Bruce McFarland submitted this editorial to SCVTalk.com : In a written editorial on the KHTS website, dated March 11, 2008, Carl Goldman stated that Bob Kellar has gotten a raw deal, saying: “Bob is being attacked for making a simple mistake while filling out a very confusing Fair Political Practices Commission Form. He has admitted his mistake and corrected it. What more could you ask for? “
Unfortunately, Bob Kellar virtually admitted at Tuesday night’s Council meeting that the reason he did not, and is still not willing to fully complete the Form 700, is because he doesn’t think real estate agent should have to do that. The instruction information for the form 700 even gives examples of how real estate agents must handle their commissions.
There is no exception for completing that form. The only consideration is about how the form is filled out. It is a very narrow consideration that says the name of the person involved with the transaction may be withheld. If Kellar wanted to assert that, he would still need to list that/those transactions and state why he believes he has the right to exclude the person’s name. Real estate agents are not exempt from filing completed forms.
The reason we have these kinds of laws is so the public and the press has a chance to see who their elected officials are doing business with and are making money from. If elected officials are monetarily connected to people that might be considered a conflict of interest, we need to know it. Kellar’s claim that he’s done nothing wrong doesn’t make it true.
Goldman’s assertion that “Kellar admitted his mistake and corrected it,” is absolutely untrue.
I called Carl Goldman yesterday afternoon to challenge Mr. Kellar to an on-air debate, but I don’t expect Mr. Goldman to even make an attempt to make it happen. He has endorsed Kellar and stated (at the end of the editorial) that:
“My wife Jeri and I are ready to lead the charge to make certain Bob is re-elected to our City Council. We’re proud to be the voice defending the areas Bob is being politically attacked on. I hope you’ll join us in our support of Bob Kellar.”
It would be nice if the News Department at KHTS had some integrity and at least tried to cover both sides of the issue, but they haven’t. Carol Rock’s March 10 news article on the issue is titled “Mayor Corrects ‘Simple Mistake’.”
It is certainly not a news story. It is an opinion piece that shamelessly whitewashes the issues and tries to make many excuses for Kellar’s failure to comply with the law. It contains material and factual inaccuracies, and would certainly be tossed back to the reporter at any legitimate newsdesk. They never even contacted me for my side of the issue, much less state my positions.
It will be interesting to see how this all turns out.
- Bruce McFarland