Diane Harkey’s campaign may have been illegally bankrolled to the tune of nearly $1 million taken out of a busted real estate deal, according to an article on the cover of the Business Section of the Los Angeles Times today, a KNBC televised report last night, and a federal racketeering case filed by investors against Dan Harkey in Riverside county. Readers can access this information at www.dianeharkeywatch.com. .
Yes, I am a critic of Assemblywoman Harkey (but I did not oppose her in the recent general election and turned down offers to help other non-Republican candidates in her race). I’ve decided to write this blog because I note the information is not covered elesewhere in FlashReport today. We did not see eye-to-eye while we were both on the Dana Point City Council. But I supported her failed race for State Senate wholeheartedly, vouched for her endorsement with certain anti-tax organizations, and even contributed to her campaign and attended an event with Chuck DeVore. Chuck knows the whole story. After telling me she would stay out of my own re-election race, she returned the favor by helping me lose with a highly negative, absolutely vicious street-level independent expenditure campaign in the last days of the election. She broke her word to me about getiing involved in that election, and that is the source of my issues with her today. She lied to me. But this isn’t just a personal issue. It calls into question something bigger. A politician’s credibility rests only in their word, there is no other tender to offer. If Harkey can get away with lying to me, she can get away with lying to others in political office. We need politicians with more character, not less. Harkey has less.
Now Diane Harkey is refusing to answer reporter’s questions about the source of almost $1 million she allegedly personally poured into her race.
The lawsuit and the alleged facts have political law implications, of course. If the source of Harkey’s $1 million was not her own, but came from somewhere else, then there would be serious potential FPPC issues for exceeding the contribution limits, and laundering money. If the money is truly her own, then there is no issue. But even so, that does not make the Federal racketeering lawsuit and "Ponzi scheme" claim against her husband and the business, "Point Center Financial," go away.
Harkey showed very poorly in the San Diego portion of her district in the last general election, just barely beating the Democrat there. She also had trouble in precincts in her hometown of Dana Point. She owes her win to skillful management and the voters in the Orange County portion of her district. But those are some of the same voters that gave Barack Obama a plurality vote win over John McCain in the 48th Congressional district of coastal Orange County.
"What goes around comes around" is one of the many voice-mail messages I have received this morning. For the sake of Republicans in the Assembly, I hope that is not the case, however, I don’t think news of this case is going away anytime soon.