The Liberal OC blog’s Chris Prevatt feels that it is an FPPC violation for Council Members to vote to appoint themselves to municipal commissions and boards that pay a stipend. Prevatt, a high school grad who did not complete college, has purposefully misinterpreted Government Code §§ 87100 which states:
No public official at any level of state or local government shall make, participate in making or in any way attempt to use his official position to influence a governmental decision in which he knows or has reason to know he has a financial interest.
The question is whether or not a stipend constitutes a “financial interest.” Does it? I don’t think so. This law was meant to stop people from getting onto boards so they could vote in a way that would benefit them financially. Getting compensated for your time does not, as such, constitute a “financial interest.” In fact, I can prove that Alvarez and Sarmiento LOST money by serving on these boards. Continue reading