State Officials Suggest Fining Ex-Councilman

Citing a laundry list of undeclared campaign contributions, state officials Friday asked that an administrative law judge fine former Moorpark City Councilman Scott Montgomery $11,735.

The contributions, drawn mostly from Montgomery’s failed 1994 campaign for county supervisor, included donations ranging from $100 to $1,000, some from developers hoping to build in Moorpark.

Mark Morodomi, counsel with the state Fair Political Practices Commission, said California’s 1974 political reform law was written specifically to make sure the public had such information.

“This case is exactly what the voters had in mind when they enacted the law,” he said.

But Montgomery, who resigned from office in 1995 and later pleaded guilty to criminal conflict of interest charges, argued that his failure to disclose the contributions on campaign finance statements was an oversight caused by the sheer scale of his bid for supervisor.

“I wasn’t really prepared for the size of the campaign,” Montgomery said. The campaign netted $60,000 in contributions, Montgomery said, compared to the $2,000 to $2,200 he raised during his 1992 City Council reelection bid.

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“I was overwhelmed.” he said.

Montgomery also noted that he filed amended statements that disclosed the contributions after the commission informed him it was pursuing the case.

But Morodomi argued that the amendments, filed about a year and a half after the original finance statements, should not let Montgomery off the hook.

“There’s nothing that says filing an amendment absolves a candidate,” he said.

After closing arguments, state Administrative Law Judge Milford Maron took the case under advisement. He has 30 days to reach a decision.

Friday’s hearing was the latest in Montgomery’s ongoing legal woes.

In June 1996, Montgomery was sentenced to one day in jail and three years’ probation on conflict of interest charges for accepting a $3,500 loan from a Moorpark businessman and then voting on a contract between the man’s trash-hauling company and the city. Montgomery’s attorney, James Farley, said that conviction is being appealed.

In contrast, the charges Friday are not criminal, and do not carry the threat of jail.

Morodomi also alleged that in 1994, Montgomery received $500 from Moorpark-based A-C Construction and its president, Stephen Anderson, before voting to approve a special use permit for the company. Days after the vote, Montgomery received a $1,000 contribution from the company, Morodomi said.

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But Farley argued that Jaime Aguilera, then Moorpark’s community development director, had told the City Council he planned to grant the request, and that all Montgomery and the other council members voted to do was receive and file the director’s report.

Montgomery admitted that he “probably” knew at the time that Anderson had given to his campaign. He said he could have voiced opposition to the permit, but considered it routine.

Judge Maron said that under similar circumstances, he would have abstained from voting. But he hesitated to characterize Montgomery’s action as a vote to approve the permit.

“The problem I have is, is this a vote?” the judge said.

Morodomi replied: “Is it illegal to participate in these votes? No. Is it illegal not to report these contributions? Yes.”