Former Galt Chamber organizations face $39,000 fine

Two organizations formerly affiliated with the Galt District Chamber of Commerce have been fined a combined $39,000 by the Fair Political Practices Commission for failing to report all their campaign contributions and expenditures in a timely manner, in 2002 according to FPPC documents.

Officials from Businesses United for Good Government and the Galt Economic Development Task Force, along with former chamber President Rex Albright, agreed to pay the fine, the FPPC reported. The payment has already been made, but it will be refunded if the FPPC commission overrules its staff about the fine, according to FPPC spokesman Roman Porter.

BUGG, the chamber's political action committee until it disbanded recently, collected campaign contributions and spent the money on pro-business candidates for the Galt City Council. BUGG also spent money on local ballot measures along with school board and fire district candidates.

The chamber disbanded BUGG earlier this year, said chamber President Rose LaVine and Sacramento attorney Brian Hildreth. LaVine said Wednesday she didn't know whether the chamber will form a new political action committee.

According to the FPPC, Albright and representatives from the two organizations agreed that they violated the Political Reform Act by failing to disclose late contributions and expenditures in 2002. The FPPC fined the chamber's Economic Development Task Force $23,000 and BUGG another $16,000.

"Under the Administrative Procedures Act, it is the equivalent of a civil settlement," Hildreth said.

According to FPPC documents, the task force, which registered with the state Secretary of State's office as a committee Nov. 5, 2002, failed to report several contributions and expenditures within 24 hours of their receipt.The 24-hour requirement applies to transactions 16 days prior to the election.

According to the FPPC document, the Economic Development Task Force:

• Received $16,699 in contributions 16 days or less before the 2002 election and transferred the same amount to BUGG without disclosing it within the required 24 hours.

• Received $9,500 from Emerald Park Co. and $3,000 from Elliott Homes, both of them housing developers, plus $2,500 from the Building Industry Association. These were not reported within the 24-hour deadline.

• Contributed of $2,000 and $4,969 to BUGG without reporting it within the 24-hour deadline.

FPPC hearing

The Fair Political Practices Commission will consider the recommended $39,000 fine against the Galt Economic Development Task Force, Businesses United for Good Government and Rex Albright, former treasurer for both organizations, at 10 a.m. June 12 at 428 J St., Suite 800, Sacramento.

The commission will either approve or deny the FPPC staff's fine, change the amount or require a full evidentiary hearing before the commission.

Source: Fair Political Practices Commission

Additionally, BUGG reportedly:

• Received $6,969 within the final 16 days before the 2002 city election and spent $5,000 to Measure R, which opposed a slow-growth limitation.

• Received three contributions totaling nearly $8,000 from the Economic Development Task Force and a loan from the chamber without meeting the 24-hour deadline.

• Contributed, along with Albright, $5,000 against the slow-growth initiative, again without disclosing it within 24 hours.

Albright, now executive director of the Calistoga Chamber of Commerce, said Wednesday that he acted with the best of intentions.

"I am not a campaign coordinator," Albright said by phone from Calistoga Wednesday afternoon. "I followed the rules as best I knew then. I had to report contributions within 24 hours, but I didn't know that."

Albright left the Galt chamber in July 2003 to become president of the Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce. He then joined the Calistoga Chamber a year ago.

"It's not money they were trying to hide," LaVine said. "It was reported incorrectly."

Hildreth declined to state who his clients are now that BUGG and the Economic Development Task Force have been disbanded, though he acknowledged that Albright is one of his clients.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

papercut wrote on Jun 5, 2008 5:00 PM:

" Here's another interesting website that shows the ignorance and the spider web coming together between businesses and organizations like the chamber and the council reps and even banks boards of directors that control themhttp://www.stocktoncourt.org/grandjury/2004/case1402.htm. "

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papercut wrote on Jun 5, 2008 4:17 PM:

" When're they going to investigate the Lodi chamber and all those trips to China? Have you checked out the list of dealers and players with this group of wasted time and money. Grow more grapes, make more wine and the hell with any decent jobs in this area. The chambers have become the biggest anti-union and union busting organizations in this country. It's time they became self sufficient and a taxable organization. Do you notice the big spenders at the head table and the poor job they do of bringing well paying companies to Lodi so they won't upset the big boys that control them? With practices like using other organizations like BUGG, who were local Galt developers making large contributions to the chamber for various, shall we say, favors. Go to http://www.thegaltherald.com/story2.shtml to find out for yourselves and see what crooked and undserhanded tactics a typical chamber of commerce uses. Lodi operates in the same fashion and is being looked at very closely. "

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Pat Maple wrote on Jun 5, 2008 3:45 PM:

" As far as I know Albright was an employee of the Chamber. concerned1 is right...the Chamber has been rife with crooked dealers and players. And guess who is going to pay...not them, the membership is. 2002 is only the tip of the ice-berg. They did much the same in 2004 and even more gargabe in 2006. The FPPC has been put on notice and a formal complaint is in the works. Stand Up for Galt is next and one of the weasels is still on the Chamber Board of Directors. I think the wheeler and dealers should be made to pay, one way or the other. "

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concerned1 wrote on Jun 5, 2008 7:48 AM:

" All that is left to do now is round up the god awful Chamber folks, a few local realtors, and a few other key players of this deceptive group and run them out of town. Whose names haven't been mentioned yet that are permanent Chamber players behind the scenes? Hiding behind a lawyer now, heh? Figures. This was no accident, but deception on Albright's part and culpability of the Chamber Board at the time. The Sentinel needs to seek out the Chamber Board of 2002 and find out how "good" businesses could go so BAD and how the Galt Chamber attracted so many weasels. Now they're like a bunch of rats on a sinking ship. "

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