Posted on 01/25/2005 3:51:55 PM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - The son of a San Francisco supporter suspected of illegally steering state grant funds to Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's 2002 campaign treasury was improperly hired by Shelley's office after an application period that lasted only six hours, the state Personnel Board said in a report released Tuesday.
The hiring practice, revealed in a damaging new 50-page report on Shelley's hiring style and personal conduct at work, has been referred to the state Attorney General's office and could put his 450-employee office on probation when the personnel board meets next month.
"I'd be surprised if anyone in California or San Francisco even knew of this job," said State Personnel Board Executive Director Floyd Shimomura. "Lo and behold, they only got one applicant."
The detailed report represents more bad news for the state's embattled top elections official, who's already under fire from a state audit charging him with mishandling millions of dollars in federal election funds. Mounting criticism triggered now by two state investigations and a federal probe into the questionable campaign contributions have produced increasing calls for the Democrat's resignation. Shelley is scheduled to testify under oath Feb. 3 before a legislative audit committee investigating his use of the elections funds.
There are serious questions about whether Shelley padded the state payroll with "some of his political supporters or cronies," Shimomura said.
In what Shimomura called a throwback to the "spoils system," the report said Shelley's office may have illegally hired at least five people. The report cited changed test scores for applicants, short application time frames that resulted in only one or two applicants and promotions received without taking necessary exams.
In the case of Andrew Lee, the son of San Francisco businesswoman and Shelley backer Julie Lee, the report said he was given a job in Shelley's office through a six-hour "file in person" application process on the day before Thanksgiving. Andrew Lee was the only applicant for the job.
When he was Assembly majority leader in 2000, Shelley helped get Julie Lee's nonprofit group a $500,000 to build a neighborhood center. But the center was never built, and several individuals who were paid $168,000 from the funds donated $125,000 to Shelley's 2002 campaign for the statewide elections post. A Sacramento federal grand jury is probing the donations.
Tuesday's document suggested that Shelley also created a hostile working environment with frequent outbursts and excessive demands on staff, and, most seriously, couldn't produce copies of a sexual harassment complaint filed by an ex-staffer against him.
While he didn't call it a cover up, Shimomura said he was skeptical about the missing complaint, calling it "very disturbing" that when "the complaint is against the secretary of state it seems that complaint gets lost."
The complaint, one of four filed by ex-staffers against Shelley, alleged that he made sexual hand gestures during conference calls, asked the staffer if she was "into men or women," made gay jokes and asked if it was true that bodybuilders had small genitals. In the report, the woman said she "constantly felt that (she) was working in a sexually charged negative atmosphere."
In a statement released Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Shelley said he "categorically denies any sexually inappropriate conduct and we are confident that two of the complaints that were reportedly filed alleging improper behavior by him were never filed with this office."
Shelley spokeswoman Caren Daniels-Meade said the office would investigate the complaints, which are being forwarded by the personnel board to the secretary of state.
Again, in an echo of the office's response to a blistering December report on lax controls by state Auditor Elaine Howle, Shelley's office promised to tighten its internal procedures, this time for hiring and investigating complaints by staffers.
Daniels-Meade said there's no hostile environment and that Shelley "regularly works on his interpersonal skills." He's also hired new managers, she said, who have already improved employee morale and working conditions.
Shelley said much the same thing in a recent letter to Shimomura. But the personnel board director responded, saying the board is conformable with its conclusions.
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On the Net:
The report is available online at http://www.spb.ca.gov
Secretary of state's office: http://www.ss.ca.gov
SPB releases the Final Personnel Audit Report of the Secretary of State, January 2005.
http://www.spb.ca.gov/chief/documents/sosreport.pdf
I've been reading article about this guy being a crook ever since Arnold was elected. When is this guy going to at least be impeached/fired or ???
Shelley Blasted – Again
http://www.sacunion.com/pages/california/articles/2015/
Darby Patterson, The Sacramento Union
SACRAMENTO - An 86-page report covering the management style and behavior of Secretary of State Kevin Shelley was released today by the State Personnel Board. Shelley has been in the spotlight for months since allegations arose about his use of Help America Vote Act funds, and complaints from employees about harassment and abuse were leveled.
The Personnel Board focused on workplace environment, the selection and appointment process in the SOS office and certain personal services contracts Shelley’s office awarded. The mostly-critical findings come when Shelley is facing hearings in front of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee and a barrage of questions on an expanding list of allegations.
--snip--
The board was also critical of Shelley’s appointment and selection process, saying that he had conducted inadequate analysis of jobs to be filled and promoted people to positions for which they were not qualified. In addition, the report questioned certain “improprieties” in examinations for employment within the civil service system. One appointment will be reviewed through the state’s “illegal appointment process” and another personnel matter has been referred to the Attorney General’s Office. That matter questions whether certain hiring qualifications were bypassed to favor pre-selected job candidates.
--snip--
Good questions.
He comes from an old San Francisco political family.
Some DemRats actually want him gone now..... regardless the fact that the Gubinor then appoints a successor..
Or he could just hang on and try to run below the depth charges for 2 years and keep the office in the dems 'control'.. even then, would the incessant banging on the capsized politico be worth it?
I'm betting he's gone before Secretary Day, myself.. ;-)
If one weren't paying attention, one would have missed that Shelley is a DemonRAT. Of course, if he were a Pubbie, it would have prominently been in the first sentence (and likely in the headline as well).
Shelly thought all was hunky dory with Doofus elected, after all, pay to play was the MO. Then, the recall. Hehehehe.....
Looks like the voices for Shelley to resign are growing louder and louder each day. After all, don't want to tarnish other Dims.
Then again, there is one place where Shelley can count on support...DU! They even have a petition telling Shelley NOT to resign! Hehehe.
Who is the dem pol that's in trouble over real estate dealings in SF? Laundering money through some community center if I recall.
This whole mess started out with a gal named Julie Lee, a 'developer/activist' in SF who was moving dough for Shelley as part of a community center project or such.
As it turns out, Julie Lee's son is the young fella who got hired for a job the day before Thanksgiving with no others being interviewed for the position.
It was Shelley I was thinking of. I guess it would have helped to read the article. The whole Davis bunch should be making little rocks out of big rocks at some state facility.
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