Waters family profiting from mailer biz

Rep. Maxine Waters has turned political endorsements into a family business, using federal election laws to charge California candidates and political causes to include their names as her personal picks on a sample ballot, or “slate mailer,” she sends to as many as 200,000 South Central Los Angeles voters, records show.

Some statewide candidates paid as much as $45,000 for their share of the costs to be included in the mailer, according to state and federal election records, and while it can be costly for the candidates, the mailer has proved profitable for Mrs. Waters‘ daughter, Karen.

Karen Waters‘ public relations firm, Progressive Connections, has been paid $354,500 since late 2004 to direct production and distribution of the mailer - about a third of the $1 million collected from the candidates and issue groups seeking to be included on the sample ballot, the records show.

The public relations firm was owed an additional $82,000 as of June 30 for her work on the mailer in the primary, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records. Her fees do not include expenses for printing and mailing, which are paid separately by the committee.

In 2004, Mrs. Waters - who is fighting charges by the House ethics committee that she improperly sought federal help for a bank in which her husband owned stock - obtained an opinion from the FEC allowing her to run the mailer operation through her federal political committee, Citizens for Waters.

The ruling permitted her to collect payments from state and local politicians for their share of the costs without having them capped by federal contribution limits. Her mailer is not part of the ethics complaint.

“The Waters slate mailer is but one of at least 81 currently registered slate mailers in California,” said a source authorized to speak for the Waters campaign. “The slate committee’s accountant and lawyer have consistently complied with the fair-share allocations as determined by the FEC.

“The fair-share allocations pay for graphics, postage, production, data collection and consulting fees,” the source said. “In fact, it has been widely researched and reported, even by this reporter, that the slate has always complied with the proper protocol and regulations. To suggest otherwise is irresponsible, and shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose, function and execution of the slate mailers.”

Mrs. Waters, who has represented South Central Los Angeles in Congress for nearly 20 years, and before that as a state legislator for 14 years, has enormous influence with black voters in Los Angeles County and her endorsement “means something,” California political consultants said.

She is the most senior elected black official in California and her clout goes beyond her district, they said.

“People take it into the voter’s booth,” one political consultant said of the Waters mailer whose candidate paid to be in it. The sample ballot, with a photo of the congresswoman at the top, has check marks next to the candidates she supports and contains quotes from her endorsements.

Another consultant pointed out that Mrs. Waters “goes all out for you when you have her endorsement.” He said there was “no better person” to have a candidate take to the black churches before the election.

“It is a good endorsement to have in parts of Los Angeles County,” said Parke Skelton, a consultant to Dave Jones, who successfully won the Democratic primary for state insurance commissioner. Mr. Jones was endorsed by Mrs. Waters, and his campaign paid $25,000 to be included in the mailer.

Some consultants and watchdogs are troubled that Mrs. Waters‘ campaign is charging candidates she endorses to be included in her mailer and said it borders on “pay-to-play” schemes, which have recently come under scrutiny by federal authorities.

“It is astonishing that politicians can cash in on their positions by selling their endorsements,” said Melanie Sloan, a former federal prosecutor who now heads the political watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

Story Continues →

© Copyright 2012 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.