CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
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.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
21+ steamy photos of Scotland’s finest gay men in Elska Glasgow
February 01 2024 10:07 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Conjoined twins Lori Schappell and trans man George Schappell dead at 62
April 27 2024 6:13 PM
Latest Stories
Record 1.2 million people show out for Cologne’s Pride parade
July 23 2024 10:51 AM
Here's how far-right activist Leonard Leo helped fund Bud Light boycott
July 23 2024 10:27 AM
Elon Musk’s comments about his trans daughter prove why she doesn’t speak to him
July 23 2024 9:16 AM
Nancy Pelosi endorses Kamala Harris for president
July 22 2024 4:07 PM
Charli XCX declares Kamala Harris IS brat & our next President's campaign agrees
July 22 2024 3:08 PM
Pete Buttigieg roasts JD Vance and his gay tech bro billionaire
July 22 2024 1:42 PM
The AIDs pandemic can be ended by 2030, but governments must act: report
July 22 2024 1:01 PM
Conservatives' first attack on Kamala Harris: Pronouns and accessibility?
July 22 2024 12:45 PM
Advancing equality during Disability Pride Month
July 22 2024 11:30 AM