Leland Yee quits secretary of state race
Will Kane and Vivian Ho
Updated 1:07 pm, Thursday, March 27, 2014
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State Sen. Leland Yee makes his way through a large flock of media members to a car after being released on a $500,000 bond March 26, 2014 outside of the Federal Courthouse in San Francisco, Calif. State Sen. Leland Yee was arrested on public corruption charges early Wednesday morning. Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle | Buy this photo
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(03-27) 12:45 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- State Sen. Leland Yee
withdrew from the California secretary of state race Thursday, one day
after his arrest on public corruption charges, his attorney said.
"This was a very personal decision on the part of the senator," said Paul DeMeester, his attorney, at a news conference outside the federal courthouse in San Francisco. "This is what he wanted to do."
Yee, a Democrat who represents half of San Francisco and most of San Mateo County, was one of 26 people ensnared in a five-year federal investigation that targeted Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, a notorious Chinatown gangster who had claimed to have gone straight, officials said.
An outspoken advocate of gun control and open government, Yee is charged with conspiring to traffic in firearms as well as six counts of scheming to defraud citizens of honest services. He has not commented on the allegations.
Investigators say Yee took bribes in exchange for political favors in order to pay off a $70,000 debt from an unsuccessful run for San Francisco mayor in 2011 and to fund his run for secretary of state. The bribes were paid by undercover agents, the FBI said.
Yee's involvement in the federal case began in 2011, when a close associate of both he and Chow - former San Francisco school board member Keith Jackson, who also was arrested Wednesday - began to solicit undercover agents to contribute to Yee's mayoral campaign, the FBI said.
DeMeester refused to comment on the criminal case or on anything else, including a call for Yee's resignation from state office from the state's leading Democratic senators.
Yee's withdrawal from the secretary of state campaign, which he made official with a letter sent before noon to current Secretary of State Debra Bowen, shakes up a crowded race.
Yee had raised $800,000 for the race, with his most recent campaign finance filing indicating that he had spent all but $134,000 of that.
Yee faced four competitors for the statewide post: Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima, and former Common Cause leader Derek Cressman, also a Democrat; Republican Pete Peterson and independent Dan Schnur, the former head of the Fair Political Practices Commission.
Thursday's decision may also signal that Yee's political career is coming to an end. Whether or not he resigns from the senate, he is termed out this year.
Yee's long career in San Francisco politics began in 1988 with an eight-year stint on the San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education, followed by his election to the city Board of Supervisors in 1996, representing the Sunset District.
Yee served in the state Assembly from 2002 to 2006 before he moved on to the senate. He became the first Asian American to be appointed speaker pro tem in 2004, making him the second-highest-ranking Democrat in the Assembly.
"This was a very personal decision on the part of the senator," said Paul DeMeester, his attorney, at a news conference outside the federal courthouse in San Francisco. "This is what he wanted to do."
Yee, a Democrat who represents half of San Francisco and most of San Mateo County, was one of 26 people ensnared in a five-year federal investigation that targeted Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, a notorious Chinatown gangster who had claimed to have gone straight, officials said.
An outspoken advocate of gun control and open government, Yee is charged with conspiring to traffic in firearms as well as six counts of scheming to defraud citizens of honest services. He has not commented on the allegations.
Investigators say Yee took bribes in exchange for political favors in order to pay off a $70,000 debt from an unsuccessful run for San Francisco mayor in 2011 and to fund his run for secretary of state. The bribes were paid by undercover agents, the FBI said.
Yee's involvement in the federal case began in 2011, when a close associate of both he and Chow - former San Francisco school board member Keith Jackson, who also was arrested Wednesday - began to solicit undercover agents to contribute to Yee's mayoral campaign, the FBI said.
DeMeester refused to comment on the criminal case or on anything else, including a call for Yee's resignation from state office from the state's leading Democratic senators.
Yee's withdrawal from the secretary of state campaign, which he made official with a letter sent before noon to current Secretary of State Debra Bowen, shakes up a crowded race.
Yee had raised $800,000 for the race, with his most recent campaign finance filing indicating that he had spent all but $134,000 of that.
Yee faced four competitors for the statewide post: Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima, and former Common Cause leader Derek Cressman, also a Democrat; Republican Pete Peterson and independent Dan Schnur, the former head of the Fair Political Practices Commission.
Thursday's decision may also signal that Yee's political career is coming to an end. Whether or not he resigns from the senate, he is termed out this year.
Yee's long career in San Francisco politics began in 1988 with an eight-year stint on the San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education, followed by his election to the city Board of Supervisors in 1996, representing the Sunset District.
Yee served in the state Assembly from 2002 to 2006 before he moved on to the senate. He became the first Asian American to be appointed speaker pro tem in 2004, making him the second-highest-ranking Democrat in the Assembly.
Will Kane and Vivian Ho are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: wkane@sfchronicle.com, vho@sfchronicle.com
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