Doolittle campaign says it owes $137,000 to his wife

By David Whitney, Sacramento Bee

February 2, 2007

Rep. John Doolittle's campaign committee reported Thursday that it owed the Roseville Republican's wife nearly $137,000 in fundraising commissions lingering from the 2006 elections, and that its year-end debts exceeded cash reserves by $166,000.

The consequence is that Doolittle now is soliciting contributions and planning fundraisers for his 2008 campaign that, in the early going at least, will be raising money largely to pay off his wife's company, which is operated out of the couple's suburban Virginia home.

"Instead of recommitting himself to his constituents as he promised, this means he will be recommitting himself to improving his own financial interests," said Naomi Seligman Steiner, spokeswoman for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning advocacy group that has been a fierce critic of Doolittle's arrangement with his wife's company.

During the 2005-06 election cycle, Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions racked up almost $224,000 in commissions from the Doolittle campaign. The standard congressional salary last year was $162,500.

Doolittle ran into fierce criticism during his 2006 election over the commissions he had paid his wife.

Critics charged that the practice, considered unethical by some professional fundraisers, had the effect of pumping money from contributors directly into his family checkbook.

Last month Doolittle said that his wife, Julie, no longer would be a paid fundraiser for his re-election campaign. The decision was presented as part of a 10-point program to respond to voters' concerns after the congressman's narrow victory over Democratic challenger Charlie Brown.

Doolittle said in an interview then that Julie Doolittle was so upset by news reports about her 15 percent fundraising commission that she decided she no longer wanted the job.

She may continue to raise money for the congressman's political action committee, but aides said she will be paid a salary instead of a commission.

Doolittle also said that it would be impermissible under federal campaign finance laws to not pay the remaining obligations to Sierra Dominion.

"It would be a violation not to pay its obligations," Doolittle said of his committee.

He said his wife's business also could not simply forgive the final payments because her commission then would have to be designated as a campaign contribution, and the sum would be well in excess of limits.

At the time of the interview last month, the campaign reported that it still owed Sierra Dominion about $40,000 on commissions that then totaled about $106,000 for the election cycle. The year-end report Thursday reported that she was owed an additional $117,376.

The report comes at a time when Doolittle's Democratic challenger in November, a retired Air Force officer who lives in Roseville, moved closer to a second run at the nine-term incumbent.

Brown last week filed a "statement of candidacy" with the election commission and reconstituted his campaign committee, which reported that it was debt-free with more than $63,000 in the bank as of Dec. 31.

Brown's spokesman, Todd Stenhouse, said Brown has not made a final decision to run again for Doolittle's seat and equated the filings to the creation of an exploratory committee.

"This sets the legal framework for him to explore his options," Stenhouse said of the FEC filing. "Charlie wants to see if there is enough support to warrant another candidacy."

But the filings authorize Brown to begin raising money for a 2008 campaign for the Democratic nomination.

Out of the starting gate he begins with a $225,000 cash advantage over Doolittle, whose fundraising ability could be weakened by the fact his party no longer is running the Congress and that he gave up his leadership position to spend more time on his district.

Richard Robinson, Doolittle's chief of staff and campaign spokesman, said Brown's filing is "no surprise to us."

"We've been expecting him to run and are preparing for him to do so," he said, adding that a 2008 run will be more risky because "candidates who have run more than once against (Doolittle) have historically done worse the second time around."

Robinson said the Doolittle committee's red ink is the highest he has ever seen.

The congressman has not held any fundraisers yet this year, but Robinson said he has one planned for this month.

In addition, Robinson said the campaign has been mailing letters to supporters asking for contributions for the 2008 race.

Also included among the Doolittle committee's lists of debts is $24,138 still owed to a prominent Washington, D.C., law firm specializing in election and ethics law, one of two firms Doolittle hired in the aftermath of the ongoing criminal investigation of those associated with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

But there were no new legal fees listed in the report, which covered activity between Nov. 28 and Dec. 31. The Doolittle campaign ran up about $104,000 in legal fees last year to, as the congressman described it, "clear my name."