Oakland Focus News | Oakland News Online Blog

Today's Oakland Tribune has a story in it where Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente received free parking at San Francisco International Airport between 2005 and 2006.  The total of the cost of the parking came to a whopping $2,331, which if you think about it, means either he parked there a whole lot or SFO added the penalty cost of parking to the basic bill.   Now, the FPPC -- the California Fair Political Practices Commission -- has stepped in and is stating that De La Fuente may have to pay an addional $1,500 as a fine.  Well, here's my point: if -- if SFO added on the penalty cost to the basic parking rate, then technically the FPPC would be causing De La Fuente to be punished for the same violation twice.   That's unconstitutional.   Now, your counter is that he violated an FPPC rule, and my counter to that is De La Fuente made his payments to SFO because he realized he was not following FPPC rules and it seems paid a premium penalty in the process. ...