Bill Jones for Secretary of State
Tony Miller: Setting the Record Straight
"The big advantage I have is that people have a basis for judging me. I'm
the Acting Secretary of State. I have a track record."
(Los Angeles Times, May 1994)
"He (Miller) has been Eu's Chief Deputy since 1981 charged with running
day-to-day operations the past 12 years before being named Acting
Secretary of State."
(Gannet News - 6/13/94)
During the primary election, Democrat nominee Tony Miller carefully
cultivated a public image as a nonpartisan, nonpolitical career elections
professional whose primary interest will be campaign reform. Fortunately
for Mr. Miller, the voters did not have the information necessary to
properly evaluate his 18 year record - particularly on the issues of
voter fraud, Political Reform Act violations, conflicts of interest and
mismanagement.
Time and time again, Tony Miller the nonpolitician publicly states his
position on issues - and then a check of the official record shows his
position to be completely different. For example, in an August discussion
on voter fraud, Tony Miller stated on the Los Angeles cable TV show "Full
Disclosure" that he supports complete public access to almost all voter
information so citizens can help prevent voter fraud. Setting the record
straight astoundingly shows that Tony Miller sponsored SB 1518 (Marks) in
1994 to make the entire voter file confidential - legislation that will
directly prevent or deter citizen attempts to identify voter fraud. As a
nonpolitician, how could Tony Miller have forgotten a major bill like SB
1518 when he answered the question? Could there be something to hide?
Voters will elect their next Secretary of State based on honesty,
integrity, experience and strong, effective leadership. Please review the
following key issues in the various SOS divisions as we set the record
straight on Tony Miller - and then make up your mind on which candidate
deserves to be our next Secretary of State.
1. Political Reform Division: Campaign Finance Reform
"I've been involved with this as an issue since I served on the
FPPC back in 1975 ...... You know, we've had a series of investigations,
indictments and convictions and it's really tarnished the elective
process."
(Sacramento News & Review - 3/3/94)
" Public officials who abuse the public trust by being dishonest
undermine everybody in public service. I value honesty. I'm an eagle
Scout...and certainly the values of Scouting, as I learned then, apply to
my life. And honesty is right up there at the top."
(Sacramento News & Review - 3/3/94)
If this is Tony Miller's top issue, then an honest review of his record
shows a complete disregard for the law and incredible conflicts of interest:
Two outside audits have shown that, under Tony Miller from 1984 to
present, the SOS office has forgiven an incredible $6.2 million in fines
levied against some of California's largest political players, money that
should go to the state's General Fund.
While Chief Deputy, Miller also served as Treasurer for Eu's campaign
committees - a direct conflict of interest.
In 1980, the Eu campaign committee loaned Miller $39,000 to buy his
personal residence - when campaign funds are to be used for a reasonably
related political, legislative or governmental purpose. As a top election
official, this action shows complete disregard for the spirit of the
Political Reform Act.
During this time, her campaign committees were fined 6 times by SOS for
late filing of reports and other violations, for a total of $29, 280.
Tony Miller cut these fines to a mere $650. In contrast, after an
investigation by the Franchise Tax Board, the FPPC fined Eu $8000 for 95
campaign law violations, after Miller tried to intervene on her behalf.
In 12 years, Bill Jones has had 3 minor violations and was fined a total
of $30.
In another action, Miller used his power to cut a $14, 350 fine owed by
one of March Fong Eu's biggest contributors, Nicholas Wang, down to $50.
At the time, Miller was Treasurer of the Friends of March Fong Eu (FMFE)
campaign committee and Wang contributed a total of $34, 756. The FMFE
committee failed to notify Mr. Wang that he was required to file major
donor reports. When Wang was also fined $1500 by the FPPC, Miller
personally represented him before the FPPC to get it reduced. When that
failed, Miller personally paid the $1500 fine for Wang and then was
reimbursed by the FMFE committee!
"I'm (Miller) finding them (the Legislature) to be rather hypocritical
when they talk about campaign finance reform."
