The Hitzke Payoff
On Mayor Parks Form 460, she shows the amount of $19,467.59 as a Nonmonetary Contribution for her 75th Birthday Party, and the amount is in lieu of gifts. THIS IS TRULY A CONFLICT OF INTEREST, AS HITZKE WAS A DEVELOPER, OF A PROJECT IN DHS AND RECEIVED RDA FUNDS FOR THE PROJECT, AND PARKS IS THE MAYOR OF DHS. Since the money was Campaign Donations in lieu of birthday gifts, they should be considered as Monetary Contributions.
THIS TRANSACTION IS IN VIOLATION OF THE FPPC GUIDELINES.
November 2, 2011
Karl Baker’s Endorsements Pulled – or Not
Hitzke Developement CEO Ginger Hitzke
And that leaves us with Hitzke. According to Baker’s campaign finance disclosure statements, not a single individual living in Desert Hot Springs nor even one company based in the city donated to his campaign: Baker’s campaign has been exclusively funded by out-of-town corporations, and Hitzke’s tops the list. Hitzke Development enjoys the distinction of serving as the single largest contributor to the Karl Baker for DHS City Council campaign. The fact that her $7,000 campaign contribution has greatly dwarfed other business contributions is quite notable, for one reason her company is located out of town by nearly 100 miles. Its not special because none of Baker’s contributions originated from inside the city limits. And it is not extraordinary because Hitzke lives and votes in Temecula, operating a business there, and has no other motivation except to purchase the favor of the Councilman with the hefty investment in his campaign.
What has became highly suspicious is the possibility that her company has received some special beneficence as indicated by her company enjoying a $750,000 low-interest loan from the city, adding to federal and state gifts Hitzke Development received for the construction of low-income housing in the city as Ginger personally hosted Baker's campaign party at the exclusive Two Bunch Palms Resort. So far, Hitze is dodging our telephone inquiries seeking to confirm whether or not she is still on the Baker bandwagon.