Costco broke own rule with governor's rally

Despite a company policy that prohibits political activity outside its stores, Costco officials allowed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to campaign for workers' compensation reform this week on the doorstep of outlets in Burbank and Sacramento.

One of Costco's top attorneys said Tuesday that even though the discount retailer fully supports the governor's goal, store managers should not have let him solicit petition signatures out front.

As a result, corporate counsel Karen Raines said, Costco will offer an opposition group 30 minutes to argue its side to shoppers in front of the Burbank store. "It's probably a fair thing to do," she said.

For six years, Costco has been waging, and winning, court fights to block such political solicitations.

It even has been known to shoo away Girl Scouts trying to sell cookies.

Bruce Greenwood, senior vice president for Costco's Los Angeles region, acknowledged that the retailer did not allow signature gatherers or charitable groups like the Scouts to set up shop on private property in front of their stores.

"We'd like to let Girl Scouts or charitable groups," Greenwood said. "We just can't do it. We can't control it. If we allow anybody out there, we have to allow everybody."

Greenwood did not object Monday when Schwarzenegger's security detail wanted the governor to speak outside rather than inside the Burbank store, where only members are admitted.

"He made an error in judgment on that," Raines said. "All of this activity (by Schwarzenegger) was supposed to be inside."

She said the company had the right to address its members inside the stores.