(San Diego Union Tribune - 5/2/94)
As Acting Secretary of State in 1994, Miller failed to take a position
on all of the 14 bills dealing with campaign finance reform in the
Legislature. His lack of involvement on these measures shows the same
hypocrisy and a complete lack of leadership on his "top priority".
Bill Jones has a strong record of fighting for campaign finance reform.
In 1994, Bill authored a 5 bill package of reform legislation and Tony
Miller was nowhere to be found:
ACA 39, Local Public Campaign Financing, to ban any ordinances that would
allow taxpayer funding of political campaigns.
AB 3225, Voting Compensation, which prohibits free gifts in exchange for
voting. This bill will stop the unethical campaign practices of providing
a dozen donuts in return for voting.
AB 3224, Campaign Reform, which bans all cash contributions, public
financing of campaigns, off year fundraising, and all monetary transfers
between candidates.
ACR 102, Political Reform Act of 1994, which creates a bi-partisan
commission to review the Political Reform Act of 1974 for the modern day
changes necessary to develop more effective campaign reform.
(This bill was actively supported by Common Cause as an appropriate way
to begin the critically needed review process. Again, Miller did not
support - which is very surprising given his quote, "Just as Watergate
spawned the Political reform Act of 1974, I clearly believe that
Shrimpgate should spawn the reform of the 1990's." (Los Angeles Times -
5/18/94).
Proposed SOS legislation to prohibit foreign governments from making
donations to California initiative campaigns (8/30/94).
Miller has also flip-flopped on the important issue of public campaign
financing. In a recent article, Miller was quoted as saying he doesn't
support public financing. "That amounts, in many respects, to welfare for
politicians.....I don't think taxpayers' money should go to some of these
things, quite frankly, especially given the fiscal crisis we're facing,
and trying to feed hungry kids, for goodness sakes."
(California Journal - March, 1994)
On 9/2/94, in an appearance on "This Week in California" on KRON-TV in
San Francisco, Miller flip-flopped his position and supported the SB 588
(Lockyer) which includes public financing of campaigns.
In addition, Jones has been actively involved in supporting the
Proposition 73 reconstruction by the Supreme Court and was the only
candidate to file an amicus brief on it's behalf with the Supreme Court.
2. Election Division: Voter Fraud
"I (Miller) am committed to doing everything within my power to safeguard
the elections process in this state and I will leave no stone unturned in
doing so."
(State Senate Select Committee on Voting Practices and Procedures voter
fraud hearing, June 17, 1994)
"Although the official voter registration in California is about 14
million, election officials concede that at least a million of those
listed are illegal or nonexistent. The number may be as high as 2 million
- no one is really certain- but whatever its true dimensions, the
phenomenon of phantom voters is expanding and represents a potentially
serious threat to the integrity of the voting process."
(Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee - 9/1/94)
The voters expect the California election process to be honest and free
of abuse. Once again , the record reveals a different Tony Miller. While
Miller turns over all the stones in the election process to stop fraud,
the boulders remain purposely untouched. A special state Senate Select
Committee on Voting Procedures has recently uncovered countless examples
of election abuse with illegal aliens, animals, children, and even the
deceased being registered to vote throughout California. In a state of
over 14 million registered voters, the Secretary of State's Office has
never admitted that voter fraud is a problem nor established an effective
enforcement unit to deal with the problem - until Miller became a candidate.
The issue of voter fraud recently captured renewed media attention due to
a recent expose by KCAL-TV in Los Angeles (see Attachment 1) and the
report that Mario Aburto, the illegal alien who allegedly assassinated
Mexico's leading presidential candidate Donaldo Colosio, was registered
to vote in Los Angeles County.
In 1985, a Sacramento television station conducted its own study of voter
registration fraud, using information provided by the Immigration and
Naturalization Service. The study revealed that 4% of the registered
voters examined were non-citizens in the Sacramento area. The Secretary
of State's Office said at the time that the problem of non-citizens being
registered to vote needed more study. Tony Miller's response to
non-citizens being registered to vote in 1985 was to make a slight
modification to the voter affidavit form. Miller's response to the news
that Mario Aburto was illegally registered to vote was to hold a press
conference and again support a minor modification to the voter
registration form.
