News Coverage

Friday, Oct. 27, 2006 

Albany candidates accused of finance violations

By Justin Hill
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Two Albany residents have sued City Council candidate Caryl O’Keefe and a political committee, alleging violations of city and state campaign finance laws.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Alameda County Superior Court — five days before the City Council was scheduled to meet in executive session in relation to separate allegations of campaign finance violations.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss whether the city should further investigate or pursue litigation in connection with a letter that asks the city to stop Concerned Albany Neighbors (CAN), O’Keefe and candidate Francesco Papalia from continuing to violate the Albany Campaign Finance Reform Act and to take other actions to make sure they are in compliance.

O’Keefe, Papalia and Sally Outis, chairwoman of CAN, said their campaigns and committees did nothing wrong.

“These are scurrilous charges, and there’s nothing to say about them because they’re totally groundless,” said Outis in response to the letter. Outis, along with members of CAN and the O’Keefe campaign committee, is named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Papalia said the letter is part of “a highly organized and orchestrated assault on the Albany electoral process” by environmental groups in an attempt to control who gets elected. He said he plans on submitting a complaint at Monday’s meeting about the fundraising of candidates Marge Atkinson and Joanne Wile.

The suit’s claims stem from at least two pieces of CAN campaign literature mailed and hand-delivered to the residences of Albany voters last month and this month.

The suit says that CAN’s expenditures for the fliers were made at the behest of O’Keefe by virtue of her husband, who was acting as assistant treasurer of CAN and a member of his wife’s campaign committee at the same time. The expenditures were in-kind contributions by a “non-individual person” to a candidate, in violation of city campaign finance law and state campaign disclosure law.

O’Keefe said she and her husband have separated their campaign activities, and there has been no coordination between CAN and her campaign committee.

According to the suit, CAN’s expenditure for one of the fliers was not properly disclosed as an in-kind contribution or independent expenditure on its campaign finance statement for the period ending Sept. 30, violating city and state law.

David Madson, one of the suit’s plaintiffs, declined to say how much it cost to retain the attorney who prepared the suit or how it’s being paid for. John R. Cunningham is the other plaintiff.

“There was a violation of the law,” Madson said. “The city attorney is not enforcing the law, and the only recourse we had to was take legal action to stop the violation of the law.”

The letter, signed by resident Peter Maass, also claims campaign finance violations.

It says Papalia and CAN violated the part of the city’s campaign finance law that makes it unlawful for a candidate or committee supporting or opposing a candidate to solicit or accept from other individuals a contribution that causes the total to exceed $100 for a single election.

The letter also claims that CAN is a controlled committee for O’Keefe and Papalia.

The candidates’ campaigns failed to report expenditures made by their controlled committees because CAN’s expenditures must be reported on the campaign committees’ financial statements, the letter says.

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Waterfront issue may decide Albany City race
Sat, Aug. 19, 2006
By Justin Hill
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
With the future of Albany’s waterfront in the spotlight of city politics, this year’s City Council race is, in a way, a fight over the shoreline.

Four candidates are vying for the two seats currently filled by Robert Good, who opposed large-scale development on the waterfront, and Allan Maris, who favored some development. Good opted not to run for re-election, and Maris can’t run because of term limits.

Battling for their spots in the Nov. 7 election are two women endorsed by Citizens for the Albany Shoreline as well as a retired economist who is open-minded about development at Golden Gate Fields and a real estate agent who wants a balance of open space and development.

Their campaigns begin with the shoreline’s future uncertain.

Southern California developer Rick Caruso had proposed a $200 million development on Golden Gate Fields property. The proposal was to include between 135 and 150 apartments, up to 420,000 square feet of retail as well as open space. It encountered fierce resistance from environmental groups opposed to any development near the shoreline, including Citizens for the Albany Shoreline.

Last month, Caruso abruptly announced he was withdrawing the retail/housing project after the City Council failed to grant him concessions.

Marge Atkinson, co-chairwoman of Citizens for the Albany Shoreline, has taken a leave from the organization so she can run her campaign. She said she wants a park and open space on the land. Atkinson said there would have to be some sort of replacement revenue if the racetrack leaves, but any development should be done in a way that doesn’t interfere with the shoreline.

Joanne Wile, who is also a member of Citizens for the Albany Shoreline, said she wants primarily open space and park. There would have to be development to replace the revenue lost if the racetrack closes, she said, but something smaller than the Caruso proposal.

Caryl O’Keefe, who retired in June as an economist with the Department of Labor, said she would consider proposals for the parking lots where Caruso’s project was proposed.

Francesco Papalia, an Albany real estate agent, said he believes there should be a range of options for the waterfront, where there has to be “a balance between open space and development.” He noted that the voters would have to approve any development.

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