The far-reaching reverberations from the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal continue to roil the state Capitol more than two weeks after 147 women released a

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Daily News published an editorial that said the only sitting lawmaker known to have been formally rebuked for sexual harassment – Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, D-Los Angeles (pictured) – should resign.

“While Bocanegra has apologized for his conduct, we believe the best way for him to serve the public at this point is to resign from office,” the Daily News editorial concluded.

The Los Angeles Times story that revealed Bocanegra’s rebuke could also portend headaches for Democratic lawmakers who knew about the incident that got him in trouble but who either kept quiet or actively helped Bocanegra’s career. The story was based on an interview with his victim, Elise Flynn Gyore, who provided a copy of the Assembly Rules Committee letter rebuking Bocanegra.

The incident that led to the complaint to the Rules Committee came at a 2009 Sacramento event in which Bocanegra – then the chief of staff for then-Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, D-Los Angeles – allegedly reached down the blouse of Gyore, then a staffer for state Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello. Bocanegra also acted in a way Gyore characterized as stalking.

A subsequent Sacramento Bee story detailed how Bocanegra’s rebuke didn’t get in the way of his political ascent. He was elected to the Assembly in 2012. Among those who helped him with donations or endorsements: then-Assemblyman Isadore Hall, D-Compton, who served on the Assembly Rules Committee while it reviewed the allegations against Bocanegra, and then-Sen. Calderon, whom Gyore said knew about what Bocanegra had done.

Hall went on to serve in the state Senate before losing a bid for Congress last year. In January, Hall was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board, with an annual salary of $142,095. Hall, 45, is expected to seek elected office again in coming years.

Calderon was convicted in 2016 of federal corruption charges and is now serving a 42-month prison sentence.

Gyore is now chief of staff for Sen. Richard Roth, D-Riverside, who has been among the leading advocates in the Legislature for holding lawmakers accountable for their bad behavior.

Villaraigosa, Newsom may face questions over their past scandals

The Bocanegra case has many insiders wondering what California politician might next come under fire for inappropriate behavior or worse. But the increasing focus on politicians’ treatment of and attitudes about women could eventually lead to tough questions for the two Democratic frontrunners to replace termed-out Gov. Brown in the 2018 election.

In 2007, when he was mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa revealed that he was involved romantically with a much-younger TV journalist, leading to his marriage’s collapse and his divorce in 2010.

The Los Angeles Times reported then that Telemundo reporter-anchor Mirthala Salinas, 35, apparently began her affair with Villaraigosa, 54, while she was covering the mayor for her network.

Villaraigosa got remarried in 2016.

Also in 2007, then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom was involved in a messy office scandal. Alex Tourk, Newsom’s campaign manager and former deputy chief of staff, abruptly resigned “after confronting the mayor about an affair Newsom had with his wife while she worked in the mayor’s office,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Ruby Rippey-Tourk had been Newsom’s appointments secretary for two years.

The New York Times gave national coverage to what it described as “a fast-unfolding scandal with all the sex and betrayal of a tawdry novel,” noting that the affair came while Newsom was “in the throes of a divorce.” But after Newsom repeatedly apologized, his political career continued, seemingly unaffected.

In 2008, he got married for a second time.

A CalWatchdog

The survey, which was cited by Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters, established that the wrongdoing went far beyond the nationally publicized scandals in the small town of Bell, in which a small cadre of administrators and elected officials covertly siphoned millions of dollars away from public use for their own enrichment.

Among the many improprieties: the resignation of the mayor of South El Monte after he admitted taking bribes; officials at the Central Basin Municipal Water District being caught using a $2.75 million slush fund of ratepayer dollars for political machinations; the resignation of two City of Commerce council members for misleading official investigations into their conduct; as well as scandals that led elected officials to quit or go to jail in Cudahy, Lynwood, Maywood, Montebello, South Gate and Vernon.

But something strange has happened since South El Monte Mayor Luis Aguinaga resigned eight months ago after being caught taking bribes from a city contractor for seven years: After a decade-plus of one scandal after another, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office reports a lull in corruption scandals countywide.

According to public records obtained by the Los Angeles Times, just 11 felony public corruption cases were filed last year, down from 39 in 2010.

