Darrell Ticehurst/Fisheries Issues
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Sutton Investigation Now Formal
Jun. 2 2009, 10:02 AM
Jun. 2 2009, 10:02 AM
The Fair Political Practices Commission is now officially investigating Fish and Game Commissioner George Sutton. Acting on a complaint from the Central Coast Fisheries Conservation Coalition (CCFCC), the action was taken to open the investigation immediately.
According to a press release from the CCFCC:
According to a press release from the CCFCC:
“Sutton is charged with violating the Political Reform Act (PRA) of 1974 because of his conflicts of interest on votes on the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) while serving on the Fish and Game Commission. ‘The CCFCC has more aggressive legal avenues to pursue if Commissioner Sutton does not resign,’ said CCFCC President Melvin de la Motte. ‘Such measures could result in civil money damages against Sutton, but we are hopeful that he will do the right thing for California.’
Specifically, Sutton's action in voting to approve the Draft Master Plan of the MLPA violated the PRA because it was reasonably foreseeable that the decision would have a material financial effect on his own income and on his employer and source of income, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation (Aquarium). As Vice President and founding director of the Aquarium's Center for the Future of the Oceans, Sutton is paid a salary to influence policy and to support efforts to create a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) in California and offshore waters, including fully protected marine reserves.
Had Sutton voted to amend the existing MPAs for the Central Coast (which are included in the Master Plan), he would have been voting to gut or weaken a system of MPAs in which, his employer exults, the Center for the Future of the Oceans, under his stewardship, played a ‘key role’ in having adopted.
Sutton's conflicts do not derive solely from the mere fact that he is a salaried employee of the Aquarium. He is in fact closely connected to many of the key players involved in the process of implementing the MLPA, and these connections create conflicts under the Political Reform Act.
Sutton also violated the Fish and Game Commission's own conflict code by failing to disclose as required by law his employment with the Aquarium.”
Commissioner Sutton is clearly in conflict, and his voting on the MPAs is clearly prohibited under the Political Reform Act. The Fair Political Practices Commission should act swiftly on this since the facts are very clear. Commissioner Sutton should never have been appointed, and likely would not have been if he had offered full disclosure. But then, the RLFF and Secretary Chrisman and Governor Schwarzenegger have been more than skirting the edges of the law in this strange “public/private partnership” with a special interest that clearly is targeting fishing to further its own agenda. Now that the facts are out, Mr. Sutton ought to resign.
Specifically, Sutton's action in voting to approve the Draft Master Plan of the MLPA violated the PRA because it was reasonably foreseeable that the decision would have a material financial effect on his own income and on his employer and source of income, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation (Aquarium). As Vice President and founding director of the Aquarium's Center for the Future of the Oceans, Sutton is paid a salary to influence policy and to support efforts to create a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) in California and offshore waters, including fully protected marine reserves.
Had Sutton voted to amend the existing MPAs for the Central Coast (which are included in the Master Plan), he would have been voting to gut or weaken a system of MPAs in which, his employer exults, the Center for the Future of the Oceans, under his stewardship, played a ‘key role’ in having adopted.
Sutton's conflicts do not derive solely from the mere fact that he is a salaried employee of the Aquarium. He is in fact closely connected to many of the key players involved in the process of implementing the MLPA, and these connections create conflicts under the Political Reform Act.
Sutton also violated the Fish and Game Commission's own conflict code by failing to disclose as required by law his employment with the Aquarium.”
Commissioner Sutton is clearly in conflict, and his voting on the MPAs is clearly prohibited under the Political Reform Act. The Fair Political Practices Commission should act swiftly on this since the facts are very clear. Commissioner Sutton should never have been appointed, and likely would not have been if he had offered full disclosure. But then, the RLFF and Secretary Chrisman and Governor Schwarzenegger have been more than skirting the edges of the law in this strange “public/private partnership” with a special interest that clearly is targeting fishing to further its own agenda. Now that the facts are out, Mr. Sutton ought to resign.
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