Calif Gov Won't Fire Spokesman For Calpine Stock Purchase
07-31-01 07:47 PM EST | LOS ANGELES -(Dow Jones)- California Gov. Gray Davis "absolutely (does) not" intend to fire his senior press secretary because he bought stock in Calpine Corp (CPN) in June, Davis' senior political advisor Garry South said Tuesday.
The press secretary, Steve Maviglio, revealed Monday that he bought 300 shares of Calpine stock on June 20, 2001. The disclosure came one day after sources at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said they were investigating members of Davis' administration to see if they bought stock in energy companies using information that was unavailable to the public.
California Secretary of State Bill Jones, who is running for governor against Davis, renewed calls Tuesday for Maviglio's dismissal at a press conference in Los Angeles.
Maviglio said he bought the Calpine stock based on information he read in the newspapers. He also said he will not resign and will only sell his energy stocks if told to do so by his attorney or the governor. He has also owned stock in Enron Corp (ENE) since 1996.
State conflict-of-interest laws say public officials can't negotiate contracts for companies in which they hold stock, and can't use their positions to influence any state decisions about those companies.
Maviglio is not in a position where he could exercise a conflict of interest, said Davis senior political advisor Garry South.
"He is not a policymaker. He says what it is decided that he will say," South said. "To make a statement about something is not a conflict of interest. If that were the case, every person in state government would have to divest every stock they have before they made a public statement."
By law, state employees must file financial disclosure forms once a year and within 30 days of being hired. Jones demanded Tuesday that all members of Davis' staff, as well as consultants and contractors, file updated financial disclosure statements within 48 hours.
Jones said the employees in his own office are current with their financial filings, though they haven't necessarily filed updates.
"My office is involved in elections, not energy," Jones said. He added that the governor's staff needs to update financial disclosure forms for January through July in light of the state's taking on a power-buying role for insolvent utilities in January.
Jones also said he did not accept gubernatorial campaign contributions from energy companies.
Last week, five state energy consultants were fired by Davis' staff for potential conflicts of interest arising from their ownership of Calpine stock. The state has signed nearly half of its $43 billion in long-term energy contracts with Calpine.
The consultants, who were hired by the state in January, didn't file economic interest statements until July, when Jones revealed that consultants and energy traders held stock in energy companies from which they were buying power.
Davis has accused several power suppliers of price gouging, but has spared Calpine the invective, saying the San Jose-based generator has charged prices below that of other generators and has invested in California for the long haul. The California Independent System Operator, however, has listed Calpine as one of the generators that has racked up millions in overcharges for wholesale power.
-By Jessica Berthold, Dow Jones Newswires; 323-658-3872; jessica.berthold@dowjones.com
(This story was originally published by Dow Jones Newswires) |
