ACORN and the California Teachers Association
Writing for Big Government, Derrick Roach wonders, “What Happened to That ACORN Investigation Jerry Brown Promised?” For the full answer, I refer you to the article. The short version is that in advance of a visit from investigators from the California Attorney General’s office last October, the ACORN office in San Diego trashed some 20,000 documents in a dumpster. The documents were retrieved and shared with the investigators by Roach:
After being granted access to the documents, photographs and recordings that I obtained, investigators from the attorney general’s office stated in a written letter dated December 7, 2009, “California Teachers Association (CTA) paid California ACORN Special Projects nearly $140,000 in April-May, 2009 to conduct what CTA reported as “voter registration,” yet, according to documents found in the ACORN trash…it is apparent that ACORN workers solicited voter support for Proposition 1B.”
The AG investigators determined the possible violations fell under the purview of the Fair Political Practices Commission, and submitted the evidence to the FPPC. Three weeks later, Roman Porter, executive director of the FPPC, responded, “There is no evidence of a Political Reform Act violation.”
Roach feels this is a miscarriage of justice, but without seeing the documents, who can say? The CTA payment to ACORN does add some context to the NEA response when ACORN first came under fire last September. The press release simultaneously condemned and lauded ACORN, while acknowledging and downplaying NEA’s relationship with the organization. Intercepts itemized NEA’s contributions to ACORN immediately after.
But that list of payments didn’t – couldn’t – account for payments to ACORN by NEA state affiliates. CTA is one of about 40 NEA affiliates not subject to the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, and so isn’t required to itemize any of its expenditures. Whatever CTA got for its $140,000, it didn’t help. Proposition 1B was defeated 62%-38%.
