Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) has been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1991, representing the 35th district of California. Her ethical problems arise from her exercise of this power to financially benefit her daughter, husband and son.
Karen Waters
Rep. Waters' daughter, Karen Waters, has benefitted primarily through charging for spots on her mothers' "slate mailers" issued by L.A. Vote, a non-profit, political organization that sends sample ballots to South Los Angeles residents featuring the photo of Rep. Waters and the names of candidates she supports. Charges for a spot on the ballot have ranged widely from $171,000 for an affluent, California businessman running for elected office, to tens of thousands of dollars for candidates such as former Gov. Gray Davis, to $250 for a school board candidate. Of the $1.7 million collected by L.A. Vote over the last eight years, mainly from candidates who have paid to have their names appear on slate mailers, approximately $450,000 has gone to Karen Waters and her consulting firm, Progressive Connections, and $115,000 to Rep. Waters' son, Edward.
Karen Waters also has collected $20,000 from a small, nonprofit organization called African American Committee 2000 & Beyond that she established with her mother. Many corporations and organizations seeking to win Rep. Waters' favor have donated to African American Committee 2000 & Beyond. The nonprofit in turn has used this money to pay for parties hosted by Rep. Waters at the Democratic national conventions.
Sidney Williams
Rep. Waters' husband, Sidney Williams, has benefitted financially from his wife's political clout by working as a part-time consultant for a bond underwriting firm seeking government investment, Siebert, Brandford, & Shank. Despite his lack of experience in the bond business, he was hired as a consultant for the company. As a consultant, Mr. Williams has collected close to $500,000 by making valuable introductions for Siebert to politicians who have received his wife's support. For example, when school board members in Inglewood, a city in Rep. Waters' congressional district to which she guaranteed a $10 million loan from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, needed a bond underwriting firm to handle a $40 million school bond sale, they chose Siebert. Mr. Williams earned $54,000 in commission from the deal.
Edward Waters
Rep. Waters' son Edward, together with her husband Sidney Williams, also benefitted from her political connections when they won a 20-year lease to run the county-owned Chester Washington Golf Course in South Los Angeles. The key decision-maker for the deal was County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, in whose district the golf course was located. Rep. Waters handed the County Supervisor a victory just several months earlier when she endorsed Ms. Burke in a close election. Financial records indicate that Mr. Williams and Mr. Waters earned between $140,000 and $400,000 through the golf venture.
http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2006/09/17/the-13-most-corrupt-members-of-congress/?url=http://www.beyonddelay.org/summaries/execsumm.php&frame=trueShe's one of the few who can be counted on to stand up to the Bushites and she was really solid and on the ground when the coup occured in Haiti. It seems she may have been using her influence to help family members in an at the least questionable way. I also think other factors such as how they vote could be included. I find it hard to believe that Maxine rates above Hillary on the corruptometer.
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