Deddeh Tops List of Local Lawmakers’ Pay

Sen. Wadie Deddeh (D-Chula Vista) earned almost $20,000 in speaking fees last year, more than three times as much as any other San Diego County legislator, according to reports released this week by the Fair Political Practices Commission.

Deddeh also reported receiving gifts worth $2,483 and outside income of at least $46,000 to supplement his Senate salary, which pays him $37,105 a year plus about $75 per day for his expenses when the Legislature is in session.

The statements of economic interest--filed annually by all legislators--show that, except for Deddeh, members of San Diego County’s delegation in Sacramento earn relatively little for speaking engagements and have few other sources of outside income.

More than half of Deddeh’s speaking fees came from one source--the San Diego Community College District Foundation, which paid him $10,000 for 10 engagements during 1986. Most of the speeches were to community college social science classes, though Deddeh gave a commencement address to City College graduates in May.

Deddeh also was paid to speak before several private groups, including companies owning interests in railroads, geothermal energy and insurance. His fees for those speeches ranged from $150 to $2,500 per speech.

Despite his outside income and investments, and property holdings worth at least $742,000, Deddeh showed on his reports and explained in an interview that he is still paying back $100,000 he borrowed from two friends and a woman who works for him in his Chula Vista office.

Deddeh said he borrowed the money four years ago when he could not afford to make the approximately $5,000 a month in payments on his many property holdings and was unable to sell any of the land to raise the cash he needed. He said Barbara Hunsaker, an administrative assistant in his district office, offered to borrow $20,000 against her National City house and lend it to Deddeh.

Other than Deddeh, San Diego County’s other legislators have relatively simple financial backgrounds, the reports show.

Assemblyman Steve Peace (D-Chula Vista) earned $6,250 in speaking fees, received $9,223 in gifts and earned at least $20,000 in other outside income last year, his report showed. Peace also reported investments worth more than $900,000--much of it connected with a film production company he founded in the 1970s.

Among the gifts Peace received was a trip to Thailand for him, his wife and their 7-year-old son. Peace accompanied Assemblyman Mike Roos on what Peace said was a mission to open up markets for California agricultural products in that Southeast Asian country. Peace, who is a member of the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee, also received trips to meetings in Disneyland, San Francisco and Dallas from the California Cable Television Assn.

Sen. Marian Bergeson (R--Newport Beach), whose district includes parts of rural North County, reported receiving $5,792 in speaking fees and $7,999 in gifts. Bergeson’s gifts included $1,080-a-year memberships in two Orange County yacht clubs and a $410 membership in a country club.

Sen. William Craven (R-Oceanside) reported $4,000 in speaking fees and $5,054 in gifts, including a free trip to Australia and New Zealand paid for by Dow Chemical and the California Institute for Technological Exchange, a group associated with former Gov. Edmund G. (Pat) Brown.

Assemblyman Robert Frazee (R-Carlsbad) received $500 for speaking engagements and $8,141 in gifts, including a free fishing trip from the California Forest Protective Assn. and a $1,070 membership in a Sacramento athletic club.

Eight of the 11 San Diego area legislators reported receiving free parking at Lindbergh Field from the San Diego Unified Port District. The value of the passes ranged from $240 reported by Assemblywoman Lucy Killea (D-San Diego) to $500 reported by Assemblyman Bill Bradley (R-San Marcos). Bergeson, Craven and Assemblyman Peter Chacon (D-San Diego) did not report receiving free airport parking.

Although legislators are required to list outside income on their reports, the categories under which the income is reported are so broad that it is impossible to determine the net worth of a particular legislator. Members may, for example, list income as “between $1,001 and $10,000” or “more than $10,000.”

The reports do show that Craven has investments and property worth at least $182,000. Frazee has holdings worth at least $311,000; Bergeson, $111,000; Bradley, $303,000; Sen. Jim Ellis (R-San Diego), $142,000; Killea (D-San Diego), $21,000; Chacon (D-San Diego), $10,000, and Assemblyman Larry Stirling (R-San Diego), no holdings. Legislators are not required to list their homes or money held in bank accounts, insurance policies, credit unions, government bonds or mutual funds except when such holdings are producing income.