Doolittle hires outside fundraiser

14 Jan 2007 // Dogged by criticism that his political fundraising was enriching his own family coffers, Rep. John Doolittle said Friday that his wife no longer will raise money for his congressional campaign.

But the Roseville Republican said Julie Doolittle might continue to raise money for his political action committee -- a job that in the 2005-06 election cycle earned her almost as much money in commissions as did her work for the John T. Doolittle for Congress committee.

Doolittle's separate political action committee -- the Superior California Federal Leadership Fund -- doesn't raise any money for his own campaigns but is used to help fellow Republicans.

Richard Robinson, the congressman's chief of staff, said that if Julie Doolittle continues to work for the leadership PAC, she will receive a salary and not a commission paid to her company, Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions.

While Doolittle said his wife's role with the leadership fund "hasn't been decided," his concession that Julie Doolittle won't raise money for his anticipated 2008 re-election bid is part of an effort to win back voter support.

Doolittle said in an interview Friday that his wife -- who couldn't be reached for comment -- dropped his congressional campaign as a client, rather than him firing her.

"She has been terribly and vigorously attacked and wants nothing to do with it," Doolittle said.

Doolittle survived by a narrow three-point margin over Democratic challenger Charlie Brown in the November general election, even though his district has one of the highest Republican voter registrations in the state. He conceded afterward that he was badly hurt by his association with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and charges of ethical lapses, though he denied any wrongdoing.

Among the allegations was that the 15 percent commission that Doolittle's campaign paid to Sierra Dominion for fundraising was a backdoor means of funneling political contributions to the congressman's family checkbook.

According to Federal Election Commission reports filed by the Doolittle campaign, Sierra Dominion toted up $106,500 in commissions from the campaign committee for the 2005-06 election cycle. The company is operated from the couple's suburban Virginia home outside Washington, D.C. Julie Doolittle is the company's only known officer and employee.

Commissions paid to Sierra Dominion by the leadership PAC during the last two years were somewhat less, about $86,000. Consumed by his own re-election fight last year, Doolittle concentrated less on raising money for his PAC and campaigning for other Republicans compared with previous election cycles.

In a column Doolittle wrote for newspapers detailing changes he was making because of his poor election showing, he maintained that his wife's fundraising was ethical. But he said, "Because I recognize that this issue has been a concern and a distraction to some of my constituents, I have retained an outside fundraiser to take over those duties."

In an interview the day after the election, Doolittle said that he wanted his wife to continue as his fundraiser but that he would leave the decision to her.

Doolittle's pledge Friday to turn to outside fundraisers for his campaign was part of a 10-point reform plan the congressman outlined in the column Robinson is asking newspapers in his sprawling district to publish.

In the column, headlined "A New Course for a New Term," Doolittle pledges to return home more frequently, open satellite offices throughout the district, be more accessible to reporters and "work across the aisle in Washington to help provide what's best for our country and region."

His plan was promptly attacked by Brown, the retired Air Force officer who last fall ran the most aggressive campaign Doolittle has faced since his election to Congress in 1990.

Brown said many of the changes Doolittle is making were copied from his own campaign's playbook.

"They looked at the things I said needed to be done," Brown said. "They decided they had been making mistakes for 16 years and these things needed to be fixed. He is admitting that Charlie Brown was right."

Among Doolittle's pledges was that he would begin posting his schedule on his Web site, mirroring a promise Brown repeatedly asserted during the campaign.

Doolittle said he came to the decision about posting his schedule on his own and didn't borrow the idea from Brown.

"Honestly, I did not," Doolittle said. "But I seem to recall, now that you mention it, that he had said something about that."

Another idea Doolittle proposed was creating "advisory committees" made up of constituents, including one on veterans issues. Both Mike Holmes, the Auburn city councilman who opposed Doolittle in the Republican primary, and Brown strenuously attacked Doolittle for ignoring veterans.

Doolittle said that he invited Holmes and Brown to serve on the advisory committee, and that Holmes accepted and Brown was considering it.

Holmes could not be reached for comment Friday. But Brown said flatly that he wouldn't join the advisory panel.

"This is an interesting political offer," Brown said. "It gives the appearance of reaching out. But this is just typical political delay -- study the issue when what he needs to be doing is voting for veterans."

Brown said he is considering running against Doolittle again in 2008.

Sierra Dominion didn't begin raising money for Doolittle's re-election committee in earnest until 2005. By then, the company already had embroiled Doolittle in controversy because its records were subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in the early stages of the political corruption investigation of Abramoff.

Julie Doolittle's company was hired by Abramoff to raise money for a charity Abramoff created, and it continued to be paid long after the fundraising event it had been promoting was canceled.

Doolittle had a long personal friendship with Abramoff, and e-mails released last fall by a Senate committee indicated that he was interested in Abramoff hiring his wife as early as 2000.

Doolittle, meanwhile, helped Abramoff with letters supporting interests of his clients and took steps to help him win back a contract representing the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. In addition, Doolittle used a skybox Abramoff maintained at a Washington sports arena for a fundraiser -- a transaction that was not properly reported to the Federal Election Commission.

Doolittle has spent more than $100,000 of campaign money on lawyers, saying he is trying to "clear my name" in the ongoing investigation.

The congressman said Friday that he still has heard nothing from the Justice Department.

Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington, an advocacy group critical of Doolittle's ethical behavior, said Doolittle won't convince many about his transformation until he bars his wife from any fundraising, either for his campaign or separate PAC.

"He is trying to persuade voters that he has cleaned up his act when he really hasn't," said CREW spokeswoman Naomi Seligman Steiner. "His wife's company should concentrate on fundraising for others outside her husband's circle of influence."