California secretary of state resigns

California secretary of state Kevin Shelley announced his resignation on Friday amid investigations into his handling of federal election funds, questionable campaign contributions, and bad behavior that included antigay jokes and sexual harassment. Shelley, 49, was leaving his $131,250-a-year post before having to testify later this month at a legislative audit committee hearing about his handling of millions of dollars in federal elections funds. Shelley, the son of former San Francisco mayor and U.S. representative Jack Shelley, was once one of California's rising political stars. His move paves the way for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, to name a replacement for the Democrat. The former state assemblyman is the first statewide elected official to quit since June 2002, when insurance commissioner Chuck Quackenbush, a Republican, resigned after accusations that he tapped millions of dollars in earthquake funds to further his political career. While not being charged with breaking state or federal laws, Shelley found himself embroiled in controversy over the handling of $46 million in Help America Vote Act funds and charges by former employees of temper tantrums and a hostile work environment. One former staffer alleged he made sexual hand gestures during conference calls, asked the staffer if she was "into men or women," made jokes about gays, and asked if it was true that bodybuilders had small genitals. The state board of personnel also criticized some of his office hiring practices as possibly illegal and a throwback to the "spoils system." Shelley likewise faced federal, state, and local investigations for accepting $125,000 in campaign funds from recipients of state grant funds for a San Francisco neighborhood center that was never built.