California’s Democratic Secretary of State, Kevin Shelley, finally resigned yesterday amid a stinking heap of a scandal involving cronyism, corruption, campaign finance abuse, and voter fraud.

In a typical non-apology apology, Shelley argued that he had done nothing wrong “in the eyes of the law,” but admitted it could be months or even years before federal, state and local investigations into his dealings are completed.

The San Francisco Chronicle gets credit for raising questions last summer about Shelley’s suspicious use of state funds:

The intense scrutiny of Shelley began in August when The Chronicle reported that $125,000 from a state grant appeared to have been illegally diverted into his 2002 campaign account. Since then, state investigations have concluded that he mismanaged federal voting act funds and that Shelley’s explosive temper created a hostile work environment for subordinates…Shelley had helped secure the grant while serving in the Assembly.

By September, eight federal, state and local agencies were looking into questionable campaign contributions linked to Julie Lee, the San Francisco community activist and Shelley fund-raiser who co-founded the San Francisco Neighbors Resource Center. With Shelley’s help, the nonprofit organization received a $500,000 state grant for construction of a community center. The center was never built, and some of the money appeared to have been funneled to Shelley’s campaign account.

Shelley said he did not know the contributions were tainted and returned the money to the state’s general fund.

More details later emerged about questionable donations and fund-raising practices. And questions also surfaced about his oversight of the Help America Vote Act program in California when it was learned that more than $500,000 — and possibly as much a $1.5 million — allegedly had been misspent, much of it paid to some of his close associates with Democratic Party ties.

Some of the funds were used to pay for speechwriters with little connection to the program’s goal of improving voting systems and increasing voter participation. And paid contractors in the program spent at least part of their time attending Democratic rallies and fund-raisers on Shelley’s behalf.

The State Personnel Board concluded last month that Shelley fostered an “abusive working environment,” and the head of the agency said Shelley’s office had changed the failing civil-service examination score of Julie Lee’s son — at the center of the investigation into alleged diversion of taxpayer money into his campaign — to get him a promotion.

Shelley’s departure from office came long before all the evidence was in. The legislative committee investigating the use of voter funds had demanded his testimony, which Shelley was said by close associates to have been dreading. He would have had to answer under oath the precise extent of his involvement in the decisions that were made.

In the end, he was overtaken by the ensuing political storm and his legal bills, which stood at more than $256,000 at the end of the year. Shelley took out a $500,000 home loan to pay for them and received virtually no donations to a defense fund he had set up to help defray costs.

Shelley reportedly had been seeking a deal under which he would resign in exchange for not having to testify in front of the legislative committee. While Republican legislative leaders ultimately did not agree to such a deal, the agreement of Democratic leaders — who do not need Republican support to control the committee’s actions — was enough. Republicans continue to press for Shelley’s testimony, though Democrats won’t insist on it. However, both parties say they will continue looking into the handling of the federal voting act money regardless of whether Shelley testifies.

Xrlq and Boi from Troy, among an intrepid coterie of bloggers who have kept on top of the story, have more.

***
Previous coverage:

Another smelly Democratic vote scandal

comments (0)   trackbacks (2)