During the primary, Miller campaigned on his qualifications and effective
record at the Secretary of State's Office. But under intense questioning
at the Senate Select Committee hearing regarding the SOS office lack of
action to stop fraud, Miller (the previous official spokesman for Eu)
stated, "I can't speak for the prior Secretary of State. I assumed this
position on February 17th of this year. I have my own priorities. This is
one of them." Miller has consistently taken credit for running the office
when it is perceived (falsely) to be well run. He is quick to deny
responsibility when it is time for public accountability and scrutiny.
Another example was a 1988 city council election in Inglewood. Even with
strong evidence of massive voter fraud , Tony Miller failed to take
action to investigate and correct the election. And after 18 years of
being aware of the problem of non-citizens being registered to vote,
Miller's action on voter fraud has consisted of what The San Francisco
Chronicle called an "allegedly improved voter registration card that asks
at the top, in itsy-bitsy bright red print: 'Are You a U.S. Citizen?'"
To insure the integrity of our voting process, Bill will vigorously
attack the problem of election abuses and voter fraud. He has introduced
a common sense, hard hitting plan (see Attachment 2) to crackdown on
rampant voter fraud. Highlights include:
A positive purge of the voter rolls to remove the estimated 1- 2 million
voters who are illegal, have died or moved away. This will save a minimum
of $3 - $5 million per election..
Requirements that citizens present photo identification for registration
and voting: California is one of only five states without this law.
Creation of stricter enforcement and stiffer penalties for bounty hunters
Provisions for reconciling ballots at the precinct level
A joint task force with the Attorney General's Office to investigate and
prosecute voter fraud
Again, on 3 of the 4 key bills in the Legislature affecting voter fraud,
Miller did not take a position and was nowhere to be found.
Incredibly, he failed to take a position on any of the Motor Voter
implementation bills heard in the Legislature, including AB 167x
(Jones/Johnson).
3. Corporations Division
Tony Miller is running on a platform "based on restoring the faith of
California's people in the ability of government to lead......by the
creation of jobs through a more responsive and streamlined government."
(Tony Miller biography, 1994)
But under Miller, the SOS office has been plagued with major computer
problems which have negatively impacted California's businesses and
wasted millions of our tax dollars.
The Office of the Legislative Analyst recently issued a report
criticizing state government for numerous computer system failures and
cited the Secretary of State's Office as one of the agencies which has
experienced major problems. The Legislative Analyst previously
criticized the Secretary of State's Office for having a "poor automation
track record."
Specifically, the Secretary of State's Corporate Filing Division
implemented a new Corporate Filing Automation system in 1987 after a
series of delays and programming problems. The system was supposed to
provide the public and government agencies with more accurate and timely
corporate status information and save $1.3 million over the first four
years. But, according to the Office of Information Technology (OIT),
design changes made during the development of the system, without OIT
approval, led to huge inefficiencies which dramatically increased costs
during its first several years of operation. Increased computer and
personnel expenses cost the taxpayers at least $4,981,000 in extra
costs. The Legislative Analyst declared at the time, "The Secretary of
State's Office has made only limited efforts to address the problem and
these have proven futile.... they have not taken sufficient action to
reduce costs and increase the level of efficiency in the Corporate Filing
Division."
4. Uniform Commercial Code Division
In addition, the Secretary of State's Optical Disk System in the Uniform
Commercial Code Division was a failure and had to be scrapped after three
and a half years of planning. The system was designed to reduce the
amount of time required to verify legal claims on personal property
offered as collateral for commercial loans. Because lenders must request
a file search from the UCC Division to ensure that property offered as
collateral hasn't already been pledged, program delays brought the
secured commercial lending industry to a virtual halt.
