CA: Auditor: Shelley poorly managed federal election money (ShmelleyGate)

Bakersfield Californian ^ | 12/16/04 | Jim Wasserman - AP

[NormsRevenge]

SACRAMENTO (AP) - State auditors issued a stinging report Thursday on Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's use of federal election funds, charging his office with "poor management" of millions of dollars and "poor oversight" of staff and consultants that may force the state to reimburse the federal government.

Auditors said Shelley's office avoided competitive bids for services, paid consultants for work that had little to do with the funds' mission and failed to fulfill much of its responsibility to modernize voting systems.

The audit represented the first results of investigations into Shelley's conduct in an office he's occupied since Jan. 6, 2003. Separately, he also faces local, state and federal probes into allegations that money from a state grant was illegally steered into his 2002 campaign for secretary of state.

Shelley's office also failed "to disburse voting machine funds within the time frames outlined in its grant application package," said the 75-page audit that was requested Aug. 20 by then-Assemblyman Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks, now a state senator.

The federal Election Assistance Commission, a national clearinghouse that helps administer federal elections, is also investigating Shelley's use of the money.

Shelley reportedly channeled up to $500,000 in federal Help America Vote Act funds - in most cases without competitive bidding - to consultants who included a former campaign manager, his campaign treasurer's law firm, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown's press secretary and the son of a prominent Los Angeles County supervisor.

The federal money was intended to help California and other states educate voters, improve polling places and buy electronic voting equipment to avoid repeats of the 2000 Florida electoral debacle. The law's chief sponsor, Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, said the act and its money was not intended "for anyone to hire political consultants and to do any form of political activity."

Shelley's aides said after investigations started that some consultants strayed from the goal of nonpartisan voter education. Shelley ended contracts with 19 of the consultants in late September following reports they attended Democratic Party affairs and fund-raisers.

In some cases, the consultants' work seemed more about promoting Shelley than voter access, the audit showed. At least one consultant reported one of his short-term goals was "to attend community events, get exposure for KS (Kevin Shelley) in Southern California." Another reported compiling a list of 29 people Shelley met at a March 29 fund-raiser for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. A third reported he planned a meeting with television station representatives about running a program "featuring KS for Asian-American audience."

The consultants also attended nonpartisan events and distributed voter guides and registration cards and conducted informational meetings at colleges and community forums.

After reports about the spending, Shelley's subsequent requests for grants required approval by the governor's office and the Legislature. The federal government has allocated more than $350 million in voting funds for California in the last two years.

Meanwhile, a federal grand jury in Sacramento has also questioned witnesses about funds from state grant recipients that landed in Shelley's 2000 election campaign treasury.

As Assembly majority leader in 2000, Shelley helped win $500,000 for a proposed San Francisco Neighbors Resource Center to help immigrants in the city's Sunset District. The center was never built. But several people who received $168,000 in 2001 and 2002 to build the center in turn donated $125,000 to Shelley's 2002 campaign.

Shelley denied wrongdoing or knowing circumstances behind the donations and returned the $125,000. In late, October, Attorney General Bill Lockyer filed a lawsuit to shut down the neighborhood group that received the construction funds. The San Francisco city controller's and city attorney's office has also investigated.

Shelley has also attracted criticism for his temper and management style. At least three women who worked closely with him filed complaints against him alleging verbal attacks, sexual innuendo and a "pressure cooker" environment at work.

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On the Net:

Bureau of State Audits: http://www.bsa.ca.gov

[NormsRevenge]

Sac Bee Excerpt

Shelley widens special staff
Since taking office, he has added more political appointees.
By Herbert A. Sample -- Bee San Francisco Bureau

http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/shelley/story/11782233p-12667001c.html

Secretary of State Kevin Shelley has enlarged his stable of political appointees fivefold over the last two years, partly financed with federal money, in an expansion that some current and former elections officials say appears unnecessary.

Using legislative changes and an administrative maneuver, Shelley raised from two to 10 the number of such appointments - known as exempt positions. The group is paid salaries totaling nearly $1 million a year.

Exempt positions are not regulated by civil service rules, and thus the appointing authority can hire and fire such employees at will. Politicians routinely fill the slots with top-level aides who have worked on campaigns and can be trusted dealing with sensitive matters.

The disclosures come as Shelley faces criticism and investigations on a number of fronts, including his use of federal money from the Help America Vote Act for some activities that appear partisan, according to staff activity reports filed by dozens of contractors hired with the money. A state audit on his HAVA expenditures is due out today.

[NormsRevenge]

Democratic Secretary of State Kevin Shelley currently has 10 political appointees in positions that are exempt from state civil service regulations. Sacramento Bee file, 2003/John Decker

[calcowgirl]

So what does it take to oust this guy?

[NormsRevenge]

So what does it take to oust this guy?

Some hearings and more protest and widening of a federal probe, hopefully. :)

[NormsRevenge]

http://www.shelleymustresign.com
CRA

[calcowgirl]

Thanks for the link. Every little bit helps, eh?