It has come to our attention that staff of the Governor’s Office has sent Campaign materials from their State e-mail accounts in attempt to solicit Endorsements and support for their Political activity as it relates to their opposition of the California Jobs Initiative – the ballot measure which is expected to appear on the November ballot.

Simply put, using Taxpayer funds to support Political activity is a violation of Campaign Law (FPPC rules).

Below is a copy of one such e-mail from the Governor’s staff (Chief Deputy Director Lisa Kalustian) on state government e-mail system, unmistakably soliciting political activity in opposition to the California Jobs Initiative, along with the forwarding of campaign literature.  Also included in the e-mail is an Endorsement Form from the official Campaign Committee that was formed to oppose the ballot measure. The name of the person receiving the e-mail has been removed in order to protect the whistle blower’s anonymity.

To further investigate the matter, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has filed a Public Records Act request with the Governor’s office, and has cc’d the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) in this matter.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has sent the following three (3) enclosed letters to the following three (3) State agencies: 1) The Governor’s Administration, 2) the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and 3) the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA). These letters specifically request the Administration and Agencies to turn over any communication on public Taxpayer-funded e-mail systems which have been used to promote Political activity as it relates to opposition to the California Jobs Initiative ballot measure.

In addition to the e-mail evidence, there are reports that the Governor’s field staff (specifically, Charlene Zetel) during the normal work day have scheduled and then made presentations to business and other organizations directly seeking opposition to the California Jobs Initiative. This activity has taken place in San Diego.

There are also reports that the Governor’s senior staff (including David Crane) during the normal workday have made appearances on at least one radio program (KPFA Radio) to specifically seek opposition to the California Jobs Initiative.

In these cases, the Governor’s Office was not merely discussing the Legislation of AB 32; in fact, they were specifically discussing their opposition to the California Jobs Initiative ballot measure, seeking Endorsements, and conducting Campaign activity.  This is a violation of FPPC regulations.

The Governor’s misuse of taxpayer funds, taxpayer-funded staff and public agencies to undermine a ballot initiative with which he disagrees is not only illegal, it’s a violation of the public trust.  More than 800,000 thousand California voters signed petitions to put the California Jobs Initiative on the ballot and they deserve an honest campaign – not opposition generated by the Governor or any public agency using the power of their agency to pressure private businesses and organizations.

The Kalustian Email is attached as a Word Document below linked below as are the public records acts requests.

You can see the campaign materials opposing the initiative to suspend AB 32 that are referenced above here, here and here.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 20th, 2010 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.