Activist Accuses Gates of Misusing Campaign Funds

SANTA ANA —  Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates was accused Friday of illegally using campaign funds to lease space for his election headquarters from a company he and his wife own, according to a complaint filed with the district attorney’s office.

Shirley L. Grindle, a political activist from Orange, charges in the complaint that Gates, who is seeking a fifth term, has paid $1,611 in rent this year to Ortega Equestrian Center in violation of the state Political Reform Act.

Grindle also alleges that Gates improperly used campaign donations to make a $250 contribution to Ortega Equestrian for a charity event involving a horseback-riding competition at the facility.

The stable and riding school, owned by Gates and his wife, Diana, under the name OTRA Inc., is on Calle Arroyo Street in San Juan Capistrano. His campaign committee, called The Friends of Brad Gates, maintains an office at the center. Campaign disclosure statements show that Gates has paid hundreds of dollars in rent to maintain his campaign office at the facility even in non-election years.

“It’s fairly obvious that he cannot use his campaign funds to rent space for his campaign headquarters from a company he owns,” Grindle said. “And why is he maintaining an office in non-election years? I thought, ‘That is kind of nice. You can pay yourself out of your own campaign coffers.’ ”

Besides Friday’s complaint, Grindle made sweeping allegations that Gates might have misused campaign funds to pay thousands of dollars in bills for his car phone and meals for political functions in Lake Arrowhead and as far away as Laughlin, Nev.

The state Political Reform Act prohibits the use of campaign funds for anything other than election-related expenses and bars candidates from using contributions to rent campaign office space on property owned directly by them or their immediate families. The limits on leasing office space were effective Jan. 1.

Violations of the act are misdemeanors punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of three times the amount of the campaign funds in question, up to a limit of $10,000.

Gates’ attorney, Darryl R. Wold, and his campaign manager, Eileen Padberg, called Grindle’s allegations “petty” and “politically motivated” on behalf of Don Bankhead, a retired Fullerton police captain challenging Gates for sheriff in the June election. They said there was no wrongdoing because the rent was paid to a corporation, an arrangement the law does not prohibit.

“The complaint is off the wall. She is stretching so hard to find a violation,” Wold said. “This is not something that jumps out at you like a clear violation, and we have gone into great detail to comply with the law.”

Padberg attacked Grindle’s credibility for announcing the complaint at a political gathering Thursday night at the Irvine Hilton supporting Bankhead, who has been jabbing at Gates’ integrity since early in the race.

“She (Grindle) has always been known as a political watchdog in Orange County,” Padberg said, “but she attends a Bankhead fund-raiser and announces this complaint instead of calling us. She will never have any credibility in my eyes and I hope she doesn’t in anyone else’s either. . . . I can’t believe she is worrying about $200 a month. Why should we move?”

Gates could not be reached for comment Friday.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Wallace J. Wade, head of the district attorney’s special operations unit, acknowledged Friday that he had received Grindle’s complaint. He said his office would review the law and the allegations before deciding whether or not to open a formal investigation.

Grindle, a former Orange County planning commissioner, is primarily known for bird-dogging campaign contributions to the county supervisors to make sure there is no hint of a conflict of interest in any of their votes.

Ten years ago, she led the fight to pass the so-called TINCUP ordinance, which prohibits members of the Board of Supervisors from voting on or influencing decisions that will have a financial or material impact on their major campaign contributors.

Under the law, a supervisor cannot vote on any matter involving a person or company who has donated more than $1,874 to him or her over the previous 48 months.

Since the measure passed in 1978, Grindle has given teeth to the TINCUP ordinance by acting as a watchdog and complaining to the district attorney whenever she suspects wrongdoing.

Grindle said Friday that she began monitoring Gates’ campaign disclosure statements about three weeks ago to see who contributes to him and how he spends his donations. The records she scrutinized are public documents that candidates must file periodically with the Orange County Registrar of Voters.

“I was astonished to see the amount of money and the frequency with which he has spent his campaign funds on entertainment both in and out of Orange County and as far away as Nevada and Lake Arrowhead,” Grindle said. “In all my years looking at the County Board of Supervisors, I have never seen anything like this.”

Grindle questions thousands of dollars Gates has paid in rent to Ortega Equestrian Center over the years to maintain his campaign office at his family’s stable even in non-election years. She also said she is suspicious of campaign contributions that Gates has used to pay for a cellular telephone in his car that, she contends, is probably used for more than running his election campaigns.

According to Gates’ campaign disclosure statements, he spent $9,419.70 in campaign funds for his cellular phone in the last 2 1/2 years. He has spent $2,012 on entertainment and accommodations in Lake Arrowhead and at Harrah’s and the Holiday Inn in Laughlin, Nev.

“He pays some pretty hefty bills for his cellular phone,” Grindle said. “What is he doing? He gives gifts to contributors, throws Christmas parties and sends Christmas cards using campaign funds. I think it is very obvious that he is conducting other things than campaign business.”

Staff writer Lily Eng contributed to this report.