Tuesday, July 15, 2008

FPPC: DeMaio Violated Political Reform Act

This just came across my inbox from the Party:

San Diego City Councilmember-elect Carl DeMaio ran on a pledge to bring transparency to City Hall, but even before he finished filing as a candidate he was trying to hide information from the public, according to California’s political reform agency.

DeMaio was warned by the Fair Political Practices Commission last week that his Statement of Economic Interests fails to disclose required information about the clients of the consulting companies he owned until 2007.

He has until July 28 to come clean with the public about his clients at the Performance Institute and American Strategic Management Institute or face fines amounting to $5,000 for each violation of the Political Reform Act.

Officeholders and candidates for public office in the State of California are required to complete a Statement of Economic Interests, known as Form 700, so that the public is made fully aware of its representatives’ business interests before they’re elected to office. DeMaio’s statement currently does not include such information.

DeMaio’s Performance Institute made millions of dollars as a federal contractor, according to www.fedspending.org, a website that tracks U.S. government contract spending. His American Strategic Management Institute is a for-profit business that provides consulting to private companies. He reported selling both companies to Thompson Publishing Group, Inc. just before he began his bid for the City Council seat.

“Carl DeMaio’s failure to comply with this rule while he ran for City Council District 5 conflicts with his stated commitment to open government,” said Jess Durfee, Chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party.

“It is ironic that Mr. DeMaio ran for office on a platform of making government more transparent when in fact he was violating open government laws by failing to disclose his own financial interests,” Durfee said. “If Mr. DeMaio were truly interested in open government, he would have told the public who his clients were.”

But DeMaio, a Republican, never claimed ownership in either business in his Form 700. Instead, he reported that he was the sole proprietor of an entity named “Carl DeMaio” and that both companies merely did business with “Carl DeMaio.”

“It is clear that Carl DeMaio is not being forthright with the public,” the Democratic Chair said. “He needs to come clean with the people of San Diego before we can trust he will have the public interest in mind when he becomes a councilmember.”

In light of DeMaio’s web of financial interests, Durfee further called on him to pledge that he will not conduct any private business with government contractors while holding public office.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

So I suppose the the City Councilman for the 5th District isn't Carl DeMaio, but some entity that is doing business as Carl DeMaio?

Anonymous said...

For a guy who is about privatization, this is about as private as you can get. Too bad he chose to become a public official.

Anonymous said...

I'm shocked, shocked...

Anonymous said...

Hmm.... looks ike the Dem party will end up with egg on its face on this one.

I'm looking at a letter from the San Diego Ethics Commission announcing that it instructed DeMaio to fill out the form the way he did. He soght their guidance on this very issue, and they instructed him that he did not have to disclose.

Sorry guys, missed him again!

Anonymous said...

FPPC trumps San Diego Ethics Commission. Someone has to, because that bonehead Stacey Fulhorst always gets it WRONG.

Anonymous said...

Doesn't matter who trumps who, DeMaio was following their advice. The guy covers his bases.

Anonymous said...

I disagree, it does matter who trumps who. The guy is going to be sitting on City Council, representing D5. Do you want him going for legal advice from sources who will give him the answer he wants to hear, or from sources who will give him the correct information? If DeMaio was serious about correctly filling out his Form 700 (a form filed with the FPPC), then he would have directed questions about the form to the FPPC, not the City's Ethics Commission.

Anonymous said...

DeMaio omes out of this smelling like a rose. Damn you guys can't make anything stick to him!

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20080718-2012-bn18ethics.html

Anonymous said...

To the poster that thinks that you can't break the law because you were following someone else's advice, all I can say is:

"Don't try this at home, kids!"

Anonymous said...

Teflon DeMaio.