DON PERATA RECEIVES INAUGURAL "GOLDEN PIG" AWARD
FROM US TERM LIMITS AFTER SPENDING $1 MILLION OF SPECIAL INTEREST MONEY ON HIS LAVISH LIFESTYLE "TAX-FREE"
Trophy Awarded to Legislature’s Ultimate Perk Addict
US Term Limits, the nation’s leading term limits advocacy organization, yesterday announced it was inaugurating the "Golden Pig" Award for individual California politicians whose misconduct in office remind us of the necessity for term limits. Recipients are elected officials who have repeatedly acted in an arrogant and self-serving manner, gorged themselves on political perks, betrayed the public trust and demonstrated contempt for the voters who elected them.
The first recipient of the "Golden Pig" is Senate President Don Perata, whose abuse of office and consumption of taxpayer and special interest financed perks is so extreme that the MayGolden Pig Award Trophy, "Piggy" issue of the East Bay Express revealed in its story "Living Large" that Perata has spent at least a whopping $1,027,568.38 "on parties and high-end lifestyle expenditures" out of his political campaign accounts. The article stated that "Perata’s campaign spending habits bear more than a passing resemblance to the behavior that got him in hot water with federal law enforcement officials. The FBI and the US Attorney’s Office are investigating whether Perata has enriched himself by taking kickbacks from family members, trusted friends, and donors."
Perata and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez each already pocket $130,000 salaries, making them the highest paid state legislators in the country. What’s more, Perata, and other state legislators pocket thousands of additional dollars in tax-free per diem with taxpayers also paying for his car, gas card and automotive repair. The East Bay Express story reported Perata’s campaign spending is "all tax-free. In practice, the campaign money has allowed him to nearly double his $130,000 annual legislator’s salary with more than $103,000 a year in tax-free income."
"There is no greater Poster Politician for Term Limits than the ethically-challenged Don Perata. His greedy pursuit of perks makes Perata the Legislature’s Ultimate Perk Addict. It is appropriate that Perata is the first recipient of the ‘Golden Pig’ Award because he is the King of Personal Pork," declared Jeremy Johnson, Director of State Affairs for US Term Limits.
"Don Perata is scheduled to be termed out of the Senate next year. No wonder he is so desperate that he’s working with fellow political boss Fabian Nunez to keep his power longer. Perata’s arrogance – and his contempt for the voters of California – is simply mind boggling," continued Johnson.
The East Bay Express report points out that Perata, who was not seriously challenged in the 2000 or 2004 campaigns, paid his son, Nick Perata, "more than $1.2 million from 2000 through 2004 to do his mailers and consulting work for him."
The newspaper also raises numerous disturbing examples of not just lavish spending but questionable expenditures that it asserts clearly cross the line into supplementing Perata’s personal income. Just some examples:
- Perata has spent at least $119,517 on restaurants and paid for at least 62 meals with bills that exceeded $500.
- Perata stays at some of the state’s most expensive and luxurious hotels – including the Lodge at Pebble Beach, the Four Seasons, the Ritz Carlton, the Beverly Hilton and the Biltmore – for an expenditure of at least $68,503. Strangely, Perata has spent $7,883 on what the paper calls "posh lodging near his homes" in both the Bay Area and Sacramento.
- Perata paid for a $50,000 charter flight with Komar Aviation of Santa Ana. Perata does not specify where he went, but other published reports reveal that Komar typically charged $10,626 to fly eight people from LA to Aspen so Perata’s expenditures are extraordinary.
- Perata has charged $30,048 in Target purchases to his personal campaign accounts.
- Perata has no campaign offices but has spent $6,574 at two Oakland art galleries for "office" expenses. He’s spent $11,773 at Office Depot in Oakland, $1,826 in "office supplies" from Montclair Village Wines.
- Perata has spent a total of $6,814 at Montclair Village Wines and given varying descriptions of the justification for the purchases and he’s spent $11,738 on total alcohol purchases.
- Perata has spent $14,747 at Macy’s, Bullock’s and Nordstrom. He spent $6,669 at Abigail women’s apparel on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland in 2002 alone.
- The paper reports "Perata also spends campaign funds on basic household items such as groceries and coffee." His favorite stores for such supplies are two close to his house – spending $5,007 for groceries from Village Market and $6,600 for items from Terrace Coffee. Perata has also spent $1,163 at a local Home Depot.
For more information on Don Perata’s "Golden Pig" Award-winning lavish lifestyle financed by special interests and campaign contributors, check out this article in the Easy Bay Express.
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