Economic Interests Filing Deadline For Elk Grove Officials Quickly Approaching

April 1, 2015 |

The filing deadline for certain City of Elk Grove employees, and all elected officials of their Statements of Economic Interests is this afternoon at 5 p.m.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission Form 700 Statement of Economic Interest is an annual statement meant to reveal the officials' holdings, over certain thresholds, and gifts they have received. The statement can also be submitted by mail and be considered timely if it has today's post stamp.

As of this afternoon, all of the city's executive team and three of the five city council members have submitted their reports. Only Mayor Gary Davis and Vice Mayor Pat Hume have not submitted their disclosures.

While the forms typically show no conflicting interests, they can reveal interesting information. In her January filing, Elk Grove Assistant City Manager Beck Craig revealed she took a gift of two baseball playoff tickets valued at $250 from the city's largest contractor, Pacific Municipal Consultants.

Also, earlier this year Council Member Steve Ly's filing revealed that in addition to an assortment of gifts, he accepted between $1,001 and $10,000 in consulting fees from the Stockton-based Hmong International Culture Institute. Subsequent to that revelation, the Elk Grove City Council awarded that organization a community block development grant valued at $7,000.

While the disclosures can unveil interesting information as noted in Craig's and Ly's filing, what is not stated on a disclosure can be revealing as well. Such was the case for Davis' 2014 statement.

When he opened the first of location in his current three outlet chain last year, Davis went on TV to say the funding for Grace Coffee Roasters came from the sale of his holding in Starbucks stock. An audit of all of Davis' statements since taking office in Elk Grove never showed him buying, holding, or selling any Starbucks stock for any amount above $1,000 reporting threshold.