‘Rusty Areias Week’ in the CA Legislature

The Discovery Channel recently aired its annual “Shark Week,” which showcases the world of sharks in several premiere episodes over one week.

California Legislative leaders have followed suit, declaring next week “Rusty Areias Week.”

Late in the day on Wednesday, August 5, both the Senate and Assembly leadership coincidentally announced two separate hearings next week to continue groveling to former fatcat lobbyist/lightweight former Assemblyman Rusty Areias.

First up, the Assembly Transportation Committee has scheduled a one bill hearing on Monday afternoon, August 10, to hear… wait for it… Senate Constitutional Resolution 129 by Senator Dave Cortese (D-San Jose), which names a stretch of road in Santa Clara County as “Rusty Areias Highway.”

Second up, and not to be outdone, the Senate has Rusty Areias’ appointment to the UC Regents up for a rubber stamp by the Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday, August 12, at 1:30pm.

The Globe has extensively documented the many ethical, moral and legal concerns about naming a highway after Areias and putting him on the powerful Board of UC Regents.

These concerns include:

a) Areias’ role in covering up a sexual assault and harassment of Deborah Simpson – a woman legislative staff member;

b) Areias’ part in later banishing Simpson off to the Assembly typing pool after she complained;

c) Areias looking the other way when she was later blackballed from ever working in the Capitol again.

Other “minor” concerns involve blatant potential conflicts of interest involving clients of Areias’ lobbying firm and potential future contracts with the UC.

Increasing Capitol community chatter has been revealing about the extraordinary effort by several lobbyists and a few legislators of both parties on behalf of Areias.

As always, it’s called “follow the money:”

1) Areias’ lobbying firm – “California Strategies” – will clearly make more money by propping up the reputation of one its partners. Think about how the firm will market it to potential new clients:  “Our firm has a UC Regent as a partner, and the Legislature named a highway after him. When Rusty picks up the phone to call the Governor or the chairperson of a Senate or Assembly Committee, his calls will be answered.

2) California Forever – that’s the elitist utopia dreamworld in east Solano County that several tech billionaires are trying to build along the Delta. These billionaires are working behind the scenes the last few weeks of the August legislative session to get special legislation enacted to override Solano County’s local control, rules and regulations.  Just by coincidence, one of the clients of Rusty Areias’ firm is the California Airport Council. Guessing that billionaires are going to want an upgraded airport to fly in and out of their utopia. Do you think the current quaint Rio Vista Airport can accommodate all the billionaire jets dropping in, Davos style?  Who heads up the California Airport Council? Jim Lites, who used to work for Areias at California Strategies, and has a glowing bio.

3) California Forever and Assemblywoman Lori Wilson: when last seen weeks ago, Democrat Assemblywoman Lori Wilson held SCR 129 in committee, not allowing it to come up for a vote. Now, all of a sudden she agrees to hold a “special” hearing on Monday for SCR 129?  What changed?

We are told that Assemblywoman Wilson is now in the middle of negotiations on the California Forever legislation, and this billionaire utopia is planned for to be in her Assembly District. Coincidence?

For the Capitol old-timers, it may bring up two separate but related memories:

• Artie Samish, the liquor lobbyist/puppet master of the CA Legislature, and his famous photo on the cover of Collier that later led to criminal indictments and conviction;  (Hyperlink photo and story about Samish by Alex Vassar at CA State library).

• Shrimpscam (Brispec), the FBI sting in the late 1980’s about a billionaire trying to build a shrimp processing plant in the West Sacramento Port. It turned out this billionaire was really a FBI agent who bribed legislators and staff. Several indictments and convictions followed.

It begs the question: what’s really behind all these enriching efforts being done for Rusty Areias, his partners and his clients? What is the end game?