SACRAMENTO — Though his wide grin belied a furious temper, Kevin Shelley -- son of a congressman and protege of a political legend -- had been the darling of San Francisco Democrats until his future swerved out of control.
In a year, accolades that Shelley earned for smoothly steering the first election to recall a California governor were overtaken by accusations that he broke laws, berated employees and ran a sloppy office as secretary of state.
The allegations pushed Shelley to step down Friday while continuing to deny any intentional wrongdoing.
In the end, despite his political lineage and the initial support of his party, Shelley stood largely alone. His well-known volatility had driven away colleagues who might have otherwise backed him. And fellow Democrats sent a clear message when they shook hands with Republicans over ground rules for a pending legislative inquiry: No pains would be taken to protect Shelley from tough questions under oath.
On Monday, Shelley's abandonment was further underscored when disclosure reports filed with the state showed a single contribution to his 3-month-old legal defense fund -- $250 from Tony Miller, Shelley's special counsel. Shelley put $100,000 of his own into the fund by borrowing against the mortgage on the San Francisco home where he grew up and lives with his wife and two young children.
The charge that Shelley could be an abusive boss -- as detailed in a state Personnel Board hearing last week -- was nothing new to those who had worked with him when he served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors or in the California Assembly. One former high-level aide said reporting to Shelley was like "being in a bass drum all the time."
Former staffers said Shelley exploded over things as minor as the size of type on his briefing notes. His staff turnover was among the highest in the Legislature, and the churn continued when he became secretary of state.
In 1998, as an assemblyman, Shelley was videotaped by a Capitol security camera as he argued with an employee and repeatedly blocked her from getting into an elevator. Then-Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa urged Shelley to get professional help to manage his anger. Faced with a near-mutiny by Shelley's staff, Villaraigosa also moved his press secretary to Shelley's office to help calm the situation.
In his 14 years as an elected official there had been no whiff of scandal.
