To the contrary, never in the history of the commission has it shown such a strong resolve to prosecute wrongdoers. Prosecutions for such serious violations as conflict of interest, money laundering and corruption accounted for 80 percent of all cases in Ravel's first year, up from 25 percent the year before she took office.
All bureaucracies need shaking up from time to time, and the FPPC was no exception. When Ravel took over, she found an organization mired in minutiae and bogged down in unproductive bureaucracy. She found a commission that burned staff time with too many meetings and not enough action items. That has stopped. Now, the staff focuses on serious cases. And instead of half-day meetings with a country club pace, the commission now meets for full days and takes up agendas packed with action items.
Political watchdog has a full set of teeth under Ann Ravel's charge
via bakersfield.com