But the amount of time required to conduct a file search increased from
14 days to 73 days, which resulted in a virtual halt in secured lending
activity as lenders were unable to make timely verifications of
property. The system was determined to be a failure on May 22, 1989,
even before the 30 day test period was over. The Secretary of State's
Office then said it needed $1.5 million to return to the old manual
system of processing.
This system is so slow that other government agencies, such as the
Department of Toxics, spend our taxpayer dollars to contract with an
Lexus/Nexus to get the same information that the UCC system should
provide.
In order to better serve the taxpayers, Bill Jones will establish a
complete total quality management program to streamline and modernize all
divisions within the office. He will also use his business experience to
implement a fee accountability program that reviews the level of specific
services provided for the fees that are paid by the taxpayers. Bill will
reduce any fees that are overcharged due to management inefficiency and
waste.
5. State Archives Division
The contracts for the programs in the Archives Division also show
mismanagement. According to the Bureau of State Audits, "The Secretary
of State circumvented competitive bid requirements for a consulting
contract for the development and implementation of it's new History Hall.
Although other firms could have completed the contract, the department
issued a sole source contract to one consulting firm."
Major state contract violations were also found for the Oral History
program and the ten other contracts. On seven of these contracts, the
department fully paid for work not completed. One contract for $29, 230
was paid in full two years before contract completion, another for $34,
320 was paid in full one year prior to completion.
The Secretary of State made no official reply on any of these major
violations.
6. General Services Division
According to another state audit report, "SOS has not established written
policies, procedures, and descriptions of control mechanisms to ensure
that the agency's contracting complies with applicable provisions of law,
rules and regulations. In addition, the contract manager and contract
staff have not been adequately trained in contract management. Failure
to follow the prescribed law, rules, and regulations lessens the
effectiveness of the State's effort in ensuring that contracts are
completed in its best interest."
This is not surprising when you consider that the SOS does not have an
internal auditor position. As Secretary of State, Bill will have a
complete audit done of all existing contracts and establish a full time
auditor position.
7. World Trade Commission
The Secretary of State serves an important function as an ex officio
member of the California State World Trade Commission. Tony Miller's
campaign material boasts that,
"Tony helped write the law that created the California State World Trade
Commission. Working with the Commission to promote California's
agricultural and manufacturing exports is Tony's top priority."
This was Tony's original top priority - until Bill Jones started talking
about the voter fraud problem in California. Then voter fraud became his
top priority. But don't be fooled. In spite of Tony Miller's efforts to
take credit for creating the Commission, California's agriculture and
business issues apparently are not very high on his list. Official
minutes of the World Trade Commission show that Tony Miller has not
attended a single meeting in the past eight years. As California's
economy spiraled into the recession, the Lt. Governor and various state
legislators regularly attended or sent their representatives to the
meetings to work on important issues that would help our state recover
and compete more effectively in a global market place. Meanwhile, Tony
Miller had the opportunity to provide real leadership on a critical
statewide issue - and failed.
Bill Jones will use his business experience to revitalize this position
so that the Secretary of State is once again an aggressive leader on
behalf of California's economy worldwide.
These are just a few of the highlights to exemplify the "efficiency" of
the office over the past 18 years. As evidenced by the scandals in the
Legislature, abuses of power exist when there is a lack of public
accountability to the taxpayers. The SOS office is totally out of touch
with public accountability when compared with the other branches of
state government. The next section describes the Bill Jones reform plan
to bring crucial public accountability back to this critically important
state office.
Dedication to Excellence: Agenda for Reform
BILL JONES' PLAN OF ACTION FOR HIS TOP PRIORITIES AS SECRETARY OF STATE:
The critical changes necessary to reform the Secretary of State's office
start with public accountability. The Secretary of State has a
responsibility to inform the California taxpayers of the actions and
decisions that impact their ability to participate in our democratic
process. This has not been done - which has created a totally inaccurate
perception of responsive and efficient management. It's time for new
leadership. My first priority would be full and complete public access
to all legally available records and election materials. My plan for the
office includes:
1. Revitalize public accountability
I will hold an annual State of the Election address similar to the
Governor's State of the State. This annual speech will lay out my
priorities for the year and give a report on a definable standard of
criteria that would provide the public with an understanding of the
office's accomplishments for the year. These criteria will include:
Legislative priorities for the year.
