'SERIOUS MONEY' WILL BE SPENT ON DRUG MEASURE

SACRAMENTO -- In one corner are blue-collar prison guards who claim to walk
the toughest beat in the land.

In the other are a trio of millionaires and billionaires who ride in the
shiniest limousines, eat in the fanciest restaurants and live in the finest
houses in the land.

This fall these two groups are going to start a political brawl over a
ballot measure that would divert people convicted for the first or second
time of drug possession and drug-parole violators into treatment rather
than prison.

Prison guards have vowed to provide "serious money" to defeat this measure,
while the three business executives, led by financier George Soros, plan to
respond with their own millions.

The two sides have one thing in common: success in politics.

Prison guards president Don Novey transformed his union from an obscure
bargaining unit into a statewide political powerhouse, with a record which
rivals that of the most successful entrepreneur.

In 1990, the guards broke ranks with most unions and contributed more than
$1 million to Republican Gov. Pete Wilson. Eight years later, they switched
parties again, spending about $2.5 million on Democratic Gov. Gray Davis.

They have also bankrolled the crime victims movement and contributed toward
passing the "three strikes" law that lengthens sentences for repeat
offenders and assures a steady growth in prison inmates.

Prison guards argue that the new ballot measure would undermine drug laws
and disrupt drug courts.

But their critics say the guards are worried primarily about job security.
A Legislative Analyst's Office report concludes that the measure could
divert as many as 25,000 people a year from prison to rehabilitation.

The three wealthy backers of the drug treatment measure have no economic
interest in the outcome. But critics contend they also have no business
meddling in California politics.

Some deride them as "billionaire potheads" for bankrolling a nationwide
movement that they claim is aimed at legalizing drugs.

Soros, a New York financier worth about $5 billion, is a Hungarian Jew who
survived the Nazi roundup in 1944. Since the 1980s he has given away more
than $1 billion to Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.

In 1994, he turned his attention toward the United States, pledging $15
million toward a drug policy that emphasizes rehabilitation.

"Our drug policy is insane," Soros told Time magazine. "And no politician
can stand up and say what I'm saying because it's the third rail -- instant
electrocution."

The second backer, John Sperling, is a one-time San Jose State University
professor who pioneered the for-profit, higher-education company that
operates the University of Phoenix, which is aimed at mid-career professionals.

He's one of the richest men in Arizona, yet he believes in increasing taxes
on the wealthy to fund more social services.

The third partner, Peter Lewis, is the head of a Cleveland insurance
company called Progressive Corp., founded by his father in 1937 to serve
high-risk drivers. Now it's the fifth-largest auto insurer in the nation.

Together, these three limousine libertarians have bankrolled successful
statewide ballot measures legalizing marijuana for medical purposes in
Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Maine and California. They also funded a
successful ballot measure in Arizona to divert drug offenders to treatment.

The coming battle in California represents their most ambitious political
effort so far. In November, we'll know whether Soros, who earned his
fortune speculating in currency, will be as successful speculating in
California politics.

Bill Ainsworth covers Sacramento for the Union-Tribune.