LAWMAKERS ORDER REINER CAMPAIGN AUDIT.Byline: Steve Geissinger Sacramento BureauSACRAMENTO - Legislators ordered the state Auditor's Office on Wednesday to investigate whether Hollywood figure and political activist Rob Reiner Robert "Rob" Reiner (born March 6, 1945) is an American actor, director, producer, writer, children's advocate and political activist. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie Bunker's and Edith Baines-Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on improperly used millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to promote his proposed preschool initiative. The Joint Legislative Audit Committee, acting on behalf of the Democrat-dominated Legislature, voted 11-0 to instruct the independent auditor Independent Auditor An external auditor with a certified public accounting designation that qualifies him or her to provide an auditor's report. Notes: These auditors aren't affiliated with the company being audited. to probe Reiner's performance as chairman of a state commission that allocates tobacco tax revenue for various uses. The auditor will focus on whether the First Five Commission's $23 million ad campaign promoting preschool constituted an improper use of public funds See Fund, 3. See also: Public for political purposes. The ads ran as Reiner worked to qualify a universal preschool
Sen. David Cox Prominent people named David Cox:
Cox said he also wants the audit to look into what he called a lack of competitive bidding Competitive bidding A securities offering process in which securities firms submit competing bids to the issuer for the securities the issuer wishes to sell. competitive bidding 1. in hiring of consultants and unusually high payments to them. Cox compared the situation to scandals involving use of public funds for political purposes that led to the downfall of former Republican Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush and former Democratic Secretary of State Kevin Shelley. Frommer said he supports Reiner but that ``it is very important for us to make sure this commission is properly spending its money, that it's accounted for, that there are proper ethics being observed in contracting practices and there is no collusion between a state agency and a political campaign for purposes of passing an initiative.'' In a letter to lawmakers Wednesday, Reiner denied any wrongdoing wrong·do·er n. One who does wrong, especially morally or ethically. wrong  do and urged them to conduct the investigation.
The First Five Commission was created with tobacco tax revenue from Reiner-supported Proposition 10, approved by voters in 1998. |
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