The following appears on the FlashReport today:
by Scott Barnett
It should come as no surprise to the readers of this website that occasionally in politics, a politician will say one thing and do another.
But never in my career have I seen such a blatant display of hypocrisy than I have after observing Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone’s campaign for the 36th State Senate District over the last week.
After spending weeks attacking his opponent, Assemblyman Joel Anderson, for a “pattern of ethical abuse” Stone himself has engaged in a series of ethical violations. He seems to think that the rules do not apply to him, just everyone else.
Yesterday, my organization, Taxpayers Advocate, filed two formal complaints against Stone for as many as forty violations of the state campaign finance laws.
Stone failed to disclose contributions greater than $1,000 on the Internet, as required by state law (Cal government Code Section 85309). Under the California Political Reform Act — the state law adopted by voters that governs campaign finance in California, legislative candidates that report more than $50,000 in political donations are required to electronically file their campaign finance statements.
State candidates who receive contributions of $1,000 or more during the 90 days immediately preceding an election are required to electronically file a report to the Secretary of State disclosing each of these contributions within 24 hours of their receipt.
Stone’s recent campaign filings filed on May 27, 2010, show at least 41 instances of donations that he failed to properly disclose within the 24 hour period beginning on March 10, 2010. Stone’s campaign meets all the requirements for this provision and should have reported each and every donation over $1,000 within 24 hours to the California Secretary of State as of the March 10, 2010.
Stone has failed to electronically report at least $100,000 in contributions greater than $1,000, at least 41 separate contributions and each one may be considered a violation of the state Political Reform Act. If found to have violated state campaign finance laws, Stone could be subject to significant fines as each violation is subject to a maximum fine of $5,000, and potential criminal prosecution in the most extreme cases, by the state Fair Political Practices Commission.
The truly appalling thing is that despite his continued attacks against Anderson, this is not the first time that Stone has ran afoul of state campaign finance laws. Previously, he was fined $2,000 by the Fair Political Practices Committee for destroying campaign finance records from a previous State Assembly race in 2000. Stone was found to have destroyed a $40,000 cashier’s check, which made it impossible to audit the finances of his previous Assembly campaign.
I have filed a second complaint against Stone for his violation of the states conflict of interest law by voting to donate funds to an organization that was his tenant in a property that he owns.
On June 16, 2009, Stone brought a motion to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to donate $49,322 in taxpayer funds to five organizations. One of these organizations, the Senior Services Center Emergency Food Program was a tenant of Supervisor Stone’s at the time. Supervisor Stone not only brought the motion to the board, he also made the motion and voted on it.
The organization received a total of $9,864 as a result of the vote in a year that it also paid Jeff Stone a total of $24,000 in rent according to his Statement of Economic Interest for 2009 which appears to be a violation of the state’s conflict of interest law.
This is not the first time this particular organization was at the center of a conflict of interest for Stone. In 2007 he voted to give the same organization $10,000 only to have to rescind the vote two weeks later as suggested by the FPPC because of a conflict of interest.
It is my hope that the Fair Political Practices Commission levies a significant fine on Jeff Stone to send a strong message to him that everyone has to play by the same rules. It is rather egregious since he has focused his entire campaign to give the appearance that he is beyond reproach ethically and clearly this evidence shows that he ranks as one of the least ethical candidates running in the state.
Scott Barnett is a President of San Diego based Taxpayers Advocate and former Executive Director of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association. He can be reached via email at scott@taxpayersadvocate.org
Comments 17
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv-3gVMRjYo&feature=related
So honorable…
Voting for Stone could be a wasted vote. The penalty for intentionally violating Government Code section 1090, the state’s conflict of interest in contracts statute, is a lifetime bar on holding state office.
Talk about a hypocrite. Jeff Stone admits to not disclosing $156,000 and he attacks Joel Anderson for his FPPC problem? I am going to bet that once all the dust has settled after this campaign, Jeff Stone will have paid the FPPC much more than the $20,000 Anderson was fined. And Stone even criticizes Anderson for not talking about his issue, yet if you notice Stone is not talking to the media, his consultant is the spokesperson. What a hypocrite. This guy is priceless and should be set out with the trash.
http://blogs.pe.com/politics/2010/06/stone-campaign-admits-reportin.html
Well it appears that this is a classic example of the pot calling the kettle black. For weeks now I have been hearing the Stone campaign talk about his opponent. So I now read (thanks for the post Gun Slinger) that Stone ADMITS that he has failed to file 21 reports, listing 69 contributions?
Well I am glad to see that his consultant admitted to Stone’s wrong doing concerning the contributions.
So who is going to respond on behalf of Stone for the conflict of interest complaint or is he simply going to ignore it until the FPPC fines him for that one too?
