Arrest in a shocking investigation opens up SoS race

by Brian Leubitz

First, I’ll simply state that everybody deserves their day in court, and all the charges are merely allegations at this point. But, wow, if only a small fraction of what was revealed is true, you have the makings of an action-packed Hollywood blockbuster.

In the part that pertains to Yee, the long and short of it was that he sold proclamations and small favors in exchange for campaign contributions. (Some of which exceed the contribution limits in the SF mayoral race.) In the affidavit, which you can find over the flip or on scribd here, Yee is said to have told the federal informants that he would not make money for himself for any official acts, and that he did not want to discuss pay-for-play deals. However, he is alleged to have participated in said pay-for-play for campaign contributions at the behest of his fundraising consultant, and alleged gun runner, Keith Jackson.

State Senator Leland Yee, one of the most powerful Democratic politicians in California, was arrested Wednesday morning in a major series of federal raids in the Bay Area and Sacramento targeting corruption and gang activity.

Federal agents arrested Lee(sic) at his home in San Francisco Wednesday morning and he was driven to the federal courthouse while his offices in Sacramento were raided.

The federal complaint filed March 24 and unsealed Wednesday alleges Sen. Yee was engaged in soliciting illegal campaign donations in exchange for political favors and was involved in a conspiracy to traffic firearms. (CBS  SF)

Now, as for the SoS race, you have to figure that with Sen. Yee out of the running, Sen. Alex Padilla is now the big frontrunner. That being said, Democrat Derek Cressman could make a strong challenge if he can continue to raise enough money to increase his name ID. Former Republican Dan Schnur and current Republican Pete Peterson could also push to make that second line of the ballot.

Whatever else you do today, take a few minutes to read the affidavit. It’s like something out of a Mario Puzo novel.

UPDATE: I managed to get a snapshot of Keith Jackson’s page from Singer Associates website, which has now been taken down. You can read the full affidavit over the flip, as well as viewing a CBS-SF news report.

UPDATE 2: Yee has now officially quit the Secretary of State race.