Berkeley rent board member who lived in Oakland gets 6 months in jail

Former Berkeley rent board member Chris Kavanagh was sentenced today to six months in jail for improperly registering to vote in Berkeley when he lived in Oakland.

Kavanagh, 49, will be barred from holding public office in California during a five-year probationary period and must pay $10,835 to the city of Berkeley under a deal reached with Alameda County prosecutors, who dismissed five other charges against him.

Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson ordered Kavanagh to spend weekends at Santa Rita Jail from May 9 to July 1 - with each weekend counting as three days - after which he will spend 60 consecutive days in jail. He is not expected to serve a full six months in jail because of credit for good behavior.

Kavanagh declined to comment afterward as he left an Oakland courtroom with his parents.

His attorney, James Giller, said the weekends in jail would allow Kavanagh to continue teaching developmentally disabled students in San Francisco for the rest of the school year.

"This whole thing is really very devastating to him," Giller said outside court. "Unfortunately, he used poor judgment, but the fact is this thing was devastating to him because he loves that town."

Giller said Kavanagh, a UC Berkeley graduate, "has been involved in the Berkeley community and Berkeley politics for a good part of his life."

Kavanagh, a longtime tenants' rights activist, was elected to the rent board in 2002 and re-elected in 2006. His term was to have ended in 2010, but he resigned in February after his residency came into question.

He came to prosecutors' attention when he challenged an eviction order last year by his landlords on 63rd Street in Oakland.

"In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped charges of voter fraud, filing false nomination papers, perjury by declaration, fraudulently voting in a June 2006 election in Berkeley and grand theft for allegedly accepting a monthly stipend and health insurance benefits while serving on the rent board.

"In a statement after his no-contest plea, Kavanagh issued a statement saying that he had been convicted of only a "technical violation." Authorities said the judge was aware of that statement and that it probably contributed to his decision to impose the six-month jail term, the maximum under the plea agreement."

Ha,ha

This whole thing is really very devastating to him," Giller said outside court. "Unfortunately, he used poor judgment, but the fact is this thing was devastating to him because he loves that town."

Yeah, he loved it so much he didn't live there.

I found his candiate statement on the web. Notice how he parses his words so as not to say he lives in Berleley:

G:\ELECTIONS\Candidates\2006\Rent Board\Kavanagh\kavanaghCS.doc

Candidate for RENT STABILIZATION BOARD COMMISSIONER I, CHRIS KAVANAGH, hereby declare that I am a candidate for an elective office in the City of Berkeley, and make the following statement:

1. That my name is Chris Kavanagh.
2. The office for which I am a candidate is Rent stabilization Board Commissioner.
3. For residence information, please contact the City Clerk Department, 981-6900.
4. The place of my birth is Berkeley, CA.
5. My present occupation is Incumbent Rent Stabilization Board Commissioner/Middle School Teacher.
6. I have held the following public offices: Incumbent City of Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Commissioner (2002-present); Commissioner, City of Berkeley Housing Advisory Commission (1996-2004).
7. Record of community service: I am a long time Berkeley affordable housing renter activist, former City Council candidate and Green Party of Alameda County Central Councilmember.
8. I am a taxpayer in the City of Berkeley.
9. The nine member Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board and it's corresponding Agency serve as one of the city's most critical municipal entities: the Board and Agency regulate nearly 19,000 rent controlled units across Berkeley. The Board's decisions and policies directly impact tens of thousands of Berkeley renters. The city's Rent Stabilization Agency provides Berkeley's renter population households--about 55 percent of all households--with three crucial services: rent level predictability (controlled rents), rent level affordability and "good cause" eviction protections. Together, the above three components provide Berkeley renters with some of the nation's strongest tenant protection and affordability policies.

It is sobering to realize that outside of Berkeley and a handful of other California cities, millions of California renters can potentially be subjected to a 30-day eviction notice without a reason or cause (a so-called "no fault" eviction). In Berkeley, generally speaking, a tenant who pays rent, is lawful and abides by the lease has the same security as a homeowner. As an incumbent Rent Board Commissioner, I will re-commit myself to defending and preserving Berkeley's landmark Rent Stabilization Ordinance. Please vote for Kavanagh, Chong, Blake, Stephens and Webster to maintain strong renter protections and affordability.

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