Explanations vary for lull in prosecutions

In a statement to the Times, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey suggested that all the prosecutions and forced resignations in recent years might have discouraged corruption. Former state lawmakers Ron Calderon and Tom Calderon — brothers who built a political fiefdom over decades — pleaded guilty to public corruption charges last year after what an investigation showed was years of influence peddling that began at their power base in Montebello and the Central Basin water agency. Also cited as possibly affecting criminal filings: the departure of some senior deputy district attorneys with the most experience in public corruption cases.

Academics have also argued for decades that corruption comes in cycles: scandals lead to crackdowns and tough regulation, which leads to assumptions about problems being addressed and scrutiny slackening, thus leading to new scandals.

But officials at the scandal-scarred Central Basin water agency have a specific reason to stay on the straight and narrow: a new state law adds layers of accountability and transparency specifically designed for the water supplier, which delivers supplies to nearly 2 million Los Angeles County residents.

Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, won the signature of Gov. Jerry Brown last September for AB 1794. The measure increases the number of people on the water agency’s board of directors, specifies the ways that the positions can be filled, adopts stricter language on contribution disclosures and says individuals already serving in a elected capacity are ineligible to be Central Basin board members.

Garcia’s measure easily passed the Legislature. Among those joining in the Assembly’s 80-0 vote for AB 1794: Assemblyman Ian Calderon, D-Whittier, son of Charles Calderon and nephew of Ron Calderon.

Ian Calderon, now 31, was first elected to the Assembly in 2012, before prosecutors closed in on his older relatives. He’s not suffering for the sins of his family. After a 2014 primary and general election scares in which he was nearly unseated by Republican Rita Topalian, he was re-elected easily over Topalian in 2016 and serves as Assembly majority floor leader.

Air quality regulator fees fund fancy trips as consumer costs increase

Good morning. Happy Hump Day!

Ready for the final presidential debate tonight? Don’t worry, it’ll all be over soon. Before we get to things to watch for tonight, we swing by the Bay Area, where fee increases by the local air quality regulator get passed on to consumers — and the directors enjoy the surplus funds.

Not even a month after sending two dozen people on a pricey trip to New Orleans, a member of the board of directors of the Bay Area’s air quality regulator boasted that the agency was “flush” with cash.

In July, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District was considering whether to hire additional staffers to assist with administering a new regulation when board member Shirlee Zane boasted “this air board, quite frankly, is flush.”

“We can more than afford to hire … extra help to do the assessment,” said Zane, a Sonoma County supervisor.

“We have plenty of money,” Zane added — a sentiment echoed by Katie Rice, a board member and Marin County supervisor.

While the rosy perception of the district’s finances may have been isolated to just a few board members, the willingness to spend on additional staff and a lavish New Orleans trip coincided with what’s become a routine increase in fees charged to those local businesses considered stationary sources of air pollution — costs which experts say are then passed onto consumers. 

CalWatchdog has more. 

In other news:

• Capital Public Radio gives four things to watch in the debate tonight. 

• “In a scathing sentencing position filed late Tuesday with the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, federal prosecutors requested five years’ imprisonment in their corruption case against former state Sen. Ron Calderon,” reports The Sacramento Bee. 

• The Orange County Register give four ways the county can “help its homeless.”

• “A California-based tribe’s recent loss at the National Labor Relations Board could reignite interest in controversial legislation affecting Indian casinos and union workers nationwide,” reports The Sacramento Bee. 

Legislature:

• Gone till December.

Gov. Brown:

• No public events announced.

Tips: matt@calwatchdog.com

Follow us: @calwatchdog @mflemingterp

New follower: @PaulParmley

While her ascendancy will need to be formalized with a vote of caucus members after November’s election, the vice chair, which Garcia is, has almost always become chair. The position already wields great power from its bully pulpit, but the bipartisan caucus appears set for a makeover after November sweeps in a large voting bloc of Democratic women to consolidate power in the Assembly.

Exactly how many women is unknown until the votes are counted. But a conservative estimate, based on a CalWatchdog analysis, suggests Democratic women will likely occupy between 16 and 28 seats in the Legislature next session, compared to 19 now.

The biggest gains will be in the Assembly where Democratic women could control at least 25 percent of the votes, with Garcia taking a lead role in the recruitment efforts.

In the four years since being elected — and after surviving a sharp learning curve having come from no background in elected office — the Bell Gardens Democrat rose in stature by focusing largely on ethics and women’s issues, with a knack for forcing to the forefront what she says are taboo topics.

