Lobbyists and lawmakers mingle over luxury tequila, shrimp and cigars at capital party

Assemblymember Tina McKinnor stood at the free tequila bar.

The Inglewood Democrat had asked for three glasses of Patrón El Alto, “the pinnacle of luxury” priced at roughly $150 a bottle. She kept one glass, leaving the other two for her staffers.

Her aides had been rubbing elbows with a lobbyist for AT&T and hurrying him to the bar for a drink. The lobbyist had been chit-chatting with a CalMatters reporter. But when McKinnor arrived to give him a hug and whispered in his ear, the chit-chatting stopped altogether. The lobbyist and the lawmaker know each other well: For two years, McKinnor was the author of an AT&T-sponsored bill to phase out most landlines the company is required to maintain in California. The bill died each time, but McKinnor has promised to bring it back this year.

The signature event at the beginning of each year of legislative action is one of many political extravaganzas at which lawmakers and their staff are invited to mingle with special interests. It offers a glimpse into the perks available to California politicians and shows how special interests buy access to policymakers who they hope to influence. 

McKinnor’s exchange with the lobbyist Thursday night happened in the private VIP room inside the “Back to Session Bash,” a swanky party that each year draws hundreds of California politicians, lobbyists and staffers. They puff on fine cigars, feast on free food and fancy (also free) drinks, bop to live music — sometimes even joining performers on stage — and share laughs and chatters, all on the tab of special interests, and all away from the public eye.

McKinnor’s chief of staff Terry Schanz, who was also at the party, told CalMatters her attendance “at any reception has zero impact on her policy decisions.”

“There are dozens of receptions in Sacramento every week,” he said in an email to CalMatters.

While the wining and dining doesn’t necessarily amount to a quid pro quo, it allows lobbyists to build a rapport with politicians and their staff so it’s easier to get an audience later, said Jack Pitney, a politics professor at Claremont McKenna College and a former staffer in Congress and in the New York state Legislature.

“If you can be bought with a plate of shrimp, you’re not worth buying,” Pitney said.

“The rapport lubricates the deal-making,” he added. “The personal contact and relationship gives them access that isn’t easily available to somebody coming out of the cold.”

Last week’s party, hosted by the California Tribal Business Alliance, began in 2005 as a way to connect tribal leaders with policymakers, said alliance executive director Chris Lindstrom. Over the years, it evolved into one of the capital’s most popular gatherings. One first-time attendee this year remembered hearing about the bash as a place one goes to “to get messed up.” But the party in recent years has been quieter than before, especially following the resignation of three state lawmakers amid accusations of sexual harassment in the capital in 2017. 

Each year, the alliance invites all legislators and their staffers, along with constitutional officers, those who work at the governor’s administration and local elected officials who “regularly interact with tribal governments and tribal government programs,” Lindstrom told CalMatters. Attendance often exceeds 1,000, he said, with VIP access reserved for tribal leaders, state lawmakers, other officials and event sponsors. 

Lindstrom said the event promotes relationship-building and helps lawmakers understand challenges tribes face and stressed that the alliance complies with reporting requirements under state law. 

“This shared understanding supports better-informed policy decisions affecting the health, welfare, and well-being of California’s first peoples and helps avoid unintended consequences that can arise when policies are developed without early tribal consultation or engagement,” Lindstrom said.

California tribes have significant political clout and have contributed at least $23.5 million to those running for state office between 2014 and 2024. The business alliance itself has contributed $2.5 million to candidates, ballot measure committees and other committees since 2004, according to campaign finance data from the California secretary of state’s office. The alliance was one of 82 groups that fought for a controversial bill in 2024 allowing tribes to sue card rooms over claims of tribes’ exclusive rights to host certain table games. 

This year, the RSVP-only event took place at Sacramento restaurant Cafeteria 15L. It was sponsored by: 

• Wilton Rancheria
• Viejas Casino and Resort, run by the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians
• Sycuan Casino, run by the Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Indians
• Pala Casino, run by the Pala Band of Mission Indians
• Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association
• Sports Betting Alliance
• FanDuel
• DraftKings 
• Native-owned oil company First American Petroleum
• conservation nonprofit Ducks Unlimited, and 
• San Luis Rey Indian Water Authority

Many of those sponsors have had business before the Legislature in recent years. Together they have contributed a total of $130.5 million to candidates, ballot measure committees and other political committees since 2001, data shows. 

