California IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Ethics Chief Accused of Conflict

As chairman of the Fair Political Practices Commission, Ravi Mehta enforces state political ethics laws. But consumer groups and at least two other FPPC commissioners are questioning whether he has ethical conflicts of his own. The concerns are over Mehta’s personal and financial ties to Gov. Pete Wilson’s chief of staff, Bob White. Specifically, White paid Mehta for doing personal legal work last year while the FPPC was investigating a member of Wilson’s Cabinet, former Agriculture Secretary Henry Voss. “If he was doing work for someone in the governor’s office, that raises concerns about his impartiality in any case involving the governor’s office or any member of the governor’s staff,” Commissioner Deborah Seiler said. “It sets up the appearance of a very cozy relationship there,” said Commissioner James Rushford, who, like Mehta, is a Republican. Mehta denied any impropriety, saying that he has come under attack because his efforts to make the agency more aggressive have upset the status quo. “Since I’ve been here I have done everything completely aboveboard,” Mehta said in an article Thursday in the Sacramento Bee. Wilson appointed Mehta to the post last year. A longtime friend of White, Mehta agreed to do some legal work to assist him in the purchase of a $475,000 home without a real estate agent, according to public records and interviews. White paid Mehta between $250 and $1,000, according to a financial disclosure statement filed by Mehta. About the same time as the deal, White gave Mehta a crystal sculpture worth about $200, which Mehta did not disclose as a gift on his statement of economic interests. Mehta said an exemption applied.