Ex-State Official to Pay $16,200 in Ethics Case

The former director of the state Office of Information Technology has agreed to pay a $16,200 fine for violating revolving door and conflict-of-interest provisions of the Political Reform Act, the state’s political watchdog agency has reported.

Steve Kolodney, the former director, was a key figure in a massive Department of Motor Vehicles computer project that cost the state more than $51 million before it was scrapped. Kolodney made decisions in 1988 that led to Tandem Computers of Cupertino receiving the DMV contract in noncompetitive bidding.

Tandem later hired Kolodney as a consultant to oversee the DMV contract. In that role, Kolodney had frequent contact with state workers involved with the computer project, a violation of the state’s revolving door law.

FPPC commissioners will consider whether to approve the agreement when they meet April 4.

Meanwhile, the FPPC staff has recommended that the state Republican Party be fined $60,000 for various campaign reporting violations stemming from activities from 1990 to 1992. The violations include failing to file campaign statements on time and sending out mass mailings without a sender identification.