Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

California's political watchdog OKs media moonlighting by Assembly staffer in San Diego

Field representative for Democrat Shirley Weber also works for Voice & Viewpoint newspaper and in marketing gigs for non-profit Reality Changers and Internet's Imagine Media Group, regulator's opinion letter says

An aide to Democratic 79th District Assemblywoman Shirley Weber has been told by the state's political watchdog agency that it is okay for her to be a reporter for a local newspaper, work in public relations and as a social media director for a non-profit group, as well as to be employed by an online marketing and event planning outfit, as long as she discloses all of the outside income on her annual personal financial disclosure report.

A May 14 advice letter to Chula Vista's Marivic JoAnn Fields from California Fair Political Practices Commission General Counsel Zackery P. Morazzini outlines the situation:

You are a Field Representative for the Office of California State Assembly Member Shirley N. Weber – 79th District. You have worked part-time for Assembly Member Weber’s office since January 2013. Field Representatives are a designated position, and you therefore file a Form 700 (statement of economic interests), with full disclosure.

You also work for the following entities:

Reality Changers (RC), a non-profit organization that provides after-school tutoring for high school students. You are the Associate Director for Media and Community Outreach. Your duties include making presentations for community leaders, organizations, and potential sponsors of RC. You also maintain RC’s social media networks, prepare media advisories and releases, and send out an e-newsletter. You may also contribute content for the newsletter.

San Diego Voice & Viewpoint, a local newspaper, for which you are a staff writer and photo journalist covering community festivals, youth, women and faith-based events. To maintain your journalistic integrity, you have requested not to cover any events that include Assembly Member Shirley Weber.

Imagine Media Group, LLC, a group that specializes in web design, marketing campaigns and event planning. You assist non-profit organizations that generally cannot afford a full-time public relations/marketing staff person and assist in navigating government resources, such as grant workshops, letters of support, meet and greets, and other resources.

Morazzini goes on to say that state law prohibits legislative employees from accepting "honoraria," which the letter describes as "any payment made in consideration for any speech given, article published, or attendance at any public or private conference, convention, meeting, social event, meal, or like gathering."

But, the letter adds, there is an exception in the law for “employment in a bona fide business, trade, or profession, such as teaching, practicing law, medicine, insurance, real estate, banking, or building contracting.”

Because Fields says she “will be writing non-fiction articles for a local newspaper and providing marketing and organizational support for non-profit organizations,” concludes Morazzini, “the honorarium provisions do not apply to you within these job duties.”

Fields’s income will have to be reported on her personal financial disclosure filed with the California Secretary of State’s office, the advice letter says.

According to data posted online by the Assembly, the staffer makes $1505 a month working 57 percent of a full time Assembly staff job.

We have a call in to Fields for more details.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Yellowtail show off La Jolla, Big tuna south

Spiny lobster doing well

An aide to Democratic 79th District Assemblywoman Shirley Weber has been told by the state's political watchdog agency that it is okay for her to be a reporter for a local newspaper, work in public relations and as a social media director for a non-profit group, as well as to be employed by an online marketing and event planning outfit, as long as she discloses all of the outside income on her annual personal financial disclosure report.

A May 14 advice letter to Chula Vista's Marivic JoAnn Fields from California Fair Political Practices Commission General Counsel Zackery P. Morazzini outlines the situation:

You are a Field Representative for the Office of California State Assembly Member Shirley N. Weber – 79th District. You have worked part-time for Assembly Member Weber’s office since January 2013. Field Representatives are a designated position, and you therefore file a Form 700 (statement of economic interests), with full disclosure.

You also work for the following entities:

Reality Changers (RC), a non-profit organization that provides after-school tutoring for high school students. You are the Associate Director for Media and Community Outreach. Your duties include making presentations for community leaders, organizations, and potential sponsors of RC. You also maintain RC’s social media networks, prepare media advisories and releases, and send out an e-newsletter. You may also contribute content for the newsletter.

San Diego Voice & Viewpoint, a local newspaper, for which you are a staff writer and photo journalist covering community festivals, youth, women and faith-based events. To maintain your journalistic integrity, you have requested not to cover any events that include Assembly Member Shirley Weber.

Imagine Media Group, LLC, a group that specializes in web design, marketing campaigns and event planning. You assist non-profit organizations that generally cannot afford a full-time public relations/marketing staff person and assist in navigating government resources, such as grant workshops, letters of support, meet and greets, and other resources.

Morazzini goes on to say that state law prohibits legislative employees from accepting "honoraria," which the letter describes as "any payment made in consideration for any speech given, article published, or attendance at any public or private conference, convention, meeting, social event, meal, or like gathering."

But, the letter adds, there is an exception in the law for “employment in a bona fide business, trade, or profession, such as teaching, practicing law, medicine, insurance, real estate, banking, or building contracting.”

Because Fields says she “will be writing non-fiction articles for a local newspaper and providing marketing and organizational support for non-profit organizations,” concludes Morazzini, “the honorarium provisions do not apply to you within these job duties.”

Fields’s income will have to be reported on her personal financial disclosure filed with the California Secretary of State’s office, the advice letter says.

According to data posted online by the Assembly, the staffer makes $1505 a month working 57 percent of a full time Assembly staff job.

We have a call in to Fields for more details.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Barona birthday fun

Next Article

Electrifying dinners

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader