Wolfsheimer, Killea to Pay Political Fines : Politics: The state political watchdog agency assessed the fines for conflict-of-interest and campaign disclosure law violations.

Two San Diego politicians have tentatively agreed to pay a total of $29,000 in fines for violating state conflict-of-interest and campaign disclosure laws, according to Fair Political Practices Commission documents released Monday.

One of the settlements calls for San Diego City Councilwoman Abbe Wolfsheimer to pay $20,000 because her 1989 reelection committee failed to properly identify itself as the source of more than 62,000 mailers. It also said she improperly voted on a huge municipal telecommunications contract in 1989 while holding a considerable amount of stock in the parent company of one of the bidders.

Meanwhile, Sen. Lucy Killea (I-San Diego) has agreed in a separate case to pay $9,000 because her 1989 campaign committee, among other things, failed to report some late contributions to her hotly contested special election victory over Assemblywoman Carol Bentley (R-El Cajon).

The proposed settlements were unveiled as part of the FPPC agenda for its March 5 meeting, when commissioners can accept or reject the tentative fines negotiated by their staff.

On Monday, Killea conceded that her 1989 campaign committee, run by her husband, John, made “technical errors” during the haste of a special election that attracted national attention after the veteran lawmaker was forbidden to take communion by the Roman Catholic diocese of San Diego because of her pro-abortion views.

Among the charges in the eight-count settlement: Killea’s committee failed to disclose more than $16,900 in non-monetary contributions from the state Democratic party and the California League of Conservation Voters.

“We just had such a flood of small contributions that we just got caught short,” Killea said, adding that she has already paid the $9,000 from her personal checking account.

But Wolfsheimer, through an aide, placed the blame for her 1989 irregularities on her consultant at the time, Dick Dresner, whom she is suing because of his management of that campaign.

The FPPC’s charges against Wolfsheimer allege that her reelection committee failed to identify itself on the outside of 11 mass-mailings ranging from 200 to 20,000 pieces during the 1989 race. The mailings carried endorsements from Sierra Club members, Democrats, Republicans and an educational committee.

“Mrs. Wolfsheimer won reelection to office by a narrow margin,” the FPPC settlement said. “The quantity and nature of these mailers may have contributed to her victory.”

Through her aide, Wolfsheimer said Dresner was responsible for the oversight and said she will attempt to recover the portion of her fine attributable to the mailers from her lawsuit against the consultant.

“Certainly, a lesson to be learned by all candidates is ‘Don’t trust your campaign consultants,’ ” Wolfsheimer said in a statement.

The FPPC settlement also alleges that Wolfsheimer violated state law when she voted in May, 1989, to reopen bidding on a lucrative city telephone contract while holding about 600 shares in GTE Corp. stock, parent company of one of the firms interested in the business.

Although the firm, General Telephone of California, subsequently withdrew from competition for the multimillion-dollar contract, the FPPC said Wolfsheimer owned $36,900 worth of the stock when she made the motion to reconsider a bid awarded to a competitor.

The FPPC said this violated the state’s conflict-of-interest law, but the settlement said the agency found no evidence Wolfsheimer was “intentionally acting to benefit her economic interest.”

Wolfsheimer said Monday the voting infraction was “insignificant” and said it was the same “technical violation” committed by Mayor Maureen O’Connor and former Councilman Bruce Henderson--both of whom had financial interests in bidders.

An FPPC spokeswoman said the agency looked into the votes by O’Connor and Henderson but found no wrongdoing.

Wolfsheimer also said she has not signed the stipulated agreement with the FPPC and is continuing to work with the agency.

In an unrelated case, the FPPC also released a stipulated agreement calling for a $2,000 fine from Citizens for a Strong Chula Vista, which failed to disclose a late report for its mailer on behalf of mayoral candidate Leonard Moore.