Too many politicians think they live in a different world.
They regularly take “gifts” from lobbyists and others who curry their favor, and think it’s their right because of the office they hold. It’s not. And it is especially galling at a time when California’s unemployment rate remains above 12 percent.
Now, many are complaining because they are getting dinged by an increasingly aggressive Fair Political Practices Commission, which has concluded that they are failing to follow the law by neglecting to disclose in public filings that they’ve taken those “gifts” – things like tickets to concerts and Kings games, expensive dinners, preferred parking at airports and more.
According to the FPPC, Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, failed to disclose several “gifts” including a $160.21 dinner; $390 for food and lodging; and $1,077 for food and spa treatments for his wife. These “gifts” to Mr. and Mrs. Calderon were courtesy of the Association of California Life and Health Insurance Companies.
Ask yourself when the last time was that you spent $160 on a dinner, or $1,077 for a spa and snack. When was the last time your insurance company comped you to a nice dinner?
Perhaps Calderon received the “gifts” because he is a great guy. Then again, maybe his committee assignment as chair of the Senate Bank, Finance and Insurance Committee had something to do with it. He had company. The Fair Political Practices Commission has sent letters to 38 legislators saying they failed to properly disclose “gifts.” They include Democrats and Republicans, among them outgoing Speaker Karen Bass and outgoing Senate Republican leader Dennis Hollingsworth, plus his replacement, Bob Dutton of Rancho Cucamonga, and the newly elected Assembly Republican leader, Martin Garrick of Solano Beach.
Some of the legislators no doubt made honest mistakes by neglecting to disclose gifts, or underreporting the value of what they received. But lawmakers who take gifts and the lobbyists who hand them out ought to know better. It makes them all look dirty.