Diebold Lobbyist Documents Reveal More Problems

[RedEagle]

MONDAY APR. 18, 2005: Diebold Lobbyist Documents Reveal More Problems
Full story at: www.blackboxvoting.org
(documents at BBV)

Black Box Voting has obtained check stubs showing that Diebold Election Systems appears to have misreported its lobbying fees to Rose & Kindel.

Black Box Voting Director Jim March met privately last week with staffers for new California Secretary of State Bruce McPherson, to provide these documents and urge McPherson to remove new appointee Adan Ortega due to conflict of interest.

Ortega has been a senior communications executive at Rose & Kindel. The curious selection of an executive for the Diebold lobbying firm for a position with the office of Secretary of State was noted by the Los Angeles Times, but so far no one has reported the actual amount of money paid by Diebold Election Systems to Rose & Kindel.

The reported amount -- over $100,000 -- shows that Diebold Election Systems has been a major client.

-----snip----

Secretary of State Bruce McPherson has so far ignored complaints from citizens, voting integrity groups, exposure in the press, and documentation showing both significant payments and under-reporting the lobbying fees, and Rose & Kindel's executive Ortega remains an appointee for the new McPherson regime.

March, a Republican, had endorsed McPherson as a fair-minded independent thinker. He has called for the resignation of Ortega and will reconsider his endorsement of McPherson if nothing is done about this matter.


Two problems:

1. Conflict of interest
2. Failure to properly disclose

-----snip------

www.blackboxvoting.org
(documents at BBV)

[Melissa G]

1. Kick for the truth getting out! n/t

[LatePeriduct]

2. sounds like to me.....

Somebody in the upper ranks of the cult in California is trying to over-ride the citizens rights.....

[rumpel]

3. thanks for the post.

[Wilms]

4. Thanks for posting.

[Wilms]

5. What's this doing on the bottom of the page? n/t

[emlev]

6. kick

[althecat]

7. kick...

Hi Big red bird :)

Been a while

[Coexist]

8. kick

[RedEagle]

9. Please let California folks know

Kick

[Wilms]

10. kick n/t

[mgr]

11. A bit of caution

Find the original LA Times article. What position with the SOS is he being considered for? How big is Rose and Kindel?

If the original article does verify these charges, then it should be sent to every senator and assemblyperson in the state.

Mike

[RedEagle]

13. Information on Ortega

The link to the LA Times article may have expired. Here's information from other sources.

Keep in mind that he worked for Jones, who left his position to "consult" for Sequoia, among others from his staff who ended up working for voting machine vendors.


http://www.dfasv.org/node/view/1372

Here are the unacceptable members of McPherson's transition team:
ADAN ORTEGA Jr.
UNACCEPTABLE
Present:
Senior Communications Management Advisor with GCG Rose & Kindel
DIEBOLD is a Client of the firm !!!!!

Past:
Chief Deputy of State for Secretary of State Bill Jones
VP of External Affairs for Metropolitan Water District of So.Calif( 8 years)



http://yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_19027.shtml
(A link to a description of McPherson’s team)


http://www.berkeley.edu/news/in_news/archives/20050318.shtml
(Can link to Sacramento story, requires registration)

March 18, 2005

For Bruce McPherson, it's one house down, one to go, as the governor's choice for secretary of state won easy Senate confirmation Thursday but received a chillier reception in the Assembly....

Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez has told the governor that he will support McPherson's nomination, but "there is uneasiness among the caucus," said Steve Maviglio, Núñez's spokesman.

Maviglio said McPherson's 17-member transition team includes a member of Schwarzenegger's staff, Cynthia Bryant, and several others with suspect agendas, including:

* Steven Merksamer...

* Beth Miller Malek...

* Adan Ortega Jr...

Maviglio questioned McPherson's impartiality in light of such appointments.

"They varnished the transition team with some quality people, but they also have some very partisan political activists that are connected to the governor's initiatives," he said....

Other team members include former state Sen. Deirdre Alpert, D-Coronado; Kevin Starr, former state librarian; BRUCE CAIN, DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE OF GOVERNMENTAL STUDIES AT UC BERKELEY; Ernest Hawkins, former Sacramento County elections chief; and David Lesher, former editor of the California Journal and former assistant business editor at The Sacramento Bee.... Full Story



http://www.cvf.org/news/blog/
Kim Alexander on the Sacramento Bee story

[starmaker]

12. www.rosekindal.com? the ones your talkingabout?

diebold listed as a client along with 399 other corporations
www.rosekindel.com/whoweare.shtml

Ê