Caught cheating

Rancho Santa Fe School District trustee Richard Burdge and Friends of Rancho Santa Fe Schools, a political committee for which he was treasurer, are set to pay a proposed $19,000 fine to the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission under an agreement scheduled for consideration later this month. The penalty is for alleged campaign finance violations in the campaign for 2006’s failed Prop H. The hotly contested $44.5 million measure would have built an elementary school at Aliso Canyon Road and Via del Charro. “Proposition H failed to pass with the required 55% of the vote in the June 6, 2006 election, but did receive 51.49% of the vote,” says an exhibit prepared for the commission’s next board meeting, when the matter is on the agenda. The commission alleges multiple violations of state campaign finance law, including failure to file disclosure statements for multiple contributions totaling $30,000. “During the campaign, Respondents received contributions totaling $140,550 and made expenditures totaling $128,112. However, Respondents failed to timely report a significant amount of this campaign activity. On June 12, 2008, Respondents filed a semi-annual campaign statement for the reporting period July 1, 2007 through November 23, 2007, and a statement of termination, thereby ending their filing responsibilities.”

Donations not reported by the group included $15,000 from the Rancho Santa Fe Association; $5000 from Telacu Construction Management, a Los Angeles corporation that specializes in new school construction; and $2000 from Keenan and Associates, an insurance brokerage that provides workers’ compensation policies to school districts. Burdge is a retired venture capitalist and investment banker whose son, James, is currently in third grade.