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Regional Op-Ed | Jerry McNerney: Three-ring Pombo Cash Circus Comes to Stockton
When Richard Pombo holds his big-top fundraiser in the Comcast Skybox at the circus in Stockton this weekend, his family will be part of the high-wire act. Pombo has a history of paying his family fees out of campaign contributions. And the current cash circus appears to be no different with wife Annette selling the $300 family tickets for the event.
In previous years Pombo has defended the fact that he has paid his wife and his brother hundreds of thousands of dollars for "consulting fees" and "fundraising assistance."
But 11th District Democratic congressional candidate Jerry McNerney questioned the propriety of his opponent paying his family fees and commissions for political fundraising. "Television writers could do a series on super lobbyist and convicted felon Jack Abramoff that would make Tony Soprano look like a petty shoplifter," said McNerney. " It's easy to see why people have such a low regard for Congress these days. Even if there is no law against it, Pombo should stop paying his family. People don't like the way it looks."
As for the legality of such arrangements, Republican leaders Tom Delay has already resigned in disgrace and Robert Ney has dropped his re-election bid. Congressman Cunningham is going to jail for taking 2 million dollars in bribes. A number of other congressional wives have been implicated because they took large amounts of money from Abramoff's companies or clients. And the Pombo family is squarely in this three-ring event. Pombo has received large amounts of money from Abramoff and his clients - then paid hefty fees to family members.
Hank Shaw, of the Stockton Record says, "Federal records show that Rep. Richard Pombo used campaign funds to pay his wife and brother a total of $255,916 over the past two years -- or 25 cents for every dollar the Tracy Republican raised for his re-election effort."
Reports filed with the Federal Election Commission also show Pombo's campaign paid the congressman's wife, Annette, an additional $39,938 from 2001 to 2002. His brother Randall received $169,299 during the same period, bringing the total payments to the family since 2001 to $465,153. "And that's not peanuts," quipped McNerney.
FEC regulations permit salary payments to family members for "bona fide, campaign-related services," according to a 2001 advisory opinion. However, "Spending 25 percent of what you raise on two staffers, especially when they happen to be relatives, raises some serious questions," observes Larry Noble of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks federal campaign financing. As Fred Wertheimer of the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group Democracy 21 observes, "This adds up to a quarter-million dollars, which is nearly two times as much as a member of Congress makes." He also noted Pombo's contributors probably did not intend for him to spend so much of their money on his wife and brother.
But Pombo's contributors may not mind, as long as he continues to protect their interests. In the campaign cycle that ended in 2004, nearly two-thirds of his $1.1 million in gifts came from energy, agribusiness and developers.
Jerry McNerney is a nationally recognized expert in wind engineering and renewable energy, with a PhD in mathematics. During his career in wind energy, McNerney's work contributed to saving the equivalent of approximately 30 million barrels of oil, or 8.3 million tons of carbon dioxide - the main greenhouse gas - as well as other harmful pollutants. The Democratic nominee for California's 11th Congressional District, Jerry has been married for 29 year and has three grown children.
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