Probe urged of donations solicited by Mayor Kevin Johnson
Published: Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013 - 12:00 am | Page 3B
A Sacramento man plans to file complaints today with the local U.S. attorney's office and the state's political watchdog, urging those offices to investigate Mayor Kevin Johnson's solicitation of thousands of dollars in charitable donations from Wal-Mart.
Eric Sunderland, a Sacramento Municipal Utility District employee and former city school board candidate active in local Democratic Party politics, said Wednesday that he will ask U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner to investigate whether Johnson solicited behest donations from Wal-Mart "in exchange for official action."
The city of Sacramento is considering easing its restrictions of big-box superstores. Current regulations require superstore chains like Wal-Mart to undergo intense economic impact studies when proposing new stores – a process that city officials contend has acted as a de facto ban on the chains within city limits. The mayor and City Council are expected to vote on whether to ease the big-box regulations later this month. Johnson is expected to support scaling back the restrictions.
Sunderland said he will also ask the state Fair Political Practices Commission to investigate whether Johnson has a conflict of interest in the big-box vote.
Sunderland said that he supports keeping the big-box regulations unchanged.
The Bee reported in June that Wal-Mart and the Walton Family Foundation – which is not
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