Garcia made recent headlines for calling out a male colleague accused of domestic violence and for championing a bill redefining rape in the aftermath of the controversial sentencing of a former Stanford swimmer who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman and another eliminating sales tax on tampons and other feminine hygiene products. 

Both bills passed the Legislature and await a final decision from Gov. Jerry Brown. But to her, the legislative victories are just as important as the cultural changes. 

“I’ve been talking about periods the whole year,” Garcia told CalWatchdog in August over ice cream in Sacramento. “Why does it have to be taboo? It’s women’s health.”

Queenmaker

One of Garcia’s biggest goals with the women’s caucus outside of policy will be to build a bench of viable Democratic women candidates, particularly women of color, to compete for governor. There are only 11 women of color in the Legislature at the moment (several of whom are termed out in November), but many of the presumptive newcomers are Latinas.  

There’s no reason the first female governor in the state’s history would need to come through the Legislature, but it’s not a bad launch pad. Garcia didn’t dispel the notion she may make a run for governor at some point, but she said she’s satisfied doing what it takes to make a female Democratic governor possible. 

“If we don’t have a farm, we’re never going to climb,” Garcia said. “The men aren’t doing it for us, so we have to do it for ourselves.”

The 2018 gubernatorial field is quickly filling with men, so Garcia is looking to future elections to break the glass ceiling. Garcia knows gubernatorial candidates will want the women’s caucus’ support, but it would come with a price.

“I’ll help you now because I want something later,” Garcia said. “And that something is a woman governor after you.”

Background

In 2012, the unassuming math teacher was sent to Sacramento by voters in an underprivileged district in southeastern Los Angeles County — her only prior political experience was forming a community group in response to widespread corruption in Bell Gardens.

In her first primary, she bested a member of a political dynasty, then-former Assemblyman Tom Calderon. After defeating Calderon, she handily beat her Republican opponent in the general election and has run officially unopposed ever since.

Garcia is quick to condemn what she sees as immoral or unethical actions. A few months ago, she was one of the first legislators to demand the resignation of fellow Democratic Assemblyman Roger Hernandez after allegations of domestic violence surfaced.

In 2013, she was the first sitting legislator to speak out and organize protests against Ron Calderon, a sitting senator, calling for his resignation after allegations surfaced the FBI suspected him of bribery. Calderon would later plead guilty to mail fraud, while his brother, Tom (Garcia’s former opponent), pleaded guilty to money laundering.

When the Kevin Sloat lobbying scandal ripped through the Legislature, Garcia responded with a sweeping ethics package. And currently waiting for Gov. Brown’s signature is a measure to overhaul the Central Basin Municipal Water District amid allegations of wrongdoing. 

But Garcia has had her own ethical faux pas. During her first run for the Assembly, she claimed she had a Ph.D. when she had only completed coursework. She has since admitted the mistake and will defend her dissertation in December.

Chair

Above all, Garcia’s time as chair will be about women and women’s issues, and she’ll have tremendous influence over the legislative focus of the caucus. Her recruitment efforts with the 2016 crop of women candidates will engender a base of loyalists. 

Garcia plans to personally push for early childhood education, but rather than having members support the caucus’ agenda, Garcia plans to have the caucus support members’ agendas — hence the emphasis on electing more Democratic women.

Naturally, Democratic women are more likely to stick together than a bipartisan group would. Plus, Republican women in the Legislature will drop from 12 seats to between five and eight.

Garcia understands power in the Legislature is held in numbers — the tighter and larger the voting bloc, the better — and wants to use it to enable women to accomplish their goals.

“We just have to prop each other up,” Garcia said. “Hold our votes together to push our stuff forward, and hold our votes together to hold things hostage when our stuff is not being taken seriously.”

There are already whistleblower protections in law that shield the state’s executive and judicial employees who report unethical activity, yet legislative staff does not have the same protections from retaliation.

In 2014, Democratic state Sens. Roderick Wright of Inglewood, Leland Yee of San Francisco and Ron Calderon of Montebello, were all suspended without pay after Wright was convicted of felony perjury and election fraud and the other two were brought up on federal corruption charges. 

The bill has passed the Assembly three times, only to die in the Senate Appropriations Committee, which, like the rest of the Legislature, is strongly controlled by Democrats.