The two sports betting corporations donated the most among all sponsors, with FanDuel shelling out $35.6 million and DraftKings $34.4 million. The tribes sponsoring the event have made at least $59.1 million in political contributions in California since 2001, the data shows. 

Three CalMatters reporters signed up for the event online and identified themselves as journalists to attendees they spoke to. The reporters stayed at the event from 6:40 p.m. to 9:40 p.m. While by no means a comprehensive list, these are the state lawmakers we saw at the party:

• Sen. Jesse Arreguín, an Oakland Democrat, chair of the Senate Human Services Committee and Public Safety Committee and incoming chair of Senate Housing Committee
• Sen. Josh Becker, a Menlo Park Democrat, chair of the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee and incoming chair of the Senate Human Services Committee
• Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, a Solana Beach Democrat and chair of the Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee
• Assemblymember Sade Elhawary, a Los Angeles Democrat
• Assemblymember Mike Fong, an Alhambra Democrat and chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee
• Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez, a Los Angeles Democrat and the Assembly Majority Whip
• Assemblymember Ash Kalra, a San Jose Democrat and chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee
• McKinnor, chair of the Assembly Public Employment and Retirement Committee
• Assemblymember Darshana Patel, a San Diego Democrat
• Assemblymember Chris Rogers, a Ukiah Democrat

Last year, 22 state lawmakers each reported their attendance at the 2024 bash as a $110 gift from the alliance for food and drinks, according to a CalMatters analysis of their latest available Form 700s, which they use to report income, sponsored travels and gifts. Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, a Fresno Democrat, reported the value at $220. Some chiefs of staff to legislators also reported being at that year’s bash.

On Thursday, the venue was packed a few minutes before 7 p.m. as more guests poured in through the main entrance, checking their winter coats to dance, some in suits and cocktail dresses. Each patron received two drink tokens to use for any drink below $15 at any of the several bars. 

But almost everything inside, including the alcohol, was already free: The espresso martinis to keep you awake; the drunken chicken and portobello mushroom tacos; the shrimp BBQ skewers, the mac and cheese and mini burgers. A bourbon tasting bar featured four options: Angel’s Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Maker’s Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Dewar’s 12-year-old blended scotch whiskey and Bulleit Rye Frontier Whiskey. 

Next to the bourbon, wafts of cigar permeated the air. Partygoers picked out roll after roll of cigars among six 50-pack boxes of various JM’s and Española’s Nicaraguan and Dominican cigars, with more unopened boxes waiting. 

Deeper in the restaurant was a jam-packed concert featuring Grammy-nominated R&B singer Sisqó, most known for his “Thong Song” in 1999. Some in the front rows were into it; others in the back held up their phones to record him but then began Googling his name. 

Others preferred the quiet. Some public officials huddled outdoors while others ducked into the VIP room and patio at the end of a dimly lit hallway. Security guards stood at the door, checking for red wristbands before letting VIPs in. But as the night went on, no one seemed to be checking anymore. 

In the VIP area, two fire pits kept outdoor guests warm, and more banquet food awaited. A free tequila bar featured several Patrón tequilas as well as the Don Julio 1942, the Clase Azul Reposado, and Tequila Avion Reserva 44.

Most lawmakers spotted at the Thursday party did not return CalMatters’ requests for comment by Wednesday. 

In a statement to CalMatters, Kalra’s office said the lawmaker is not influenced by attending such events.

“For what it’s worth, he’s vegan, doesn’t smoke, and doesn’t even take campaign donations from corporations,” the statement read. 

Kalra’s campaign has reported receiving at least $69,400 from corporations such as Facebook, Google, Airbnb, AT&T, Comerica, Cox Communications and Paramount Pictures since 2016. His office did not answer questions about the contradiction between the statement and those donations by press time.

Most lawmakers had trickled out of the party by 9 p.m. But dozens of staffers and lobbyists remained on the dance floor, grooving to covers of hit songs such as APT, Juice and Finesse. Business cards were scattered on tables next to half-empty drinks. At the bourbon bar, the bottle of Angel’s Envy was gone. No one was staffing the cigar bar anymore; only cigar butts and ashes remained.