Attorney General's Go-Ahead Attorney General Bill Lockyer gave a Santa Monica watchdog group permission yesterday to file a lawsuit to remove one of the state's five utilities commissioners because the official bought stock in a wireless company his agency regulates. The PUC code specifically bars commissioners from holding a financial interest in any company that agency regulates. Therefore, Lockyer's office found that a suit, filed by the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, would benefit the public interest. By law, the attorney general must screen efforts to force public officials from office to weed out frivolous complaints. Pamela Pressley, an attorney with the watchdog group, said the organization will first ask Duque to resign before going to court.
Commissioners have to be absolutely neutral, and owning stock is a contamination of that faith.
Duque's attorney, Thomas Willis, said the attorney general's opinion was just a superficial look at the case and didn't consider all the issues involved. We are confident we will prevail in court. Duque said in a sworn statement that he didn't realize the purchase posed a potential conflict until a Chronicle reporter asked him about the matter in August. Wireless companies are not heavily regulated by the PUC, and Duque said he didn't realize the company was involved in any continuing proceedings. Duque only found out about the purchase after he received a trade confirmation in the mail a few days later.