit) to help defeat Prop. 54, an initiative on the same ballot that would bar the state from collecting racial data. Yet it appears that Bustamante's campaign handlers -- not any existing "No on 54" organizations -- are going to have full control of the funds. A look at campaign finance reports shows that both Bustamante's gubernatorial campaign (which took such heat for taking the money) and his new "independent" committee to fight Proposition 54 (which will now spend the money) share the same phone number and address. Both are registered at 1700 L St., Sacramento -- which also happens to be the office address of Bustamante's campaign manager, Richie Ross. Coincidence? Hardly. When Ross isn't managing the races of just about every Democrat in Sacramento, he doubles as a paid consultant to tribes. That includes the Viejas Band of Mission Indians, whose $1.5 million contribution to Bustamante's election fund triggered accusations from rival candidate Arianna Huffington that the Indian money was nothing more than "legalized bribery." Bustamante has said he would wage the war, with TV commercials that he would star in himself. For his part, Ross makes no secret of his intention to be the one calling the shots on these commercials. As a matter of fact, Ross' son, Joaquin Ross, is being paid to film the ads. "He produces all of our television for whatever we do," Ross told us. As for his own relationship with the Indians, Ross said it predated the rise of tribal casinos. "I represented them when they had no money," Ross said. "I was the one who helped them fight against the cardrooms, the race tracks and the Las Vegas interests when they tried to wipe the Indians out." Incidentally, Ross isn't the only Bustamante backer with ties to Indian casinos. Bustamante's younger brother, Andrew Bustamante, is the manager of Big Sandy Racheria's Mono Wind Casino -- a relatively small operation northeast of Fresno in the Sierra town of Auberry, with just 329 slot machines. The tribe has not contributed to Bustamante's campaign, according to campaign records on file in Sacramento. Indian gaming insiders find it hardly a big deal that Bustamante's brother is running a casino. After all, they say, about 40,000 people are employed by gaming tribes -- making the casinos the fast-growing job producers in the state. And from the looks of things, quite a cash cow on the political front as well. GRAY PLAY: If you had any doubts that the recall is affecting the way business gets done in Sacramento, then just take a look at the surprise appointment of legendary farmworkers activist Dolores Huerta to the University of California Board of Regents. It's an appointment that gives a whole new meaning to the term "special interest" politics. In this case, the interests are those of East L.A. Democratic state Sen. Gloria Romero.
It all started late last week when, as the legislative session was fast drawing to a close, Gov. Gray Davis moved to re-up the term of one of his more prominent contributors -- Westwood One broadcast exec Norman Pattiz --
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