“It is clear the Democrats do not want to stand up to corruption,” Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement. “It’s also clear they want to continue to protect one another as their former caucus members prepare to serve prison sentences,” Melendez said.

Bipartisan coalition urging vote on civil asset forfeiture bill

Good morning! Happy hump day.

Proponents of a measure to close a loophole that allows local law enforcement agencies to seize citizens’ property without a criminal conviction or even an arrest — a practice dubbed “policing for profit” — are moving behind the scenes to shore up support for the bill that died last September after a last-minute flurry of opposition from law enforcement.

The high-profile coalition of supporters — which spans the partisan divide with powerful advocacy groups and influential members of both parties — is aiming for a vote in the Assembly next week to block law enforcement from circumventing strict state law by partnering with the federal government in a program called “equitable sharing.”

On the right, Republican consultant Mike Madrid and Shawn Steel, a former chairman of the California Republican Party, are urging Republican support while California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton is working with Democrats. 

CalWatchdog has more.

In other news:

• Kevin Faulconer, the Republican mayor of San Diego, says he will not run for governor in 2018 if re-elected in November as mayor, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. Faulconer was widely seen as Republicans’ best potential candidate for governor.
• The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a measure on Tuesday that amends its sanctuary city policy, giving local law enforcement greater discretion to notify immigration officials of an undocumented felon’s release from custody, according to SF Gate.
• “The Cal State Board of Trustees approved a plan Tuesday to raise faculty salaries by 10.5% over three years, capping a long-running dispute over pay that threatened to wreak havoc on the nation’s largest public university system,” writes the Los Angeles Times.
• “Assemblyman Ian Calderon, D-Whittier, has spent $41,500 in political funds to support Proposition 50, an anti-corruption measure put on the ballot in response to issues raised when his uncle, former Sen. Ronald Calderon, was indicted in a bribery case,” writes the Los Angeles Times.

Assembly:

• Full slate of hearings, including packed appropriations meeting.

Senate:

• Several joint hearings, including one on a ballot initiative to redirect bag fees away from grocers.

Gov. Brown:

• No public events scheduled.

Tips: matt@calwatchdog.com

Follow us: @calwatchdog @mflemingterp

New followers: @kelseybrugger @mattmahon

In a statement to CalWatchdog, Rendon, a Paramount Democrat, condemned domestic violence, but said he will not seek action at this time against Hernández, a Democrat from West Covina. 

It was just last month when Rendon announced his leadership team, which included Hernández atop the Labor and Employment Committee, the same leadership role he was in under Rendon’s predecessor, Toni Atkins, D-San Diego. 

“Since the temporary restraining order was filed against Assemblymember Hernández last week, there have been several conversations about what the next steps should be,” Rendon said. “If the allegations are more fully validated, I will be prepared to take further action.”

Calls to step aside

On Thursday, the Democratic chair and vice chair of the women’s caucus, Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson of Santa Barbara and Asm. Cristina Garcia of Bell Gardens, issued a statement calling for Hernández to step down until the matter with his estranged wife, Baldwin Park City Councilwoman Susan Rubio, is resolved.

“In the wake of the serious allegations against Assemblymember Roger Hernández, we believe he should step down from his committee assignments and his position as chair of the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee while his case is pending in court and take a leave of absence,” Jackson and Garcia wrote.

“While a determination is still pending on these most recent allegations and we respect his right to due process, it’s important that the Legislature send a strong and consistent message to victims about our commitment to confronting domestic violence and demonstrate that we take allegations seriously when they occur among one of our own,” Jackson and Garcia added. 

Rendon did not expand on what would constitute “more fully validated,” but no charges have been filed against Hernández. The situation places the new speaker in an awkward position between being cautious and appearing to set a soft behavioral standard for members.

“(Rendon) should have anticipated that such a problem would come up,” said John J. Pitney, Jr., a professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College. “It is not exactly unprecedented for California legislators to face accusations of bad behavior.”

What’s been alleged

Rubio is alleging that Hernández — who is seeking a seat in Congress — pushed, shoved, hit and choked her during their marriage, according to the Los Angeles Times. The couple is 16 months into divorce proceedings.

After an April 5 divorce hearing, Rubio alleges that Hernández “came ‘aggressively’ toward her and began shouting in her face,” prompting her to seek a restraining order. In the filing, Rubio included pictures of a bruised and scratched arm, the Times reported.  

