Kevin Shelley

In the two years since Kevin Shelley became California's chief elections official, his state-paid staff has been repeatedly assigned duties that promote his private political agenda, records and interviews show. State law prohibits using public employees for private political purposes, and Shelley as secretary of state is expected to run his office in a nonpartisan fashion.

After being granted immunity from prosecution, two major donors to Secretary of State Kevin Shelley testified Thursday before a federal grand jury investigating his campaign finances. Both donors maintained that they did not know Shelley when they each contributed $25,000 to his 2002 campaign, sources said. And neither of them did any work for a community center that allegedly reimbursed their contributions with money from a state grant that had been arranged by Shelley.

Longtime civic leader Thelma Shelley -- widow of a San Francisco mayor and mother of Secretary of State Kevin Shelley -- died Friday in a San Francisco hospital after a brief illness, a spokesman for Kevin Shelley announced. She was 84. Thelma Shelley, who helped run some of the city's most important cultural institutions for two decades, had been hospitalized with pneumonia since Feb. 2.

Secretary of State Kevin Shelley has removed the daughter of a voting machine company official from her new job helping to screen election machines for use in California. Shelley, who is tightening conflict-of-interest rules for his office, said he had ordered the job change for Brianna Lierman to avoid the appearance of a conflict.

For the first time since the Capitol's "Shrimpgate" scandal more than a decade ago, California legislators open their session today knowing that the FBI is hovering not far away. By issuing subpoenas, conducting searches and convening grand juries in Oakland and Sacramento, the feds have made their presence unmistakable as they investigate dealings by the new state Senate leader, Don Perata, and Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, a former legislator. Both men are Democrats.

The federal government on Friday ordered California to give back $536,000, saying that funds allocated to improve elections were misused by former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley. A federal audit found that Shelley either misspent or didn't properly account for more than $3 million of the $8 million reviewed. The federal government also ordered $2.5 million to be returned to state election coffers. Much of the $536,000 that federal elections officials ordered returned to the U.S.

When Secretary of State Bruce McPherson recently called on the state to sue his predecessor, he said disgraced Democrat Kevin Shelley's misdeeds would cost California taxpayers nearly $3 million in misspent federal election dollars. But in appeals from his office to a federal elections commission nearly a year ago, McPherson's staff argued that a third of that amount was properly spent. McPherson said his office at that time was trying to lower the amount the state would be forced to repay.

The head of a committee investigating California's handling of federal election funds threatened Monday to seek a subpoena for Secretary of State Kevin Shelley if he doesn't agree to testify. Shelley did not appear as the Joint Legislative Audit Committee opened its first hearing into a state audit that found last month that his office mismanaged $46 million allocated under the federal Help America Vote Act.

The head of a legislative committee investigating California's handling of federal election funds gave Secretary of State Kevin Shelley a two-day extension Tuesday to decide whether he will testify voluntarily. Assemblywoman Nicole Parra (D-Hanford) told Shelley she would seek a subpoena if he does not agree by 10 a.m. Thursday to testify before the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, which she leads.

With the threat of a subpoena looming, California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley agreed Thursday to testify voluntarily before a legislative committee examining what auditors concluded was Shelley's mismanagement of $46 million in federal election funds. Assemblywoman Nicole Parra (D-Hanford) was poised to seek a subpoena to compel the elections chief to testify before the Joint Legislative Audits Committee, which she heads. But five minutes before Parra's 10 a.m.

When Secretary of State Bruce McPherson recently called on the state to sue his predecessor, he said disgraced Democrat Kevin Shelley's misdeeds would cost California taxpayers nearly $3 million in misspent federal election dollars. But in appeals from his office to a federal elections commission nearly a year ago, McPherson's staff argued that a third of that amount was properly spent. McPherson said his office at that time was trying to lower the amount the state would be forced to repay.

The federal government on Friday ordered California to give back $536,000, saying that funds allocated to improve elections were misused by former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley. A federal audit found that Shelley either misspent or didn't properly account for more than $3 million of the $8 million reviewed. The federal government also ordered $2.5 million to be returned to state election coffers. Much of the $536,000 that federal elections officials ordered returned to the U.S.

A fundraiser accused of diverting $125,000 from a state grant into former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's campaign coffers pleaded not guilty Monday to eight felony and two misdemeanor charges. Julie Lee, a Shanghai native and political power broker in San Francisco's Chinese American community, also resigned as a commissioner of the San Francisco Housing Authority, said her attorney, Steven Gruel.

A fundraiser for former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley surrendered to authorities Friday after being charged with funneling $125,000 of taxpayer money into Shelley's campaign account. The funds came from a state grant Shelley had helped secure to build a San Francisco neighborhood center.

Outgoing Secretary of State Kevin Shelley has extended his departure date, which was originally set for today, until the the end of the week, citing "purposes of administrative convenience." Shelley announced Feb. 4 that he was resigning at month's end. Federal and state officials are probing how his office spent federal funds intended to increase voting turnout, as well as whether his campaign received improper contributions. To replace Shelley, Gov.

The showdown in which lawmakers were expected to confront Secretary of State Kevin Shelley fizzled Tuesday, with fellow Democrats declining to question him about his handling of election funds because he now plans to resign. Instead, state Auditor Elaine M.

Longtime civic leader Thelma Shelley -- widow of a San Francisco mayor and mother of Secretary of State Kevin Shelley -- died Friday in a San Francisco hospital after a brief illness, a spokesman for Kevin Shelley announced. She was 84. Thelma Shelley, who helped run some of the city's most important cultural institutions for two decades, had been hospitalized with pneumonia since Feb. 2.

Re "Secretary of State Shelley Steps Down," Feb. 5: I used to wonder, what does a statewide secretary of state do? Is it an important job? Since Katherine Harris, Florida's secretary of state, brought us a troubled election in 2000, and Kenneth Blackwell, secretary of state in Ohio, presided over election irregularities in 2004, I have answered my own question. The job is very important. Whether or not the accusations made against him are true, Kevin Shelley, as secretary of state, clearly acted to ensure the fairness of our elections.

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.

Buffeted by investigations into his campaign finances and official conduct, Secretary of State Kevin Shelley announced his resignation Friday, saying he could no longer adequately run California's elections office. One of the state's highest-ranking officials who only two years ago was considered a rising star in Democratic politics, a somber Shelley was near tears as he faced television cameras.