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By Nora Zamichow
Los Angeles Times
September 19, 2005
A California Coastal Commission member said Sunday he had
stepped down after neglecting to disclose a decade-old
public-intoxication charge and a 1998 temporary restraining
order.
In a letter, dated Thursday, Manhattan Beach City Councilman
Jim Aldinger told state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata
(D-Oakland) that he was resigning, effective the next day.
Perata had requested Aldinger's resignation last month, but
Aldinger initially refused, saying he inadvertently omitted
mention of a 1995 public-intoxication charge and a temporary
restraining order that an ex-girlfriend had obtained after
their 10-year relationship ended.
"I think there's a big difference between accidentally
forgetting something and lying," Aldinger said. "I
made a mistake; I didn't do a thorough job researching my
background."
Perata was unavailable for comment Sunday, as was his
spokeswoman, Alicia Dlugosh. When a replacement for Aldinger
will be chosen is not known. On Sunday, Aldinger, 44, said he
was stepping down because it would be expensive to defend
himself against possible legal action seeking to remove him
from a post that paid no salary.
As a candidate for the Coastal Commission, Aldinger was
asked what turned out to be two crucial questions: Whether
he had ever violated the law and whether there was anything
in his background that would embarrass him or the Senate if
it were to become public.
Aldinger said he wrote "a couple of things I'd done but
left off the infraction I got for disturbing the
peace."
This charge, Aldinger said, occurred during a bachelor party
in Manhattan Beach when he was sitting on a curb, smoking a
cigar. Someone called police saying the party was too noisy,
and when police arrived, Aldinger said, he was arrested.
"I hadn't really been drinking that much," said
Aldinger. "They didn't have any real case."
Aldinger said he omitted mention of the temporary
restraining order because he was not embarrassed by it. The
order, he said, was later lifted by a judge.
"I've done everything with integrity," Aldinger
said. "I've done everything aboveboard."
Background questions are completely appropriate, Aldinger
said. "If I'd thought about it, I would have done a
background check on myself. That was the mistake I
made."In June, to the applause of several
conservationists, Aldinger was appointed to the 12-member
Coastal Commission.
All voting members are appointed by the governor, Senate
Rules Committee or the speaker of the Assembly; each
appoints four commissioners, two public members and two
elected officials. Perata chairs the Senate Rules Committee.
Aldinger was appointed by the Senate Rules Committee.
The Coastal Commission regulates the use of land and water
along the state's 1,150-mile coastline and holds monthly
meetings lasting three to five days. Under ordinary
circumstances, Aldinger would have served four years.
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