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Weir files client list today

The Bakersfield Californian | Friday, Mar 23 2007 10:40 AM

Last Updated: Friday, Mar 23 2007 4:28 PM

Ken Weir Jr. filed his updated disclosure statement this morning with the city clerk’s office.

State regulators ordered Bakersfield’s new city councilman to release the names of clients who paid him $10,000 or more last year — or provide legal justification for anonymity — by 5 p.m. Monday.

Some names behind the business names listed, according to state records and company Web sites, include:

• Gary Chambers, president of Ace Hydraulic Sales & Service Inc. in Bakersfield.

• Connie Smithson, Brittan Industries in Bakersfield.

• Baldo Cisneros, Cisneros Restaurants Inc. of Bakersfield which includes Los Hermanos Restaurants, Que Pasa Mexican Cafe, The Catering Shop.

• Rhonda Van Tassell of Europro Inc. tanning salons in Bakersfield.

• Mike Maggard of Maggard & Co. CPA’s, the accounting firm of the former city councilman who is now a county supervisor.

• Brett Prather, Prather Drywall & Plastering Inc. in Bakersfield.

• Mabel McKelvey of Wexford Capital, LLC in Bakersfield.

• Jimmy Spicer of Spicer Wireline Inc. in Bakersfield.

• John Osborne of Tri-Steel Corp in Bakersfield, a construction company that manufactures and installs rebar, among other things.

• Bruce Bryant, president of Western Service Inc. in Bakersfield, a trucking company specializing in local construction jobs.

• Vic Gifford and Phil Keeler of Technical Wireline Service Inc. of Bakersfield.

A woman who answered the phone Friday afternoon at the oilfield company’s Aldrin Court office said there was “no comment” when a reporter called, adding that “Phil was on vacation.” The woman said Gifford had “nothing to do with” the situation.

The woman would not say whether officers at Technical Well Services International were the same as those of Technical Wireline Service Inc. The Well Services firm shares the same Aldrin Court address and phone number as Wireline and lists itself as a division of Wireline on its Web site, www.twsi.com. The site lists Gifford as president and Keeler as vice president.

“I’ve been doing business with him for 20 years,” Bryant said of Weir. “He’s always been up front, trustworthy and honorable.”

Bryant said he didn’t know all of the details driving the disclosure episode but said: “It’s not important to me. I’d give him a good recommendation to anyone.”

Weir is a certified public accountant. He was elected to the council’s Ward 3 seat in November.

Every year, public officials must disclose certain information about income, investment, property and gifts in economic interest statements.

Specifically required are names of $10,000-plus clients.

After initially not listing any clients who paid him more than $10,000, Weir filed a revised statement that still did not disclose names of a dozen $10,000-plus customers of his business, Weir and Associates Accountancy Corp.

The revised statement called those customers clients A through L. He said accountant-client privilege allowed them to remain anonymous.

But commission rules, buttressed by case law, show that officials’ large clients can stay secret only in rare circumstances. Even doctors and lawyers must disclose names except in special circumstances that require commission approval on a case-by-case basis, rules state.