We had the opportunity to talk with realtors lobbyist Kim Schaefer today on KERN AM Radio.
Previously, Ms. Schaefer had privately claimed that her organization was promised votes by local elected officials to kill the popular home improvement financing program (PACE) in exchange for political cover.
You can see her claim here:
If true, a leading California public records attorney that we’ve retained has described her words as the “smoking gun” in a violation of state law. Basically, potential illegal collusion between Kern County Supervisors or Bakersfield city councilmembers and realtor lobbyists.
Our question today for Ms. Schaefer during the encounter on the radio was simple and clear: “Is the fix in for tonight for City Council vote to potentially kill the PACE program within Bakersfield itself?” Despite her private claims of securing votes, Ms. Schaefer denied the City Council had been influenced by her tactics.
Our attorney, Karl Olson, has put the Kern County Board of Supervisors on notice that he can launch a discovery process to get to the bottom of this matter at the County-level. We can only hope that City Council members have not engaged in these unsavory tactics that Ms. Schaefer has described in writing.
Listen to excerpts from the today’s Richard Beene Show below:
Scott Peterson is executive director of Checks and Balances Project, a national investigative blog that seeks to hold government officials, lobbyists and corporate management accountable to the public. Funding for C&BP comes from sustainable economy philanthropies and donors.
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