FPPC: Seven Sacramento area school officials took hidden gifts
Published: Monday, Nov. 4, 2013 - 3:14 pm
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| Bee Bites |
Seven Sacramento area school officials and a former top Sacramento County official were named today in a statewide investigation into gifts received from bond advisers that went unreported in violation of California law.
The California Fair Political Practices Commission has recommended penalties of up to $600 for 86 public officials statewide who are accused of accepting but failing to report gifts costing hundreds of dollars within the last four years. Violators collectively would pay $22,200 under a proposed settlement headed for the commission’s Nov. 14 agenda.
Four of the 86 people in the Sacramento area facing penalties are Sacramento City Unified School District trustee Diana Rodriguez ($400); former Sacramento City Unified School District trustee Roy Grimes, ($200); Brian Rivas, vice president of the Sacramento County Board of Education ($200); and former Roseville City School District board member Rene Aguilera ($200).
More than half the 86 individuals represent school districts. But officials also cited representatives from cities, college districts, water districts and a redevelopment agency. The gifts mostly involved meals, but some officials received baseball tickets and rounds of golf.
Four Sacramento area individuals, including Sacramento County’s former interim chief executive officer Steve Szalay, received warning letters but no proposed fines, according to regulators.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson Fined $37,000 For Ethics Violation Over Failure To Report Donations
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson attends a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Friday, April 27, 2012. The mayor was hit with an ethics fine from the Fair Political Practices Commission for failing to report donations. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson has been fined $37,500 for failing to report over $3.5 million in donations he solicited for charity organizations.
The Associated Press reports the Fair Political Practices Commission said on Monday that it had identified 25 cases in which Johnson failed to file timely reports on donations to a nonprofit made at his request. Since Johnson is an elected official, he must report such donations, otherwise known as “behest payments.”
Johnson is married to former D.C. Schools Chancellor and education reformerMichelle Rhee, who has come under fire for being tight-lipped about funding to her StudentsFirst organization, a national lobbying and advocacy group that pushes for rigorous teacher evaluations and school choice. Rhee is not said to have any connection to the charges against Johnson.
The FPPC investigation was sparked by a September Sacramento Bee report thatrevealed thousands of dollars in donations to the mayor's Think Big arena task force had gone unreported past the required deadline. In some instances, they were reported several months late.
According to the Sacramento Bee, other late-reported donations solicited by Johnson went to City Year, a national program he recruited to Sacramento that places young tutors and mentors in schools, and to Teach for America, the teacher training
The state's political watchdog group announced today it has fined Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson $37,500 for failing to report millions of dollars in donations he solicited for various non-profits, including the group he tasked with developing a financing plan for a new arena.
The California Fair Political Practices Commission said it found 25 cases in which Johnson failed to report what are called behest payments within the required 30 days of securing those donations. The FPPC investigation was sparked by a Bee report in September that revealed thousands of dollars in donations to the mayor's Think Big arena task force had not been reported in a timely matter.
The behests examined by the FPPC totaled more than $3.5 million and were made to the mayor's arena task force and education initiative. Donations secured by the mayor were also made to City Year - a national program Johnson recruited to Sacramento that places young tutors and mentors in schools - and Teach for America, another national education organization.
While the FPPC has placed much higher fines on state politicians for campaign violations, the punishment against Johnson is believed to be one of the largest ethics fines handed out by the commission against an
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