VAN NUYS : Roberti Opponents Allege Power Abuse

Supporters of the attempt to recall state Sen. David Roberti charged the politician with abuse of power Friday, after a flyer was distributed at the state Capitol entreating volunteers to walk the 20th District for Roberti’s camp next weekend.

During a visit to an earthquake-damaged pharmacy in Northridge, Roberti (D-Van Nuys) dismissed the claim, saying he had never seen the flyer before and had nothing to do with it.

“It’s news to me. They probably put the fax together themselves,” the senator said as he was flanked by a group of local business supporters outside Northridge Pharmacy. “There are a lot of people who are interested in the race, on both sides.”

For $50, the flyer says, people can get get van rides to and from the San Fernando Valley, food and a cot to sleep on between April 8 and 10.

The flyer was printed by Steve Hopcraft, who runs a Sacramento consulting firm that represents a coalition of renters grateful for Roberti’s help in the past.

About 150 copies were handed out--without Roberti’s involvement--to legislative staffers at the Capitol, as well as a number of public-interest groups, Hopcraft said.

But for the senator’s opponents, such as the Coalition to Restore Government Integrity, the flyer smacks of impropriety. California state law does not make it illegal to approach government staffers for work on political campaigns, but the federal Hatch Act does.

“It isn’t right and this sort of abuse is why we have the Hatch Act at the federal level,” Russ Howard, executive director of the coalition, told reporters gathered at the Van Nuys campaign headquarters for Roberti’s opponents.

Howard said he spoke to a state government worker who claimed to have been pressured into joining Roberti’s effort, but he could not offer any details on what he said was an anonymous phone call.