Posted on 06/25/2005 12:33:03 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A company that sought state approval for a major development deal on the city's waterfront made substantial campaign contributions to politicians who controlled the project's fate, a newspaper reported Saturday.
Campaign finance records show that Mills Corp., which long has lobbied to build a $210 million retail and sports complex on Piers 27-31, contributed at least $53,250 to Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, state Attorney General Bill Lockyer and state Controller Steve Westly in the months before and after they endorsed the project, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Westly and Bustamante, who sit on the three-member California State Lands Commission, made up the 2-0 vote in favor of the Mills plan in June 2003. Lockyer's office, which provides legal counsel to the commission, determined the project met state standards for development of the publicly owned piers.
While the contributions fall within the legal limits of state campaign finance laws, some political watchdogs said they created the appearance of impropriety.
"In a sense, it's legalized bribery," said Bob Stern, who heads the Center for Governmental Studies. "They expect that their money will get them something."
The Mills' waterfront project, which won tentative approval in November from the San Francisco Port Commission, is in the environmental review stage at the city's Planning Commission.
Mills spokesman David D'Onofrio said the Arlington, Va.-based company's contributions were part of a legitimate strategy to win influence in California and had "nothing to do with Mills in San Francisco."
Between April 2002 and October 2003, Mills and its lobbyists donated at least $32,000 to Bustamante's re-election campaign and his gubernatorial bid in the state recall, according to campaign finance records.
Bustamante said he didn't do anything "illegal or unethical," adding that any notion that his vote was tied to political money was "connecting dots that aren't on the same page."
Mills and its lobbyists also gave at least $11,000 in donations to Westly in 2002 during his campaign for state controller. In 2004, Mills lobbyists and lawyers gave $2,750 to Westly, who recently announced a bid for governor.
Russ Lopez, communications manager for Westly, said the state's chief financial officer endorsed the development project because he hoped it would bring economic development to San Francisco. "There was nothing illegal," he said.
In October 2002, Lockyer received $5,000 from Mills for his attorney general re-election campaign, records show. The attorney general also received a $2,500 donation from Mills two weeks after his office endorsed the project.
Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for Lockyer, said it was ludicrous to suggest the attorney general's actions were influenced by campaign contributions.
The last sentence is so cuddly.
Correct - all are democrats.
All running for Governor also.
However, seeing this is San Francisco, the newspaper editors and the reading public know there are no living Republican elected officials in the halls of power, therefore no party identification is needed.
Leni
Angelides is lovin' it. ;-)
Remember this?
Bustamante Busted? MEChA ties, and more.
various FR links & posts | 08-30-03 | The Heavy Equipment Guy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/973391/posts
Yes that SCOTUS decision looks better and better all the time (gigantic sarcasm)
probably call it MillsGate, but MaoGate will do too, for old billy boy.. ;-)
Too bad the FBI didn't exercise RICO a few years back when STinkyMento was run like an old mining town and there were scnadals galore.. It would have saved us all the hassle if they had rounded up all these scalawags.
Meanwhile, I wonder how the PERATA FBI probe is going. :)
The unlamented former Governor Barnes here was like that on a lesser scale- pay to play, and his friends got rich on his corruption. Thank God he is history now.
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