Oh and where are all those Stone supporters now that think Stone is Mr. Ethical? Not riding so high and mighty on Jeff Stone now are you?
Jef Stone takes BRIBES from SCIENTOLOGY
Isn’t this the same guy who the Scientology base in his district bribed to pass legislation that keeps protesters away from their HQ? And people are surprised to learn he isn’t very ethical? Come on now…
I hope this information catches on, Jeff Stone is a scammer for sure. He can not represent us in the State Senate if he is in jail!
Jeff Stone is clearly another Scientology shill and a prime example of how scientology covertly tries to manipulate the environment while assuming it is above the law. Jeff Stone should back out now as the (EDITED) will hit the fan and it will be aimed at him not the church of scientology.
Besides.. Gilman Hotsprings Rd can be widened to a fourlane, with a wide area to facilitate the picketing that frequentluy occur at the Scientology compound. No reason that the scientologists can’t move their fences back a couple of yards..
Even if and while the scientologists scream in anquish.. Gilman Hotsprings RD can still be widened to a fourlane!
🙂
Ok, people. Mr. Stone may have voted to benefit the Scientologists, which may be a fact, but it would be an OPINION that such a vote involved bribes. Unless you have absolute proof of such an allegation, we don’t allow unfounded accusations on Rostra, regardless of the candidate. We also don’t allow even mild foul language. If you are not intelligent enough to engage in fair debate over policy differences without making libelous accusations, or without using inappropriate language, please go somewhere else. This will be your last warning. Thank you.
Where there is smoke, their is fire. Keep digging. This man Jeff Stone, has repeatedly shown blatant disregard for the citizens of Riverside County at the expense of his special interest people and groups, which include the Church of Scientology. I suspect that this is why we have not seen Stone’s financial reports. What a hypocrite!
If you want to see how Stone reps the people, watch him on YouTube. I have never see such an arrogant and condesending man. I watched many videos of supervisor meetings where in Stone would ignore the speech of one elderly resident, Robert Mabee, every single meeting for over 2 year s because the content accused him of being corrupt and being in the pocket of the DA regarding the dangerous and illegally addressed flood control issues of his area. Watch how he is treated by Jeff Stone. For shame!!
Robert Mabee’s 50th address to Riverside County Supervisors Apr. 28, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVWnV8NY2pc
Scientology: Dec. 15, 2009 (1/3) Illegal Grading at Golden Era Productions
In this excerpt, the Riverside County Supervisors vote to impose sanctions against a private property owner for grading without a permit. Robert Mabee, is not the owner, but he speaks in this video against the county’s indulgence with respect to the Church of Scientology for the grading it performed without a permit over many weeks at Golden Era Productions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R51a4TxOQ7c
I don’t know Joel Anderson but if I lived in that district, I would vote for him just so Stone the snake does not bring his hyprocracy and his distain for the needs of the citizens, to the state level.
Bribes? Doubtful. Stone does receive donations from Scientologists, just under the legal limit. He also is benefiting from individual Scientologists sending out email bulletins urging fellow cult members to cast their vote his way. And his one-time lawyer Alhadeff also works for Scientology in Riverside.
But bribes? Nah. You don’t get to be that slimy and smarmy by being stupid. Okay, he is “run his Harley into the back of a stopped car” stupid, but I don’t think he’d be blatant about bribery. Lies and influence peddling is his bailiwick, and he’s a pretty good slimeball of a politician. (not a compliment, btw)
He has to win San Diego County to win this election. As a big fish in the Riverside pond, nobody knows who he is down here, so I have hopes that his campaign will fail, and fail hard!
Jeff Stone is as dirty as they come. The epitome of a slimy politician, it should be no surprise he has ethic complaints in his political campaign considering how many times he’s been caught with hand in the cookie jar as a pharmacist and a supervisor.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/22095864/Jeff-Stone-Scientology-Shill-for-California-Senate
Here’s hoping he’s hit with enough violations that his aims for a free ride as a corrupt politician are cut short right quick.
I would suggest anyone who is accusing Jeff Stone of being a Scientologist is covering up their anti Semitic bigotry because anyone who knows Jeff Stone would know he is Jewish and is married to a Christian.
@Anthony Porrello
I would suggest you re-read the comments before you post incorrect information like that.
I don’t see that anyone here has said that he’s a scientologist. Only that he has a relationship with them that has a mutually beneficial effect , all at the expense of the citizens of Riverside County. Being called a Scientology shill does not mean one is a scientologist. It just means that he does their bidding. A proven fact.
@Anthony Porrello
Supposedly there are Jewish and Christian Scientologist. Not saying this is the case for Stone, but just saying. And anyone saying anything about anyone who is of Jewish descent or of the Jewish faith does not automatically make it anti-Semitic.