There's More to the Mike Duvall Story
California State Assembly
You haven't heard everything when it comes to the Mike Duvall story, according to Common Cause.
Watchdog agency Common Cause is calling for an investigation into two lobbyists linked to the sex scandal. The organization filed a complaint Wednesday with the state Fair Political Practices Commission.
Let's take a look at how we got here.
The 54-year-old Yorba Linda Republican resigned in September after he was caught on videotape boasting to a colleague about his extramarital sexual escapades with two female lobbyists. Duvall was speaking to Assemblyman Jeff Miller just before the start of a committee meeting.
Duvall apparently did not realize the audio was picked up by the Legislature's in-house channel on the mic positioned in front of him.
After the videotape was made public, several political watchdog groups asked Attorney General Jerry Brown to determine whether Duvall could be prosecuted for trading votes for sex. The California Legislature's lawyers told lawmakers they did not have the legal authority to investigate Duvall.
This is where Common Cause comes in.
Derek Cressman, the western states regional director for Common Cause, said state lobbying laws forbid lobbyists from placing elected officials in a situation where they feel obligated to act a certain way.
Common Cause alleges the two women broke state lobbying laws by engaging in an inappropriate relationship. The FPPC has 14 days to decide whether to investigate the complaint.
That will take us right up to telection season, when Duvall's vacated assembly seat will be filled in a special election.
The special election will be conducted Jan. 12. An open primary -- voters can cross party lines -- will be Nov. 17.
If any candidate gets more than 50 percent the vote, he or she will win the seat outright. If no one gets a majority of the vote, the top Democratic vote-getter and the top Republican vote-getter will square off Jan. 12, according to Mike Naple, a spokesman for the governor and the Secretary of State's office.
The 72nd Assembly District covers Fullerton, Anaheim, Placentia, Orange, Brea, Yorba Linda and La Habra.