Summary of voter outreach programs and results
Efforts to investigate/prosecute voter fraud.
Enforcement information on Political Reform Act violations such as fines
assessed, fines collected, etc.
Key election information
Other important information to be developed
In addition, I will hold regular press availabilities to discuss SOS
issues and create citizen advisory boards to provide input on the
various SOS responsibilities such as elections, outreach, voter fraud,
notary publics etc.
2. Strong public outreach implementing the motor voter and other voter participation programs:
*vote by mail
*computerization of campaign reports, all ballot information, candidate
information, election returns, etc.
*statewide media campaign - and work with the media to sponsor debates
where feasible
*strong outreach to schools - create outreach program with Superintendent
of Public Instruction
*other pilot programs using special elections for experiments or demonstration
3. Aggressive enforcement of voter misconduct and voter fraud:
There is no question that fraud-free elections must be the highest
priority of the Secretary of State. A host of endemic problems dating
back more than a decade undermine confidence in our system. I have
developed a detailed, comprehensive 12-point plan to address these problems.
A. Institute a positive purge of voter rolls: An estimated 1 million to 2
million voters who are listed on voter rolls are illegal, dead or have
moved away. The potential for fraud is immense, and the cost of sending
these non-existent voters campaign materials is $3 - $5 million a year.
That money could be better spent on fraud prevention, enforcement and
voter outreach. Enacting this proposal is especially important before
the implementation of the National Voter Registration Act (Motor Voter)
when we will add millions more to the voter rolls.
B. Modify federal law to allow INS data to be cross-referenced with state
voter rolls: The DMV has already successfully implemented the state law
requiring a check on immigration status to obtain a driver's license.
C. Require applicants for voter registration to provide their Social
Security Number on voter registration affidavits: Additional identifying
information is an essential part of fraud detection.
D. Require voters to present photo ID for registration and voting:
California is only one of five states that does not already require this.
E. Require groups providing voter registration services to identify all
persons acting as an agent and require that those agents be provided with
oral warnings regarding non-citizen registration: Testimony at a Senate
Select Committee on Voting Practices and Procedures made it abundantly
clear that voter registration drives can become a vehicle, purposefully
or accidentally, for voter improprieties.
F. Establish a joint task force with the Attorney General to investigate
and prosecute voter fraud: Testimony at the Senate Select Committee
provided case after case of specific, serious breaches of election law;
without exception, those in positions of authority, did nothing. This
task force will provide the Secretary of State with investigative and
prosecutorial expertise in cracking down on fraud.
G. Restructure and expand a new "Motor Voter" fraud division: There are
now a total of three fraud investigators in California--a state with 14
million registered voters. When the National Voter Registration Act is
implemented, this unit will be even more critical.
H. Require voters to sign voter rolls, under penalty of perjury,
attesting to the fact that they are the person registered to vote: This
proposal addresses two of the fundamental weaknesses in our current
election system--a lack of meaningful penalties and a lack of voter
identification verification procedures.
I. Require ballots at the precinct level be reconciled so the number of
absentee ballots is recorded: This closes the loophole that prevents any
official record of how many ballots were actually received at the polls
from being kept.
J. Reinstate the request for a naturalization number on voter
registration forms: This information, which is readily available, was
required until 1976. It assists with voter identification and
cross-referencing.
K.Repeal laws allowing voter registration to be used to establish
residency: Voter registration should be for voting only. This law
actually provides an incentive for non-citizens and those in this country
illegally to register.
L.Require persons who assist others in registering to vote to attest
under penalty of perjury that they have read the registrant the
prohibition on non-citizen registration: This provision works in
conjunction with requirements for voter registration drive groups, and
serves as a reminder to their agents.
