Emeryville Vice-Mayor Ken Bukowski Fined for Campaign Fund Violations

Vice-Mayor Ken Bukowski Used Campaign Money for Personal Use

Vice-Mayor Ken Bukowski, censured last March by three of his fellow City Council members for a series of ethical breaches, including failing to file campaign finance reports, reportedly faces up to $15,500 in fines for using campaign money for personal use and other related violations.

The San Francisco Chronicle, Oakland Tribune, and East Bay Express reported today that Bukowski was cited for the violations by the Fair Political Practices Commission upon its completion of an investigation of Bukowski's campaign activities. (See below for text of stories).

Last March, the Emeryville City Council voted 3-2 to censure Bukowski for a long list of ethical violations, including:

• Failure to pay business license tax on his Doyle Street rental property.
• Disclosure to the public of confidential closed-session items discussed by the City Council. There is speculation that the disclosure had to do with the firing of a city staffer who alleged that the firing was racially motivated. Bukowski sided with the employee, publicly criticizing the handling of the case by then City Manager John Flores and City Attorney Mike Biddle. The city ultimately settled the case for $3.6 million.
• Failure to file the necessary campaign finance reports between October 2003 and 2006, "despite repeated reminders and requests from the City Clerk’s Office and referral to the Fair Political Practices Commission." Bukowski has since been fined by the Fair Political Practices Commission, according to the resolution.
• Soliciting and obtaining personal loans from individuals that exceed limits and terms set by the Political Reform Act and not repaying at least one of those loans. It was disclosed at a public meeting several months ago that Bukowski received a loan from Emeryville developer Francis Collins.
  
• Entering into a consulting contract with Paxio, Inc., an Internet service provider that also has a contract with the city to supply services, and failing to disclose that consulting agreement to his fellow City Council members.
  
• Participating in and influencing decisions of the City Council regarding Paxio while on Paxio's payroll.

Emeryville Official Misused Campaign Cash

Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

(09-29) 15:34 PDT EMERYVILLE -- Emeryville Vice Mayor Ken Bukowski is facing a $15,500 fine for violating state campaign-finance laws, including using more than $2,000 in donors' contributions to pay his house mortgage, officials said Tuesday.

Bukowski, a member of the City Council since 1987 who has served five stints as mayor, acknowledged some missteps but criticized the investigation as an excuse by the state to raise money.

An investigation by the state Fair Political Practices Commission determined that Bukowski and Citizens to Elect Ken Bukowski had committed 11 violations of the Political Reform Act, including failing to file semi-annual campaign statements from 2003 to 2006.

The commission said Bukowski's re-election committee wrote 10 checks to Bukowski and another made payable to "cash" that totaled $2,290 in 2003 and 2004. The payments "were not related to a political, legislative or governmental purpose," and Bukowski used the money for personal expenses, the commission found.

In an interview, Bukowski, 57, acknowledged that he had used the money to pay his mortgage.

"I admit that it was a violation. That was never the question," he said. "The question is the amount of the fine - that's pretty steep. I will repay the money, but I have financial difficulties right now."

In papers submitted to the commission, he said a friend who had been helping him with his campaign "left suddenly" in 2003 and, as a result, his committee's paperwork "was lost."

An additional four checks from Bukowski's re-election campaign were made payable to "cash" in 2003 and 2004 and totaled $1,340 for what Bukowski said was for election-related expenses, the commission determined. Each check was more than $100, which is a violation of the Political Reform Act.

Bukowski also failed to timely file annual statements of economic interests from 2003 to 2006 while serving on the board of the Alameda County Waste Management Authority in his capacity as an Emeryville councilman and mayor, as well as an alternate board member of the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency.

The commission has proposed a $15,500 administrative penalty and will discuss the matter Oct. 8, said Executive Director Roman Porter.

Bukowski said the investigation was unnecessary. "The system is not serving its purpose. It's not about political reform, it's about making money," he said. "I borrowed $2,000 from my campaign account. There's no victim here - I didn't steal the money."

As for as disclosing his economic interests, Bukowski said he didn't know he was required to file the information with each board beyond what was on file with the city clerk's office.

The investigation by the state political watchdog organization was the result of a complaint filed by Emeryville's city clerk.

Bukowski, a retired small business owner, has served as mayor on a rotating basis five times, most recently in 2008.

In March, the City Council voted to censure Bukowski for a variety of conduct, including failing to pay business tax on rental property in the city and accepting a consulting contract with Paxio, an Internet service provider that also has a contract with the city.

In 2007, Bukowski was driving his SUV home from a night city meeting when he struck and killed Michael Smela, 56, a security guard. Bukowski wasn't charged with a crime, but the city agreed to pay $1.125 million in June to settle a civil wrongful death lawsuit filed by Smela's widow.

E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.

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The Oakland Tribune

By Sean Maher
The Oakland Tribune

Posted: 09/28/2009 08:05:30 PM PDT

EMERYVILLE — Mayor Ken Bukowski could be charged up to $15,500 in fines for several campaign fund violations, including using donations to pay for his personal bills, officials said Monday.

Bukowski's re-election committee wrote checks made out to the mayor personally during the 2003 election campaign that totaled almost $2,300, and another $1,340 in checks were made out to "cash," according to the Fair Political Practices Commission.

As part of an agreement awaiting final approval, Bukowski paid the fines after an FPPC investigation found he had committed 11 violations of the Political Reform Act of 1974, FPPC Executive Director Roman Porter said.

"This is an administrative penalty by our commission," Porter said. "I would also note, any violation of the Political Reform Act is punishable as a misdemeanor, but that would require investigation and subsequent prosecution by a district attorney or the attorney general. Those powers don't lie with our agency."

However, those prosecutions are rare, according to the man who wrote the Political Reform Act.

"The DA is usually dealing with murderers and burglars, and they leave the white collar stuff like this to the FPPC," said Bob Stern, who is now president of the nonprofit Center for Governmental Studies in Santa Monica.

In addition to the personal checks, Bukowski failed to file four consecutive campaign statements or keep records necessary to make those statements and failed to file a statement of economic interest that would warn of any personal investments that could become a conflict of interest, the agreement states.

The case arose out of a referral to the FPPC from the Emeryville City Clerk, documents show.

Bukowski was unavailable for comment Monday afternoon.

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Printed from the East Bay Express Web site: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/blogs/east_bay_politician_gets_fined/Content?oid=1203258

East Bay Official Gets Fined September 29, 2009 The state Fair Political Practices Commission has fined Emeryville Vice Mayor Ken Bukowski $15,500 for violating California campaign finance rules. According to the Trib, the FPPC concluded that Bukowski used campaign funds for personal use. In 2008, he wrote checks totaling $2,300 to himself from his campaign account, and another $1,340 were made out to "cash." It is illegal for a politician to use campaign donations to enrich himself. This is not the first time that Bukowski has had ethical or financial troubles. The city was sued last year after he struck and killed a pedestrian in 2007. In addition, the Express reported last year that he had failed to pay his city business taxes for four straight years. Bukowski, who was mayor of Emeryville in 2008, also had failed to pay his property taxes on time. Which raises the question: Did Bukowski use his campaign funds to pay his back taxes? — Robert Gammon