Office of Congressional Ethics Launches Inquiry of Laura Richardson,
Congressional Primary Opponent of Peter Mathews

Los Angeles, August 5, 2009
Brett Covey

According to the Los Angeles Times, "The Office of Congressional Ethics contacted real estate investor James York, who bought Richardson's house at a foreclosure auction last year, only to have Washington Mutual take it back after he had recorded the deed and return the house to the congresswoman." The July 29, 2009 Times article also noted that the ethics office called Richardson's neighbors to find out "how much money they had spent to clean up her property and whether that might constitute gifts that could violate House rules." In an article the next day, the local newspaper Press Telegram also reported on the ethics inquiry.

These newspaper articles are just the latest of many that detailed Richardson's ongoing ethical and political improprieties. Many news reports ran from July 2008 through 2009 on national and local sources such as the Associated Press, Washington Post, Sacramento Bee, San Francisco Chronicle, The Hill newspaper in Washington D.C., Press Telegram in the Long Beach area, the Los Angeles Times, CNN television, NBC-TV, CBS-TV, FOX television, KFI radio, and others. Since over 95% of these stories broke after the June 3, 2008 Democratic Primary Election, the voters were not aware of the damage to Rep. Richardson's reputation, and re-nominated her. Professor Peter Mathews was the runner-up Democrat in the three way primary. Newspaper publisher Lee Davis finished a distant 3rd.
Democrat Peter Mathews who refuses campaign contributions from corporate lobbyists, is staging a series of campaign kickoffs this summer, approximately a year before the June 8, 2010 Democratic Primary. Mathews is emphasising his progressive campaign platform to rebuild the American economy with high-paying Green technology jobs, implement Universal Healthcare, guarantee quality affordable education from preschool through college, bring a rapid and responsible end to the war in Iraq, and close unfair corporate tax loopholes to fund the above plans.

Peter Mathews is a Democratic candidate for the 37th Congressional District of California