Politics > Politics-USA > California State GOP's finance chief resigns. Repugs have immigrant problems.
| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Harry Hope" |
| Date: |
26 Jun 2007 08:38:07 PM |
| Object: |
California State GOP's finance chief resigns. Repugs have immigrant problems. |
From The San Francisco Chronicle, 6/25/07:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/25/GOP.TMP
State GOP's finance chief resigns
Top Republicans shocked by Aussie's immigration troubles
Carla Marinucci and Lance Williams, Chronicle Staff Writers
Michael Kamburowski, an Australian immigrant who served as the
California Republican Party's chief operating officer, abruptly
resigned Sunday -- less than 24 hours after The Chronicle reported he
had been ordered deported in 2001, jailed in connection with the
order, and now has a $5 million wrongful arrest lawsuit pending
against U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials.
The move was reported in a terse statement late Sunday by state party
chair Ron Nehring, who said the state GOP's Operations Committee
accepted Kamburowski's resignation during a teleconference with him.
"We thank him for his service,'' Nehring said in his e-mail statement.
The news came as GOP officials and leaders expressed shock and fury at
the troubled -- and apparently unknown -- immigration history of the
person who handled the multimillion-dollar budget of the nation's
largest state Republican party.
Former White House adviser Steve Schmidt, who ran the re-election
campaign for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, angrily described the
appointment of Kamburowski as "almost a parody of incompetence and
malfeasance.''
"Somebody who has been imprisoned, faced deportation, has never worked
on a state political campaign ... and who is suing the government for
harm inflicted by his deportation order defies description,'' Schmidt
said.
"The bylaws of the Republican Party invest enormous authority in the
position of chief operating officer -- and it's clear that this person
brings no experience and qualifications to run a state party of the
size of California, not to mention the assorted legal issues
involved.''
The harsh words from Schmidt -- who ran the Bush 2004 presidential
campaign war room, advised Vice President ***** Cheney and was a member
of White House adviser Karl Rove's inner circle -- underscored the
concern in the California GOP following The Chronicle's story on
Sunday that detailed Kamburowski's immigration history and
multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the government.
Kamburowski was a surprise pick who was largely unknown to top state
GOP leaders when he was named in March to be the chief operating
officer of the party.
The 35-year-old Australian citizen was handpicked for the post by
Nehring, who became party chief in February.
Kamburowski is a former registered lobbyist for Americans for Tax
Reform and a top operative for the Ronald Reagan Legacy Project, both
founded by conservative activist Grover Norquist.
Nehring -- also a former senior adviser and consultant to Norquist's
Washington, D.C., operation -- worked with Kamburowski at Americans
for Tax Reform in the 1990s.
The Chronicle reported Sunday that court records indicate Kamburowski,
who arrived in the United States in 1995, was ordered deported by U.S.
immigration officials in 2001.
He was jailed three years later for about one month at the Wachenhut
prison in Jamaica, N.Y., in connection with the immigration matter,
according to federal court documents.
Kamburowski's attorney, Michael DiRaimondo, said his client challenged
the government's deportation order and an immigration court overturned
it.
Both Kamburowski and DiRaimondo said Kamburowski is a lawful permanent
resident.
In 2005, Kamburowski filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New
York alleging wrongful arrest and imprisonment.
His lawsuit, which details his immigration history, seeks $5 million
in damages for "severe emotional stress and embarrassment" and loss of
his job.
Kamburowski, reached on Saturday, declined to answer questions about
the matter, saying, "I can't jeopardize the case by making any
comments."
He didn't immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment on his
resignation Sunday night.
The government maintains that its agents acted lawfully in executing a
valid warrant for Kamburowski's arrest and deportation; a hearing in
the civil lawsuit is set for September.
Nehring, in an e-mail to the Chronicle before the resignation was
announced Sunday, declined to answer whether he had been aware of
Kamburowski's immigration background when he recommended the
Australian to handle the finance operations of the state party.
"This is a personnel matter that we will review and comment on
following that," Nehring wrote.
But GOP Web sites and California Republican Party board members
expressed surprise and even outrage at Kamburowski's past.
Jon Fleischman, the Southern California vice chair of the GOP, told
The Chronicle that board members who approved the appointment last
March were completely unaware of the Australian's background.
"Mr. Kamburowski did not disclose anything to the board of directors
that even hinted at any of this stuff prior to our voting to retain
his services," he said.
Fleischman, in his popular GOP Web site, the FlashReport, bannered The
Chronicle story with the alarmed comment:
"Are you kidding me?"
And his Sunday blog asked fellow Republicans:
"Is our COO suing America?"
Fleischman, in a letter distributed to GOP board members Sunday,
warned that "needless to say, if any of this is true (especially
alleged jail time, and alleged litigation against the U.S. government)
it is a very serious matter."
Red County San Bernardino, another GOP blog site, called the
revelations jaw dropping, and added that "if it is true that
Kamburowski did not disclose this arrest to the party, it suggests
serious deficiencies in his character."
Tom Del Beccaro, the party's northern California vice chair, declined
comment, saying, "I think these are shrill times on the topic of
immigration and a patient, thoughtful look at all these things is
probably good."
But Schmidt, considered one of the nation's top GOP strategists, said
the controversy threatened the viability of the state party, and
represented a slap in the face to loyal volunteers and donors.
"Clearly, (Kamburowski) has no qualifications to serve as the chief
operating officer of a major state party, and every person in the
state of California who has ever donated a dollar to the state GOP has
every right to be furious over this,'' he said.
He said that there are still questions to be answered about the
appointment, and GOP party members deserve an immediate "accounting
for who, what and when did (top GOP officials) know about his
immigration and legal status.''
News of Kamburowski's immigration past comes on the heels of
revelations in The Chronicle earlier this month that the state GOP
used a highly sought-after H1B visa to hire another immigrant as a top
consultant.
Christopher Matthews, a Canadian citizen with no experience in
statewide politics, was hired recently after the California Republican
Party applied for, and received, an H1B visa specifically to fill the
role of political director, according to U.S. Department of Labor
data.
____________________________________________
Repug bag o' worms, eh?
Harry
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