The Government (and Elected Representatives) We Deserve

As reported in varous news outlets recently, the full House of Representatives took the rare step -only the ninth time in all of Congressional history- of officially reprimanding one of its members; Representative Laura Richardson (D-CA):

...for conduct involving compelling official staff members to perform campaign work, using official resources for campaign purposes, using official resources for personal purposes, and obstruction of this Committee's investigation.

This story, dealing as it does with our country's Congress, has considerable national interest but has an even greater interest on a local level because, as most know, before Rep. Richardson was elected to the House, she also served as a California Assemblywoman and, before that, as a City Councilwoman representing the Sixth District here in Long Beach.

I have linked a .pdf copy of the Ethics Committee's official report in the box above but all of the relevant public documents can be found at this Ethics Committee link:

http://ethics.house.gov/press-release/statement-chairman-and-ranking-member-committee-ethics-regarding-allegations-relating

Those interested in viewing C-SPAN's coverage of the Congressional reprimand proceedings, can watch that here:

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/LauraR

The Ethics Committee is entirely bi-partisan, five Republicans and five Democrats. Beyond this, the ranking member, Rep. Linda T. Sanchez, is also a California Democrat and co-authored the Ethics Committee's official statement on the matter.

Controversy and allegations of misconduct have been following Rep. Richardson for pretty much all of her elected public life.

Long Beach City Council (2000-2006):

Richardson's first Council election occurred when just 20.4% of 6th District registered voters turned out. Richardson received 50.1% of those ballots, or 1195 votes. 1195 votes in a District that, at the time, had 11,858 registered voters.

In her re-election bid in 2004, a more disappointing 17.2% of 6th District registered voters showed up and Richardson received 58% of those ballots, or 1257 votes. 1257 votes out of 13,001 registered 6th District voters.

Just 10.1% of 6th District registered voters placed Richardson on the Council in 2000. A mere seven (7) votes seperated her from current 6th District Councilman Dee Andrews. Seven votes.

Only 9.6% of 6th District registered voters agreed to return Richardson to her Council seat in 2004, and yet, sadly, that was enough.

http://www.longbeach.gov/cityclerk/elections/results/archive.asp

While a Councilmember in Long Beach Richardson became fairly notorious for once having publicly proclaimed Calvin Broadus, Jr. as "Long Beach's Number One Son." (Broadus is formerly known as "Snoop Dogg" but these days, since reportedly discovering Rastafarianism, he is calling himself "Snoop Lion".)

Richardson publicly gushed over Broadus despite his lengthy criminal record in Long Beach and his having made a very handsome living in the West Coast Hip Hop scene by glamorizing gang violence, the shooting of police officers, and the objectification and abuse of women.

Also while still a Councilmember in Long Beach, Richardson reportedly ran up debts to a number of local merchants for promoting one year's Martin Luther King Jr. Parade and Festival, debts she allegedly never paid and left town for Sacramento still owing.

California State Assembly:

Richardson abandoned her 6th District Long Beach constituents midway through her second Council term and sought higher office in the State Assembly. She ran successfully and represented the 55th District in 2006 and 2007. During her 2006 election, Richardson received 68.2% of the ballots. 

During her time as a California State Assemblywoman, Richardson became mired in a sub-prime mortgage controversy over a house she had purchased in Sacramento which she allegedly abandoned after her election to Congress. After falling behind in her payments she lost the house in foreclosure and it was ultimately sold at auction. Capitol Weekly reported that Richardson had left: "...nearly $600,000 in unpaid loans and fees, including nearly $9,000 in property taxes."

http://capitolweekly.net/article.php%3Fxid=x4ptlrmv0w0r6x

Richardson's lender, Washington Mutual Bank, unexpectedly resolved that controversy in her favor, but more on that a little later.

U.S. House of Representatives:

The late Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA) passed away in 2007, leaving a vacancy in California's 37th Congressional District. Richardson opted to abandon her 55th State Assembly District constituents and compete in the special election then Gov. Schwarzenegger held to fill the vacancy.

Richardson failed to receive more than 50% of the total votes in the June 26 special election so she had to compete against candidates from each participating political party in an August 21 run-off. Richardson prevailed in the run-off and was elected to the 110th Congress.

This current House reprimand is not Rep. Richardson's first brush with House Ethics investigators. In 2010 the House Ethics Committee looked into allegations that Richardson had accepted an inappropriate gift from Washington Mutual Bank (mentioned previously) when that bank took the uncommon step of rescinding the completed foreclosure sale of the Sacramento house she was accused of having abandoned. During that investigation, the House Committee found no wrong-doing and cleared Richardson of all charges.

Capitol Weekly mentions that during her first two years in Congress, at least 18 full-time staffers had chosen to leave her service. While turnover among Congressional staffers is not uncommon, a comparatively high number of such departures over so short a time can indicate a real lack of judgment and principled leadership.

http://www.capitolweekly.net/article.php?xid=yahs5bzduet8va

Rep. Richardson's conduct has drawn extremely critical attention from a government watchdog group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW.) In September 2011 (as it also had in 2008 and 2009), CREW named Richardson as one of the most corrupt members of Congress and published a seven page report justifying its judgment:

http://crew.3cdn.net/fcbed053a64a88fe72_o4m6b8uyj.pdf

Rep. Charles Dent (R-PA) led the Ethics Investigation Sub-Committee (ISC) during this matter most recently concluded. During his comments on the House floor prior to the vote to reprimand, Dent identified one former Richardson staffer -who had resigned- as "a detailee from the Wounded Warrior Program" (meaning a military veteran who had suffered a service-connected injury.)

Within a letter of resignation to Richardson, that person wrote:

"As a service-connected disabled vereran, it is sad to say I would rather be at war in Afghanistan, than work under people that are morally corrupt."

        (Time stamp 18:15 on the C-SPAN recording)

As a military veteran myself, I can hardly think of a comment more critical of Rep. Richardson's conduct in this matter than that.

I think Rep. Richardson has been a known -and considerably unprincipled- quantity in our local, State, and federal government for many, many years and through several elections. Even so, whether through its ignorance, apathy, or some combination of each, the electorate has continued to place her in, and return her to, elected public office.

For me, this is just the latest and most glaring local example of the cold, hard truth that we truly do get the government, and the elected representatives, that we deserve.

I welcome your questions and comments.