Hernández denied the allegations to the Los Angeles Times on Thursday and other outlets and said he will not take a leave of absence or step aside from committee responsibilities.

Hernández was re-elected to a third and final term in 2014, beating his opponent by 9 points. 

Mostly quiet 

Besides Jackson, Garcia and one Republican assemblyman who has been calling for Hernández to be stripped of his chairmanship since he had security forcibly remove the Republican’s microphone at a committee hearing, other lawmakers have been quiet, as have outside groups.

In a long statement condemning domestic violence, the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence issued a statement of “concern” about the situation, but refused to take a position “(b)ecause the case at hand is open and ongoing, we do not have all the facts and cannot presume the nature of the evidence, nor the legal implications thereof.”

Troubles in the other chamber

Not that long ago, several Democratic senators ran afoul of the law. All were eventually convicted, unlike Hernández, who has not been charged. Although some were removed from leadership roles at the first sign of trouble. 

Sen. Roderick Wright of Inglewood was convicted of multiple voter fraud felonies, according to the Los Angeles Times. During the appeals process, he was removed from his committee chairmanship. 

Sen. Ron Calderon of Bell Gardens was removed from the executive board of the California Latino Legislative Caucus and from his legislative committee assignments after allegations of bribery surfaced. He had not been charged with any crimes at the time, but eventually took a leave of absence after federal corruption charges were filed. 

The apex of trouble was when Sen. Leland Yee of San Francisco was indicted on charges of gun trafficking and public corruption (while in cahoots with a gangster named Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow). Yee was immediately stripped of all of his committee assignments. 

At the time, Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, had had enough. “Every indictment, every arrest, every arraignment and even every suspicion or allegation reflects very poorly on each of us and all of us,” Leno said at the time.

Leno did not respond to requests for comment on Friday about whether those feelings remained and if they applied to Hernández.

History

It’s not the first time Hernández has been accused of wrongdoing. In 2012, an ex-girlfriend accused him of domestic violence, although charges were never filed due to insufficient evidence. 

That same year, Hernández was arrested for drunk driving in a state vehicle, but was acquitted by a jury on one charge, while the jury was hung on another. 

In 2015, allegations of political money laundering against Hernández were dropped by the Fair Political Practices Commission after two key witnesses were unable to testify — one had serious medical issues while the other had passed away. 

While dozens of measures are vying to make it on the November general election ballot, one proposal is ready for the June primary — even though no one is campaigning for or against it.

Proposition 50 is a constitutional amendment empowering legislators to suspend other legislators without pay with a two-thirds vote of the respective chamber.

The measure is in response to three suspensions with pay in 2014: Democratic state Sens. Roderick Wright of Inglewood, Leland Yee of San Francisco and Ron Calderon of Montebello. Wright was suspended after being convicted of felony perjury and election fraud and the other two were suspended after federal corruption charges were filed.

The measure has a good chance of passing, as public perception of the Legislature took a hit following the rash of incidents in 2014 (in February of 2015, it rebounded a bit but was still in the low 40 percent range).

“From a voter’s perspective, it’s pretty straight forward,” said Kathay Feng, the executive director of the good government group California Common Cause. “There’s not much love for misbehaving legislators.”

Feng said some may question whether this measure violates the spirit of innocent until proven guilty, but others are sure this won’t be an issue.

“Guilty until proven innocent when it comes to legislators,” said Steven Maviglio, a Democratic campaign strategist, noting that the measure is “totally non-controversial.”

Politics and Process

The measure doesn’t have any opponents actively fighting it. But no one is pushing for it either. When contacted by CalWatchdog, former Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, who introduced the measure, deferred through an aide to sitting senators or the Senate Rules Committee for more info.

But sitting senators would refer it to an outside group to handle the campaign, yet no such committee has been formed. No one is campaigning for it.

“All of the people who were originally involved seemed to have left this as an orphan for somebody else,” said Feng.

If the measure’s passage is truly inevitable — a slam dunk — then there may be little need to push for it, especially in the absence of opposition. But some observers say it could be that the pressure is off now that no one is in trouble.

“Out of sight, out of mind,” said John J. Pitney, Jr., a Roy P. Crocker professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College. “The idea may regain currency if another legislator gets into major trouble, but until then it is in the political memory hole.”

