Political notebook: Local Republican group accuses former treasurer of misusing funds
| Sunday, Mar 14 2010 06:12 PM
Last Updated Sunday, Mar 14 2010 06:17 PM
A local Republican group has accused its former treasurer of misusing funds and says it has turned financial paperwork over to the Bakersfield Police Department.
The Republican Assembly of Kern County, or RAKC, sent out a press release late Saturday night announcing its allegations against former treasurer Paul Stine. RAKC is the local chapter of the California Republican Assembly, a conservative group that touts itself as "the conscience of the Republican Party."
Stine, on advice of his attorney, declined Sunday to comment on the allegations.
Martin Bertram, RAKC president, said board members audited the group's books after Stine stepped down earlier this year and found that between June and December of 2009, he had taken about $5,600 that was not authorized by the board.
"At some point, the bank account hit bottom and all of the money we had was gone," Bertram said.
But, he added, it appears Stine made cash deposits to pay back some or all of the funds before he left the treasurer position.
"Cash deposits were made, but we haven't verified the source," Bertram said. "He claims to have paid the money back."
Bertram said board members had been asking for financial reports before Stine stepped down in January.
"He hadn't been doing his job," Bertram said.
Stine, until recently, has been intensely active behind the scenes of local politics. He is known for digging voraciously into campaign finance reports of rival candidates -- particularly clients of local Republican political consultant Mark Abernathy.
A complaint Stine filed with the California Fair Political Practices Commission led to Abernathy paying a $22,500 fine earlier this year. More recently, Stine filed a complaint with the local elections office questioning whether lingering campaign debts of Dean Haddock, an Abernathy client, are legal. The matter is still pending. Haddock was previously slated to run against Ken Mettler, former RAKC president and current president of the statewide group, in a state Assembly race, though Haddock dropped out last month. Stine was an unpaid Mettler supporter who helped research opponents.
Stine recently told The Californian he had stopped being politically active so he could attend to family matters.
As to why RAKC would announce allegations of misconduct against one of its former officers, Bertram said the group is "very public" and is part of a state organization that professes to be the Republican Party's conscience.
"We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard," Bertram said.
The group had to tell its membership about the incident. "It was inevitable it would become public knowledge," he said.
-- Gretchen Wenner, staff writer
