2 GOP OFFICIALS RESIGN OVER ANDERSON CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS CONTROVERSY; EAST COUNTY ASSEMBLYMAN REMAINS MUM ON SUBJECT

By Miriam Raftery

November 18, 2009 (San Diego’s East County) – A biography of Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) has been removed from his official Assembly website. But an archived copy reads, “The proof of Joel Anderson’s total commitment to honesty, integrity, and hard work aren’t in what he says. They’re in what he’s already done—the record of accomplishment he’s already achieved.”

Anderson has remained silent, however, regarding serious questions raised over the honesty and integrity of his own campaign finances—including the core question of what he knew about a series of potentially illegal transactions.

The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) is investigating allegations that Anderson’s campaign laundered money through three Republican Central Committees (Fresno, Stanislaus and Placer) in an effort to bypass campaign finance laws. Now Taxpayers for Anderson has returned approximately $100,000 in donations--and two Republican officials who say they opposed the questionable arrangements have resigned.

State campaign finance law limits how much individuals may donate to a state legislative campaign, however no such limits apply to central committees. Hefty campaigns were made to out-of-the-area central committees by local donors and days later, massive and nearly identical sums totaling $140,000 were donated by those central committees to Anderson’s campaign coffers. Local donors embroiled in the controversy include Sempra Energy, Sycuan and Barona Indian tribes, as well as three members of Hamann family, owners and principals of Hamann Construction in El Cajon.  In addition, Fresno's Central  Committee donated money to Anderson's 2010 campaign shosrtly after receiving contributions from Anderson's 2008 campaign.

Hamann also owns the building where Anderson maintains both his distrct office and his campaign headquarters. Asked why the Hamann family donated $30,000 to the Fresno Central Committee, Gregg Hamann said he couldn’t recall, the Union-Tribune reported on October 8.

Lynn Treasurers of the Placer County Republican Party Central Committee, resigned over the scandal. “I’m caught up in this because I’m the treasurer,” said Kyme, the Sacramento Bee reported on

November 14. Kyme, who signed the check to Anderson’s committee and resigned after the FPPC subpoenaed her, told the Union-Tribune that she voted against the party making a contribution to Anderson and grew more suspicious after he returned the donation.

Jerry Simmons has also resigned from the Placer County central committee . “It just didn’t smell right to me because I had never heard of Joel Anderson before,” said Simmons, the Union-Tribune reported. According to the Fresno Bee, both Kyme and Simmons “said they were in the dark about the source of the money going to Anderson.”

Ironically, while Simmons and Kyme have resigned over their ethical objections to the financial transactions which they say they opposed, those who approved the transactions remain on the three GOP central committee boards while the FPPC investigation proceeds.

Meanwhile an anonymous video posted on YouTube lampoons Anderson's financial dealings:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3npUaVTs0yQ.

Just what benefits if any donors may have hoped to reap by bypassing campaign finance limits is unclear. In the Assembly, Anderson sits on the Committee on Governmental Organization, Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife, Select Committee on Biotechnology, and the Committee on Insurance, where he potentially wields influence in legislation coming before those committees.

Donations made to Anderson’s campaign war chests also benefit other Republican candidates. Anderson has long been considered a fund-raising powerhouse within the party who has formally chaired the Bush-Cheney campaign committee in San Diego County and served on San Diego’s Republican Central Committee. Elected by safe margins during both of his Assembly races, he has doled out hefty funds to other local Republican candidates from his unused campaign funds in the past.

Raymond Lutz, Democrat who ran against Anderson in 2008, expressed skepticism over the returned donations. “Unfortunately, the Republican party can simply send that $100K to other central committees in each of the 58 counties or send it to candidates who will then turn around and each sent $3,900 in contributions to Anderson, effectively making the "Fair Political Practices" in California just a matter of making the parties do additional work. I would not be surprised to see that money come back to Anderson even though he "returned it",” Lutz stated in an online discussion forum (which ECM has received permission to reprint).

Lutz added that in prior campaigns, Anderson raised large sums from corporations such as Sempra Energy, SoCal Edison and others that each gave exactly $1,000. Despite a hefty campaign war chest, however, Anderson’s expended little on his own campaign, sending most of the balance to candidates in other districts.
 

Lutz suggested that some corporate contributors may donate to candidates in safe races as a means of bypassing campaign finance regulations, with “safe” candidates’ committees later bundling funds to donate to Republican central committees for distribution to GOP candidates in “unsafe” seats. “That way, the money from the corps is laundered at least one step, and it is hard to see any one company giving to any one race,” he observed. “Honestly, it would almost be better the other way so we could see who was contributing instead of this money laundering scheme.”

The Assemblyman has thus far refused comment to all media regarding his campaign finance controversies and did not respond to ECM’s request for comment on this story.  Nor has he spoken publicly about whether he will continue to pursue reported plans to run for the State Senate in 2010.