Representative Ken Calvert (R-CA) is a nine-term member of Congress, representing California’s 44th congressional district. Rep. Calvert’s ethics issues stem from (1) his use of earmarks for personal gain; (2) his illegal land purchase; and, (3) his connections to a lobbying firm under investigation. Rep. Calvert was included in CREW’s 2006, 2007, and 2008 reports on congressional corruption.
Earmarking for Personal Financial Benefit
In 2005, Rep. Calvert and his real estate partner, Woodrow Harpole, Jr., paid $550,000 for a four acre piece of land at Martin Street and Seaton Avenue in Perris, just 4 miles south of the March Air Reserve Base in California. Less than a year after buying the land, without making any improvements to the parcel, they sold the property for $985,000, a 79% increase. During this period, Rep. Calvert pushed through an earmark to secure $8 million for an overhaul and expansion of a freeway interchange 16 miles from the property, as well as an additional $1.5 million for commercial development in the area around the airfield.
In another deal, a group of investors bought property a few blocks from the site of the proposed interchange, for $975,000. Within six months after the earmark for the interchange was appropriated, the parcel of land sold for $1.45 million. Rep. Calvert’s firm received a commission on the sale.
By using his position to earmark funds to increase the value of his own property, Rep. Calvert violated the prohibition against using his position as a member of Congress to advance his own financial interests and engaged in conduct that does not reflect creditably on the House.
Relationship with Lobbying Firm
The former lobbying firm of Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White (“Copeland Lowery”) is currently under investigation by a federal grand jury for its ties to Appropriations Committee ranking member Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA). On May 23, 2006, as part of its investigation into Rep. Lewis’ ties to Mr. Lowery, the FBI obtained Rep. Calvert’s financial records at the same time that it pulled Rep. Lewis’s financial records. Rep. Calvert helped pass through at least 13 earmarks sought by Copeland Lowery in 2005, adding up to over $91 million.
Rep. Calvert may have violated federal law and House rules by accepting campaign contributions from Copeland Lowery clients in exchange for earmarks.
Land Deals
A grand jury in Riverside County, California has examined the 2006 land sale by the Jurupa Community Services District to Rep. Calvert and his business partners and concluded the sale was illegal because the district failed to first offer the land to other public agencies.
In August 2008, the Jurupa Area Recreation and Park District (JARPD) filed a lawsuit against the Jurupa Community Services District for fraud and deceit for selling the property to Rep. Calvert and his partners.
On June 16, 2009, the Riverside County supervisors voted 3-1 to approve a zoning change to Rep. Calvert’s property, reclassifying it from agricultural to commercial property. The change will allow Rep. Calvert and his business partner, Stadium Properties, to build a storage facility that will likely increase the value of the property. Despite the increase in land value, JARPD continues to hope to be able to purchase the property from Stadium Properties, but it is unclear if Stadium Properties will sell the land. Rep. Calvert describes himself as a “passive one-third partner” in the land partnership.
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