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E-mail StoryWeir mum on names
Councilman defies law requiring client disclosure
| Thursday, Mar 15 2007 10:25 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Mar 15 2007 10:58 PM
Bakersfield's newest city council member refused this week to reveal names of his most lucrative clients -- something California law requires of elected officials.
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Ken Weir, a certified public accountant elected to the council in November, declined to provide the state Fair Political Practices Commission with names of customers who paid his private firm more than $10,000 last year.
As of 8 p.m., Weir had not returned two calls to his business Thursday.
In mid-February, the commission asked Weir for details about his real estate holdings and income sources.
Weir's response, dated Tuesday, fails to name 12 people or companies who meet the public disclosure threshold.
Instead, Weir listed the $10,000-plus customers as Client A through Client L and claimed their names are "protected by legally recognized privilege" under the state business code for accountants.
Whether his reasoning flies with the commission -- a state agency that enforces political conflict-of-interest laws, among other things -- remains to be seen.
The commission doesn't comment on specific cases, said spokesman Jon Matthews.
Rules galore
California voters created the commission as part of a 1974 political reform ballot initiative meant to keep money in politics transparent through public disclosure of lobbying activities, campaign contributions and officials' financial interests and potential conflicts.
Commission rules show client names such as Weir's anonymous A-through-L must be public except under specific circumstances.
A lawyer's client can stay secret, for example, if disclosure would expose the client to a possible official investigation or to civil or criminal liability, commission documents say.
Similarly, a patient can remain anonymous if a doctor has a medical specialty that would make the patient's condition obvious.
Names of business customers almost always need to be public unless circumstances are so unusual the very existence of a business relationship would reveal special needs to competitors.
The disclosure rules apply to $10,000-plus customers of businesses for which an official owns 10 percent or more.
Officials who want to keep client names anonymous must make a separate legal case for each person, regulations say.
Weir's Tuesday filing, however, lists the accountants' code as a blanket reason for secrecy.
What's more, the same business code Weir cites as the basis for confidentiality says disclosure is necessary "when specifically required by law."
State law, in turn, requires elected officials to name $10,000-plus customers of their businesses.
Closed door drama
Weir has been under fire since he attended a closed-door meeting of the Bakersfield City Council to discuss a lawsuit filed against the city by one of his former clients -- Gordon Downs -- over the controversial hillside ordinance, which limits some development on hillsides and bluffs in northeast Bakersfield.
A former council candidate, Stuart Gentry, filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission regarding Weir's participation in the meeting.
On advice of private attorney George Martin, Weir withdrew from further discussion of the lawsuit.
In a letter dated Feb. 13, the Fair Political Practices Commission asked for more of Weir's financial information after reviewing his economic interest statement, the so-called "Form 700."
The document is filed by hundreds of local public employees and politicians to show they're not using their government position for personal benefit.
They're required to reveal income sources, investments, property and gifts.
The revised statement Weir submitted Tuesday says his business, Weir and Associates Accountancy Corp., is worth between $100,000 and $1 million. Weir received more than $100,000 in income from the business last year, the form shows.
What's next?
The commission won't say what it thinks of Weir's justification for keeping client names secret.
If the agency decides to look further, its executive director can ask for more information or order disclosure within 14 days.
If the director grants confidentiality, the full five-member commission will take up the matter.
The official -- in this case Weir, if the situation goes this way -- can appeal a disclosure order from the director or commission.
The story so far
• November 2006: Ken Weir is elected to the Bakersfield City Council.
• Jan. 17: Weir attends a closed-door session about a lawsuit against the city regarding the recent hillside ordinance. Weir’s attendance raises eyebrows because the suit was filed by a man who’d been his client through September 2006.
• Soon after, former council candidate Stuart Gentry files a complaint with the state Fair Political Practices Commission. The commission, according to policy, makes no comment as to whether it is looking into the matter.
• Feb. 13: The commission sends a letter to Weir asking for more information about real estate holdings and income sources; Weir has until March 15 to reply.
• Tuesday: Weir files a revised economic interest form but does not name a dozen clients who paid his private accounting business more than $10,000 last year.
Here’s how other local officials filled out their economic interest forms:
• Mike Maggard, a certified public accountant who served as a city councilman before election to the Board of Supervisors in November, listed “Hobin, Houchin & Roselle” and “Wayne Long” as $10,000-plus customers of his CPA firm in recent Form 700s filed with the city and county.
• Murray Tragish, a local lawyer who serves on the Bakersfield Planning Commission, listed no $10,000-plus customers of his law firm on his most recent filing from April 2006.
• Jay Rosenlieb, a former county planning commissioner and a lawyer with Klein, DeNatale, Goldner, Cooper, Rosenlieb & Kimball, LLP, listed “Black, Poonian, Buksa, Oxy, Allaham, Abarca, Grimm” as $10,000-plus clients on his final filing from April 2001.
• David Couch, an investment adviser with Smith Barney and sitting city councilman, filed a list of investments. Names of $10,000-plus clients are only required when an official owns 10 percent or more of a company.