Handcuffed Kinde (or, How Durkee Became The Delinquent Democrat)

South Bay SunnycrestSouth Bay Sunnycrest 13 Comments

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Although many of us are enjoying the Labor Day weekend holidays with friends & family, one of the most interesting news items for politicos this weekend could be unfolding right now for Democratic politicians across the state.

As reported by the Associated Press, longtime Democratic operative Kinde Durkee was arrested on Friday by FBI agents on suspicion of mail fraud. Durkee, as any of our liberal, Democratic friends would tell you, has been the campaign treasurer for hundreds of candidates and elected officials across California for decades. Her client list extends to 113 separate committees for left-leaning candidates, PACs, and causes.

According to the AP, the state FPPC (Fair Political Practices Commission) has had to come down on her multiple times for failing to report transactions. San Diego’s Ethics Commission has even dinged her for similar offenses.

Talk about guilt by association, folks. The hit piece potential from this could upend many established Democrats up and down the state, notably in the Los Angeles/Orange County area. The full list of clients can be found here, thanks to our friends at Sacramento Bee.

Durkee’s web of clients even extends down to us in America’s Finest County. One of those San Diego-based candidates/electeds who hired Durkee is none other than South Bay’s evenly sketchy Arlie Ricasa — as if there’s not enough dirt on her already. Birds of a feather, right?

Durkee is expected to make her first appearance in court on Tuesday.

We’ll have updates for you on this as the story unfolds.

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Comments 13

  1. This is dumb. Durkee is a treasurer for campaigns on both sides of the aisle. Most of her clients are Democrats because she used to be a Democratic activist, but she has worked for Republicans also. However she has never been involved in strategy or anything like that, she simply kept the books (bigger campaigns hire professional treasurers to manage their accounts and keep the checkbooks) and she is now accused of stealing money as she did.

  2. Mr. Lawrence, please let readers know which of the committees listed is on the other side of the aisle.

  3. On the Secretary of State’s website, you can search WHICH campaigns various treasurers have served.
    http://dbsearch.ss.ca.gov/TreasurerSearch.aspx

    From January 1, 2009 to July 1, 2011, Kinde Durkee submitted 242 campaign finance reports for groups or committees with either the name “DEMOCRAT” or “DEMOCRATIC” in their formal titles, per the Secretray of State’s data base.

    Durkee submitted exactly TWO (2) reports for a GOP group, the obscure, “National Organization of GOP Armenians” (which spent less than $1K the last year).

    SUMMARIZING THOSE TOTALS FOR YOU
    * 242 reports for Democrat groups
    * 2 for a single Republican group.

    That’s a 121-to-1 ratio for the Mathematically-minded.

    There are dozens more Durkee reports filed for various Labor Union-related PACs and prominent Democrat office-holders like Gil Cedillo, Paul Krekorian, Jose Solorio, Ted Lieu, Jerome Horton, and…..

    …………………………..(Drum Roll)…….

    * Christine Kehoe for Assembly 2012 !

    ……………………………….AND…….

    * Office Holder account, Senator Christine Kehoe!

    Senator Kehoe, please call your answering service.
    * (Laughter, Applause).

    OK…. Mr. Lawrence …. now it’s your turn again. 🙂

  4. “Guilt by association” is a dangerous game to play. It usually turns around and bites you in the b…

  5. “The hit piece potential from this could upend many pro mint Democrats…”. So now were are using hit pieces against THE ViCTIMS of a crime?

  6. Who is we, Alger? That asked, maybe we should ask Sunnycrest to elaborate on that as well. Does s/he think that a victim in this case is at fault?

  7. What this story demonstrates is not the GUILT of all these guileless Democrats, but rather the financial acumen of the Democrat Party’s elected office seekers and holders.

    Or rather, the LACK of financial acumen.

    Over and over these economic illiterates blindly believe what they are told — by the unions, by their staff and, apparently by their own treasurer.

    San Diego’s best private sector con man — J. David Dominelli — found that Democrats were easier marks than Republicans. And, of course, look at all the liberal suckers who bought into Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. And then there’s the big federal pyramid scheme — Social Security — still blindly defended by clueless progressives.

    Sure, GOP weaklings can fall for the same con jobs — but, on average, Democrats make much better marks.

  8. Actually, Jesse, that is not necessarily the case. It is dependent on whether the candidate knew of the fraud as well as whether the fraudulent numbers were even included in the filing. I can’t think of one time in which a treasurer was stealing from a candidate and showed the candidate where the theft appeared in the filing!

    Being suckered and being guilty of a crime aren’t the same thing.

    In the mid-90s, a well known local GOP-oriented campaign treasurer defrauded several committees, including those of at least two area Republican legislators. The treasurer, who was ultimately convicted, was overpaying himself, while having the candidates sign one disclosure form and submitting a different one to the Secretary of State. Not one of the committees or candidates were determined to be at fault, unless we want to say they were at fault for being defrauded.

    This isn’t to say that some opponent’s campaign didn’t try then — or won’t try in these cases — to make hay of the issue and use it against a candidate affected, regardless of whether such a charge is ethical.

    In the case of Durkee, clearly a Democratic campaign treasurer. Big political news. But, readers, please let me know when any of the impacted candidates are found guilty of a crime. Beguiled?…that’s a different story.

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