Oceanside Probe of Councilman’s Election Winds Up

A special prosecutor hired by the city of Oceanside is wrapping up an investigation stemming from allegations that Councilman Sam Williamson violated the city’s campaign ordinance during the November campaign.

In an interview on Wednesday, Beatrice Kemp, a former state deputy attorney general who is serving as the special prosecutor, said a decision whether to prosecute the second-term councilman will be made in about two weeks.

Williamson, who waged a successful reelection bid for a council seat in November, has been accused by a rival candidate of failing to accurately disclose campaign gifts received and accepting contributions in excess of the limits set by the city’s campaign law.

If found guilty of the misdemeanor charges, Williamson could be fined $500, serve a six-month sentence in County Jail or both, Kemp said. Kemp also could be removed from office.

‘I Think It’s Just Sour Grapes’

Williamson denies any wrongdoing and dismissed the allegations against him as the work of a disgruntled opponent. The allegations were made by Jim Willis, who ran unsuccessfully for the council post.

“Oh, I think it’s just sour grapes,” Williamson said. “My opposition’s upset that he lost and I’m sure he would love to have my seat.

“We didn’t do anything unethical or illegal. If anything, there might be some technical problem, but I did not knowingly violate the law. I’ve lived here for 35 years. I’m not going to do anything to harm this community. I want to get this investigation done with. I want to clear my name.”

Kemp was hired to investigate the allegations when City Atty. Chuck Revlett removed his office from the case, citing a conflict of interest because of his familiarity with Williamson.

According to Williamson, the probe will cost the city $15,000. But Kemp said the city is being charged on an hourly basis, not a flat rate.

“If, in fact, I am required to try a defendant in this case, it could exceed $15,000,” Kemp said.

The city’s campaign ordinance, which was adopted last May, established campaign reporting requirements and placed a limit on campaign contributions by an individual or an organization.

The ordinance states that no person can contribute more than $250 to a candidate and that no political action committee or any other organization can give more than $500 to a candidate.

According to the charges made by Willis, Williamson undervalued the non-monetary contributions of a charter boat cruise and rental of his campaign headquarters in a campaign disclosure form.

“Mr. Willis says Sam Williamson reported items that were undervalued to fall within the limits of the ordinance,” Kemp said. “You’re supposed to list such in-kind, non-monetary, contributions at fair-market value. Mr. Willis also says that Sam Williamson reported items late, or in some cases, not at all.”

“Williamson deliberately flouted the law and failed to disclose in-kind contributions and expenditures,” said Willis, who worked 10 years with the state Fair Political Practices Commission before retiring.

“I have no personal vendetta against this man,” Willis said. “I really don’t even know him. He says I’m doing it just because I lost. I don’t like being accused of that. He even asked me, ‘Why are you picking on me?’

“I reviewed all the candidates’ reports, not just his,” Willis said. “His was the only one that had any significant irregularities. If we all had to comply with the ordinance, so should he.”

Willis said the councilman was late, for example, in reporting a charter cruise Williamson used to begin his campaign, and that the cruise was undervalued.

Williamson concedes that he failed to report the contribution on time, but said such a mistake was unintentional.

“After a while, when I didn’t get a bill for the cruise, I had my committee contact the charter people,” Williamson said. “They had told me I already paid for it. So we checked our books, and we hadn’t paid for it. So we called them again, and that’s when we were told that it was a gift. By the time we got this cleared, the filing period had passed. But we did list it at a later date.”

Williamson also denies underpricing the contributions. He said his campaign was charged the going rate of $200 for the cruise, and the charter company made an additional $100 contribution later.

“That’s still well below the $500 limit that you’re allowed to receive from a business,” Williamson said.

Kemp, the special prosecutor, said she was also hired by the city to review the ordinance and remove its ambiguous language. Such loopholes may make prosecution difficult, she added.

“For example, in the Williamson matter . . . the ordinance says a PAC or any ‘other organization’ cannot make a contribution in excess of $500,” Kemp said. “Well then, a question that needs to be answered is, does a business classify as an ‘other organization?’ ”

“I must be able to prove that the defendant willfully and knowingly violated the law,” Kemp said. “For me to prosecute, I need evidence that someone was really trying to hide something.”