Finance disclosure
allegations denied
Sac Bee Excloo
YUBA CITY 10/11/02 (YSN) - Allegations of political chicanery erupted Friday after one of three candidates in a bitter race for Sutter County 4th district supervisor failed to file a required financial report on time.
Romy Saini was notified of the oversight and warned that the state Fair Political Practices Commission may fine him for the omission, a clerk for the county registrar of voters said.
Candidates Jesse Santana and Jim Whiteaker did meet their filing obligations. Their reports disclosed Santana raising just over $25,000 and Whiteaker just over $20,000.
Saini first said his campaign as self-financed, implying an exception to filing requirements. Later, he said he had in fact filed the disclosure statement properly -- but not with the county clerk.
"I mailed it to the Secretary of State the Friday or Saturday before it was due. I didn't give a copy to the county clerk," Saini said.
A copy of the finance report Saini claimed to have sent to the state office was delivered to the county office Friday.
In it, Saini reported receiving no contributions whatsoever. "So far I have used my own funds," the statement said. Only his family members have volunteered to work on his campaign, he added.
Total expenditures between August 1 and Oct. 4, were just over $5,000, with more than half of it used to buy signs and posters, Saini reported.
Santana backers have contended that Saini, a real estate agent who works in the same realty office as Whiteaker's father, is a cat's paw candidate recruited to run as a ploy to siphon off Punjabi-American votes.
Whiteaker has said his father, former sheriff Roy Whiteaker, has advised him on campaign strategy, but Saini steadfastly maintains he is running on his own hook.
Saini said he is funding his own campaign, has conducted no fund raisers and has refused campaign contributions from supportive friends. These should be clear signals of his independence, Saini said.
allegations denied
Sac Bee Excloo
YUBA CITY 10/11/02 (YSN) - Allegations of political chicanery erupted Friday after one of three candidates in a bitter race for Sutter County 4th district supervisor failed to file a required financial report on time.
Romy Saini was notified of the oversight and warned that the state Fair Political Practices Commission may fine him for the omission, a clerk for the county registrar of voters said.
Candidates Jesse Santana and Jim Whiteaker did meet their filing obligations. Their reports disclosed Santana raising just over $25,000 and Whiteaker just over $20,000.
Saini first said his campaign as self-financed, implying an exception to filing requirements. Later, he said he had in fact filed the disclosure statement properly -- but not with the county clerk.
"I mailed it to the Secretary of State the Friday or Saturday before it was due. I didn't give a copy to the county clerk," Saini said.
A copy of the finance report Saini claimed to have sent to the state office was delivered to the county office Friday.
In it, Saini reported receiving no contributions whatsoever. "So far I have used my own funds," the statement said. Only his family members have volunteered to work on his campaign, he added.
Total expenditures between August 1 and Oct. 4, were just over $5,000, with more than half of it used to buy signs and posters, Saini reported.
Santana backers have contended that Saini, a real estate agent who works in the same realty office as Whiteaker's father, is a cat's paw candidate recruited to run as a ploy to siphon off Punjabi-American votes.
Whiteaker has said his father, former sheriff Roy Whiteaker, has advised him on campaign strategy, but Saini steadfastly maintains he is running on his own hook.
Saini said he is funding his own campaign, has conducted no fund raisers and has refused campaign contributions from supportive friends. These should be clear signals of his independence, Saini said.
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