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Leader in Opposition to California Term Limits Reform Indicted for Felony Campaign Fraud in Oklahoma

Paul Jacob of US Term Limits Could Face 10 Years In Prison

By Frank D. Russo

The biggest leader of opposition to term limits reform that will be on California's February ballot, Paul Jacob, was indicted yesterday for campaign fraud in Oklahoma. Jacob heads US Term Limits, an out of state organization that controls funding for opposition of the Term Limits and Legislative Reform Act.

Jacob is recognized in the media as the key opponent to term limits reform in California. In his role at US Term Limits, he would assign key campaign roles in California and direct contributions to fund opposition.

Court documents in Oklahoma say Jacobs and his apparent co-conspirators have been charged with a felony, conspiracy to defraud the state, in relation to qualifying an initiative for a 2006 statewide ballot. Along with two other named co-conspirators, he charged by a Grand jury of enlisting out of state petition circulators to work in Oklahoma "with full knowledge and understanding” that they intended to leave once the drive was over. Under Oklahoma state law, a circulator must be a bona fide Oklahoma resident over 18 years old.

Oklahoma Assistant Attorney General Joel-lyn McCormick is quoted in News.OK.com as saying "We view this charge as very serious. Oklahomans are supposed to decide for Oklahomans, not people from Minnesota or Massachusetts or Nevada or the numerous other places where circulators were brought in from.”

Jacob faces up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine if convicted.

Jacob ran US Term Limits for the last decade and currently serves as board member and senior fellow at the organization.

“This looks like a typical pattern for Paul and his apparent co-conspirators,” Richard Stapler, communications director for the Term Limits and Legislative Reform Act said. “In state after state, Jacob and others who advocate for ineffective term limits laws and other extremist initiatives flout state laws.”

U.S. Term Limits is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. They are a non-profit that does not disclose its supporters, although the Center for Public Integrity obtained records through a Public Records Act request that showed large contributions from a number of wealthy out of state interests. The organization is headed by Howard Rich, from New York who may be a familiar name as he has placed measures on the California ballot and in other states in other policy areas. The Takings Initiative Accountability Project in an article, "Following the Money," has stated:

"Rich’s various tax-exempt organizations — there are at least 11 of them — aroused considerable interest this year for shifting funds from one to another before the money ends up at its ultimate destination."

Jacob also advocates for a repeal of many campaign finance disclosure laws, saying “[d]isclosure laws do have obvious negative effects.”

Unfortunately, in California we know about the role of out of state money in connection with our initiative process and attempts to hide it from what has happened recently in connection with attempts to change the Electoral College.

Stapler noted, “US Term Limits under Jacob’s direction has filed frivolous lawsuit after frivolous lawsuit and skirted campaign finance laws. It appears the rule of law has finally caught up with him.”

In June, a three judge panel of the California Court of Appeals unanimously threw out the second attempt made by U.S. Term Limits, to challenge the Attorney General's official title and summary of the Term Limits and Legislative Reform Act after a number of voters had already signed to place the measure on the ballot. The judges' order was a summary dismissal of a petition for mandate made without any comment. They declined to even hold a hearing on the challenge.

At the time, California based Gale Kaufman, chief campaign strategist for the reform act, said : "We are grateful that, once again, the courts have told the out-of-state opponents of reform to stop their cheap political grandstanding. These frivolous lawsuits clog up our already over-burdened courts. This meritless case was simply a desperate attempt to garner free media attention at tax-payer expense."

Presciently, she stated: "I would hope that this will be U.S. Term Limits’ last attempt at a cheap political stunt like this. However, given their track record, I am sure it will not be." continued Kaufman.

Posted on October 03, 2007

Comments

He's no stranger to prison, having previously done time for draft dodging - and I don't mean during the 60's when it could have meant life or death. It was mid-80's. He also was behind very illegal signature gathering operations in 2 to 3 states in recent years. His operatives would pretend they ran out of "carbons" (yeah, right) and told signers to sign the original & 2 copies. The copies were, of course, petitions for completely unrelated ballot measures. The courts threw out all the sigs after that little stunt. Check out how their so-called "eminent domain" measure is bankrupting Colorado & you'll see how evil Jacob & his evil twin Howie Rich really are.

Posted by: Dixie at October 3, 2007 05:09 PM

I have never seen such a clear violation of the 1st Ammendment as this indictment. The anti-right to petition comments by the people you quote is very telling. Is there no end to the abuse of the Consitution that you can support?

Why do we have a right to petition if the Attorney General of Oklahoma can arrest his opponents for petitioning?

How on earth can this be justified? Does the 1st ammendment mean nothing to you?

JBP

Posted by: John Powers at October 5, 2007 12:16 PM

Can you make a note of this for your records?

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Posted by: John Powers at October 5, 2007 12:28 PM

Paul Jacob is the leader of the opposition to the effort to gut term limits. Your effort is not a reform but gift to the politicos. Your use of language is right out of Orwell's 1984.

Posted by: Bobby Costello at October 7, 2007 07:48 PM

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