The measure will appear on the June ballot because it is a constitutional amendment added by the Legislature. Measures that go through the signature gathering process can only appear on the November general election ballot — of which it appears there will be plenty.

How Else Can They Be Punished?

Besides suspension, legislators have other punitive actions they can take against lawmakers, although they are rarely used.

According to Alex Vassar, who runs the California political website One Voter Project, censure (it’s basically a public shaming by peers) was last used in 1982 to strongly condemn comments made about abortion rights protesters by O.C. Republican John G. Schmitz.

Expulsion, according to Vassar, was last used in 1905 against legislators colluding to solicit bribes (Wright was threatened with an expulsion vote). And members can also be stripped of committee assignments, which was used last with Yee, Wright and Calderon.

“Obviously I wasn’t that surprised,” Asemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, a longtime aide to Calderon, told the Los Angeles Times. “I wasn’t involved in that at all.”

While there’s no evidence implicating Gray in the alleged pay-to-play behavior by Calderon, Gray learned one thing from his disgraced mentor: how to use campaign committees to fund a life of luxury.

A CalWatchdog.com analysis of Gray’s campaign finance records shows hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on five-star hotels, luxurious golf resorts, international junkets, Hawaiian vacations, world-class restaurants, award-winning wineries and limousine rental companies. Gray’s extravagant spending can’t please California Democratic Party officials, who’ve been forced to transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent weeks to defend Gray’s seat.

Gray’s lavish fundraising events

Under state law, campaign funds can only be legally spent on expenses directly related to a candidate’s election.

“Moneys in the candidate’s campaign bank account shall be spent only on expenses associated with the candidate’s election to the specific elective office designated in the statement of intention and expenses associated with holding that office,” the state’s campaign finance regulations state.

But, that doesn’t stop a candidate from spending big on lavish fundraising events. Last year, a CalWatchdog.com investigation revealed Calderon spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds on private jets, five-star hotels, elite golf courses and extravagant meals at the country’s finest restaurants. Through Diversity PAC, Calderon spent $220,000 at luxury golf resorts, including Bandon Dunes, Pebble Beach, Indian Wells and the American Club, as well as $56,000 in luxury travel.

Gray’s campaign mimicked Calderon’s luxury spending with $21,740 in gifts at Rossini’s Menswear, $14,563 at Vista Ranch & Cellars and $2,383 at Stevensons Ranch Golf Club, all classified as expenses related to fundraising events, according to state disclosure reports.

State law bans campaign committees from making expenditures “which confer a substantial personal benefit.” However, the state’s political watchdog has carved out an exception for any activities that have a political, legislative or governmental purpose.

Gray exploited that exception to ring up $7,604 at the Ritz Carlton, $3,334 at Sheraton Hotels, $1,125 at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort and Spa and $347 at the oceanfront Terranea Resort.

“Terranea is a land unto itself,” boasts L.A.’s oceanfront resort, where Gray spent a few hundred dollars in candidate travel, lodging and meals in Nov. 2013. “As the location of many Hollywood films and television shows, all who come to Terranea feel as though they’ve walked onto the set of paradise.”

Gray’s junkets to Maui, Cuba

Gray has been no stranger to the legislative junket circuit. He billed his campaign account for thousands of dollars in expenses for trips to Maui and Cuba, which were organized by lobbyists and special-interest groups. According to his campaign finance disclosure reports, Gray paid $1,000 to Californians Building Bridges for a deposit on a 2013 trip to Cuba.

Founded by Sacramento lobbyist Darius Anderson, CBB has little to show in the way of charitable activities. CBB, according to its most recent tax return, provided no financial support to domestic or international charities.

In addition to his trip to Cuba, Gray used campaign funds to reimburse the Independent Voter Project for nearly $2,900 in expenses at an infamous conference held annually at a luxurious Maui resort. That doesn’t include another $812 in charges at the Fairmont Maui. At the annual conference, lawmakers enjoyed time at the beach, extravagant meals, fine wines and rounds of cocktails while discussing policy issues with lobbyists, business executives and union leaders.

“Limousine liberal” spent thousands at popular steakhouses

You could even say Gray is a “limousine liberal,” having rung up multiple charges with limousine rental companies and chauffeur services. The $1,332 in charges to limo rental companies included nearly $900 spent on July 3 with Baja Limo. On the same day, Gray spent several hundred dollars in meals at Chops Steakhouse and Grange Restaurant and Bar, two of his most-frequented restaurants in Sacramento.

