Via Bear and the Elephant, comes this SF Chronicle story about how Kevin Shelley broke the law by accepting a campaign donation in his state office, while the donor was lobbying on a tax matter. As the Chronicle suggests, you'd think Shelley would know the law, since it's his job to regulate elections.
Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, in a possible violation of California law, accepted a $2,000 campaign contribution check in his state government office last year from a political supporter, according to the donor and a former top aide.If Shelly was a Republican, he'd be out already, after his previous sleaze, but the Democrats are still slow about removing their own.
The donor, Suresh Patel of Santa Cruz County, said he met with Shelley in the secretary of state's San Francisco office to ask for Shelley's help in resolving a state tax matter. Patel said he also wanted to follow through on a previous campaign pledge by delivering the check.
"There was a commitment long before, and I never did send it to him," Patel said. "So I was over there and I said I'll drop it by.''
A former deputy secretary of state who spoke on the condition he not be named confirmed that Patel made the contribution to Shelley in his government office in June 2003. The former aide, who resigned earlier this year because of personal and professional differences with the secretary of state, said Shelley displayed the check and gloated about his fund-raising prowess after Patel left the office.
Not only is it the SOS's job to know better than this, it's also the job of anybody who ran for statewide office in 2002. We all learned about that law when Bill Simon wrongly accused Gray Davis of breaking it.
Posted by: Xrlq at September 30, 2004 06:49 PM