Ferguson Targeted by State Investigators : Newport Beach Republican Calls Funding Allegations ‘Baloney’

SACRAMENTO — The state Fair Political Practices Commission is investigating the connection between Assemblyman Gil Ferguson and a pro-development political action committee based in Costa Mesa, a commission official said Monday.

Ferguson, a Newport Beach Republican considering a run for Congress, said the allegations against him are politically motivated.

Commission spokeswoman Sandra Michioku said the panel, after completing a review of several allegations made last year about Ferguson, has decided that the matter warrants a more thorough investigation.

“There is a pending investigation,” she said.

Michioku would not discuss details of the investigation other than to say it involved allegations made about the relationship between Ferguson and Citizens for a Better Costa Mesa, a political action committee that has supported business-oriented candidates for the Costa Mesa City Council.

That committee hired Ferguson’s private public relations firm, Corporate Communications, in 1986 to perform campaign consulting work on behalf of candidates Peter Buffa and Orville Amburgey, who were elected to the council in November of that year.

In March, 1987, slow-growth advocate John Gardner alleged in a complaint filed with the county district attorney’s office that Ferguson had used his public relations firm to funnel unreported contributions to Buffa and Amburgey from county developers. That complaint was forwarded to the commission.

In May, Ferguson acknowledged that he had failed to properly disclose about $30,000 in consulting fees paid him by two Costa Mesa firms: Arnel Development Co. and C.J. Segerstrom & Sons. But Ferguson said that the omission had resulted from a clerical error and that the money paid him by Arnel and Segerstrom was for public relations work and had no connection to the Costa Mesa campaigns.

Ferguson, in an interview Monday, denied any wrongdoing and said he hoped the commission’s investigation would conclude soon.

“I wish they would hurry up and do their investigation or whatever it is they want to do and quit fooling around,” he said. “This is not right that they should continue this kind of baloney without coming to me and saying, ‘Hey, we want to question you about this.’ They’ve never even told me anybody has filed an official complaint.”

Ferguson, who is considering running for the congressional seat to be vacated by the retirement of Rep. Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach), said he believes the allegations are being pressed by his political opponents.

“In politics, if they can keep the other guy off balance by making allegations, that’s the way they do it,” he said. “The whole thing is political.”

Michioku would not say whether the commission was also investigating Buffa and Amburgey. She did say that the two council members, along with Mayor Donn Hall, were named in a complaint received by the commission.

Hall said Monday that he had heard that commission investigators had been at Costa Mesa City Hall to examine campaign disclosure statements filed by the three officials.

“As far as I’m concerned, the significance level is so low that I didn’t even bother to look into it,” Hall said. “I think it’s a kick.”

Amburgey said he also is aware that the commission is reviewing his campaign disclosures, but he said he did not know what the commission is looking for.

“There’s nothing I did wrong,” Amburgey said. “I don’t know of anything at all that was filed inaccurately.”

Buffa said he knew little about any allegations against him. He said he considered them little more than harassment by political enemies.

“The silly season used to come around every two years,” Buffa said. “Now it’s here all the time.”