4. Campaign Reform
As Secretary of State, I will continue to pursue an aggressive
legislative agenda to ensure that necessary reforms in election law are
enacted. I will build upon my legislative package from this year, including:
Legislation that prohibits political contributions from foreign
governments and foreign nationals to California initiative campaigns.
Closes the loophole from federal law.
AB 3111, (Political Corruption) which calls for immediate removal from
public office of any official convicted of political corruption charges.
AB 3224, (Campaign Finance Reform) which banned any cash contributions,
banned monetary transfers between candidates, banned off-year fundraising
and banned public funding of campaigns.
1. Contribution limits consistent with Prop. 73
2. A ban on off-year fundraising
3. Ban on public financing
4. Seek federal funding for Motor Voter
ACR 102, Political Reform Act of 1994, which creates a bi-partisan
commission to review the Political Reform Act of 1974 for the modern day
changes necessary to develop more effective campaign reform.
Legislation that tightens up the statutes determining candidate ballot
designations.
Legislation to make office non-partisan
Administratively implement computerization of candidate finance reports.
5. Improving the State's Business Climate:
Adjust the $800 minimum corporate tax for start-up companies: The
state's minimum corporate tax increased from $200 in 1986 to $800 in
1990; the change in the law was part of the 1987 omnibus federal tax
conformity bill. Since then, new incorporations have declined by
19,000. We need to encourage job creation and business formation. I
propose to implement a graduated tax--no tax the first year of business,
increasing $200 each year until the maximum $800 fee is reached. This
will help corporations in the first years of life when their owners are
struggling hardest and capital is most scarce.
Amnesty for corporate deadwood: Many people who incorporated have
abandoned their companies rather than pay the minimum tax and the cost to
dissolve the company. These records make the Corporate Filing Division
less effective, and the Franchise Tax Board is sending out tax notices to
corporate officers that will never be enforced. I will implement an
amnesty program that reduces the dissolution cost for inactive
corporations to the original $200 so that they can be cleared from the rolls.
Create a one-stop shop for businesses seeking to incorporate: When
businesses want to incorporate, the first stop is usually the Secretary
of State's Office. The Secretary is the official keeper of all corporate
records--articles of incorporation, statement of officers, etc. It is
not the last stop for businesses, however. A whole host of taxing and
regulatory agencies must be contacted. I will implement my plan to make
the Secretary of State the one-stop shop for business start-up by linking
the state's taxing and regulatory agencies together through the Office.
The Small Business Advocate's Office at the Trade & Commerce Agency and
the California Chamber of Commerce already provide vital information and
assistance on starting a new business--those resources will be
coordinated with and incorporated into the one-stop shop for maximum
effectiveness.
Revitalize the SOS role on the World Trade Commission: Despite
California's stubbornly high unemployment rate, there are bright spots in
our economy. California is home to more "gazelles"--fast-growing
companies--than any other state. While we are suffering the loss of
federal defense-related jobs, we also have a pool of talent that will
provide the genius needed to successfully complete our "defense
conversion." One of the keys to employment growth--which is the key to
recovering from this recession--is exports. Poised on the edge of the
Pacific Rim, with NAFTA in place, and with a new round of GATT
negotiations, California is uniquely poised to emerge as a dominant force
in the world economy. This will be one of my highest priorities.
Automation of the Secretary of State functions: Despite dismal failures
to computerize key functions of the Secretary of State's operations, the
need to automate and modernize has not diminished. The Corporate Filing
Division and the Uniform Commercial Code systems--the site of
multi-million-dollar boondoggles--are still most logical places to
start. The positive impact on our business climate, and the money saved
by reduced staff time and effort, are too important to be ignored.
Automating the system will also be necessary to full integrate the
functions of disparate regulatory agencies into a seamless one-stop
shop. These same innovations can be applied to the elections division,
as well, to enhance accessibility and accountability of state government.
Management and Customer Service: Implement total quality management and fee accountability programs to provide increased standards of customer
service and fiscal review to the taxpayers of California.
Fiscal Accountability: Develop position for internal auditor to stop
contract violations and save state money.
___________
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