Bars and restaurants were another common item on Gray’s campaign report, including $2,817 at the Branding Iron Restaurant, nearly $2,600 at Chops Steakhouse, $2,000 at Simon’s Cafe and nearly $1,400 each at Frank Fat’s and Grange Restaurant and Bar.

The Humane Society of the United States, which gave Gray low marks on its 2013 legislative scorecard, may want to chat with the Democrat lawmaker about his habit of eating at steakhouses. In addition to Chops, Gray’s campaign paid for meals at C2 Steak House, Morton’s and Ruth’s Chris.

Sac Bee looks at credit-cards transactions

Legislators commonly ring up thousands of dollars in ambiguous credit-card charges. According to the Sacramento Bee, “A first-ever review of lawmakers’ credit-card spending by the Sacramento Bee found that many lawmakers provided only the barest of descriptions of their expenses on state-required campaign reports – despite a 2008 rule meant to improve disclosure.”

Gray was no exception, showing $42,643 in charges to his Wells Fargo credit card labeled “travel, office supplies, meeting and event expenses.”

CalWatchdog.com analyzed campaign spending reports for both Gray’s 2014 re-election campaign committee and a second, ballot-measure committee, called Valley Solutions: Assemblymember Adam Gray’s Ballot Measure Committee Supporting Propositions 1 and 2.

Similar to Gov. Jerry Brown’s ballot-measure committee, Gray has used the second campaign account to accept larger campaign checks from special-interest groups and big corporations that lobby the Legislature, including $35,000 from the California Independent Petroleum Association, $25,000 from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and $15,000 from tobacco giant Philip Morris.

Democrats, special interests forced to rescue Gray

Gray’s extravagant campaign spending left him unprepared for a strong challenge by Republican Jack Mobley. In the past two weeks, the California Democratic Party has spent more than $235,00 on Gray’s campaign. This cycle, state and local Democratic Party committees have transferred more than $310,000 toward Gray’s reelection effort. Gray has received roughly a half-million dollars in campaign contributions in the last two weeks of the campaign, including late contributions from big business and big labor.

Gray’s luxurious lifestyle has gotten him into trouble with the state’s political watchdog.

Earlier this year, according to the Sacramento Bee, “Gray, a Democratic assemblyman from Merced who earlier worked as a Calderon staffer, agreed with the FPPC to pay a $2,000 fine for not reporting $1,900 worth of golf Yocha Dehe contributed to his campaign during a fundraiser at the tribe’s casino in December 2011.”

It wasn’t the first time Gray’s been in trouble with the state’s political watchdog. In 2010, Gray was fined $400 by the FPPC for failing to report two gifts on his annual Statement of Economic Interests.

The Times reported:

If no candidate wins 50% of the vote plus one, a runoff election will be held Feb. 10.

Three candidates have already emerged for the contest: Assemblyman Isadore Hall III (D-Compton), Assemblyman Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) and perennial runner-up candidate Merv Evans, a Democrat who received 27% of the vote in his last challenge to Bradford.

Currently, the website for SD35 holds just placeholder information:

Constituent Services

Staff are available to assist you with information and services.

When you have an issue with a state agency or need information on state legislation, the office can be of service. Getting your questions answered and problems solved are only two of the ways the office can help. The District Offices can help you find and work though government forms, provide information on legislation, or assist you in dealing with state agencies.

Wright is the only one to resign of the three Democratic state senators indicted this year on corruption charges. According to the Chronicle:

Sen. Leland Yee, a San Francisco Democrat, and Sen. Ron Calderon, a Los Angeles-area Democrat, are facing unrelated federal corruption charges. Like Wright, they were suspended but continue to hold office with full pay, making them of no use to constituents.

The three cases have been casting a shadow across the state Capitol.

The cases also have prevented Democrats from keeping the supermajority they won in the 2012 State senate elections. Although Wright’s replacement also will be a Democrat, if the replacement election will be drawn out to Feb. 10, the return to supermajority status might be delayed until then — or even later if the other two corruption cases remain unresolved.

It’s also possible Republicans might pick up a couple state Senate seats on Nov. 4, preventing the Democratic supermajority no matter the disposition of the three corruption controversies. Indeed, the election might show that the tainting of Democrats by these three scandals cost them some legislative seats.