{"id":157,"date":"2009-10-25T03:58:00","date_gmt":"2009-10-25T03:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terragrafix.com\/blog\/?p=157"},"modified":"2012-08-29T23:50:39","modified_gmt":"2012-08-29T23:50:39","slug":"does-seven-time-emeryville-mayor-councilman-for-22-years-ken-bukowski-even-live-in-emeryville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesecretnewsonline.com\/?p=157","title":{"rendered":"Does Seven-Time Emeryville Mayor, Councilman for 22 Years, Ken Bukowski, Even Live in Emeryville?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Beleaguered City Council Member Ken Bukowski Has Rent-Controlled<\/h2>\n

Apartment in San Francisco’s Tenderloin; Drug Use, Other Illicit Activity<\/h2>\n

Claimed by Close Relative<\/h2>\n

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By Tracy Schroth<\/span><\/div>\n

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The niece of Emeryville City Council Member Ken Bukowski said he lives in a rent-controlled, $300-a-month apartment in the Tenderloin, an apartment he has had for at least 20 years. <\/span><\/div>\n

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“The first time I went there was in 1990 and I know he had it for a quite a while before then,” said Bukowski’s niece, Kim Bukowski, who on Friday took The Secret News to the apartment building at 798 Post Street. A search of resident names listed in the call box included Ken Bukowski’s (see photo).<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n

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Kim Bukowski said the house and small apartment complex her uncle owns at 5880 Doyle Street in Emeryville is a rental property. She said he has an apartment in the back where he stays when he has City Council or other business in Emeryville. Kim said she and her 12-year-old son, Joseph, lived in one of the apartments on the Doyle Street property until three months ago, when Bukowski threw them out after she confronted him about his drug use. She said her uncle is a long-time methamphetamine user who has squandered his health, his relationships, and thousands of dollars to support his habit. Kim and her son are now staying in a shelter in Oakland. Her brother, Michael Bukowski, and another son, David, 20, are living in a shed in the back of the complex. The unit had previously been deemed illegal by city code enforcement and shut down, but was quickly reinhabited, she said.<\/span><\/div>\n

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Kim, who paid her uncle $400 a month, lived in several different rooms or apartments on the property over the past year, when she moved here from Florida. Her son, Joseph is a 7th-grader at Emery High. She said his grades have plummeted this fall, due to all the upheaval. <\/span><\/div>\n
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Drugs and Loans\u009d<\/strong> <\/span><\/div>\n
Kim claims Bukowski is a long-time user of a variety of drugs, but principally uses methamphetamine. She said when she first arrived at Bukowski’s apartment a year ago, she was horrified to find it littered with needles.<\/span><\/div>\n

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“They were everywhere, lying around like coffee cups,”\u009d she said.<\/span><\/div>\n

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She said Bukowski is struggling to support his habit and make ends meet, resorting to an assortment of shady deals. She said Emeryville developer Francis Collins has loaned\u009d Bukowski thousands of dollars that will never be repaid. Her uncle is nearly destitute and his Doyle Street property was recently in forclosure, she said. <\/span><\/div>\n

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Bukowski entered into a consulting contract with Paxio, Inc., an Internet service provider that also has a contract with the city to supply services, and failed to disclose that consulting agreement to his fellow City Council members. He participated and influenced decisions of the City Council regarding Paxio while on Paxio’s payroll.<\/span><\/div>\n

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A Year of Trouble<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
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In the past year, Bukowski has found himself embroiled in one scandal after another:<\/span><\/div>\n
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  • He was recently fined $15,500 by the Fair Political Practices Commission for using campaign money for personal use and other violations, including failing to file campaign finance reports.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • In June, the city agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle a wrongful death suit filed by the widow of Michael Smela, 56, who was struck and killed by Bukowski in 2007, as Bukowski drove away from an Emeryville community meeting in his SUV. Smela, a former San Franciso police officer, was on duty as a security guard for Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. and was crossing Hollis Street when the accident occurred. Bukowski was not tested for drugs or alcohol, and was not charged with a crime.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Last March, the Emeryville City Council voted 3-2 to censure Bukowski for his multitude of ethical breaches. In addition to those cited above, the Council resolution admonished him for<\/span> failing to pay his business tax on his Doyle Street property, disclosing to the public confidential closed-session items discussed by the City Council, and soliciting and obtaining personal loans from individuals that exceed limits and terms set by the Political Reform Act and not repaying at least one of those loans. It was disclosed at a public meeting that Bukowski received a loan from Emeryville developer Francis Collins, although the amount was not discussed. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    (Photos, clockwise from top left: <\/span><\/em>Front of San Francisco apartment building; t<\/em>he callbox at 798 Post St. with Ken Bukowski’s name listed; close-up of listing; Kim Bukowski, niece of Ken Bukowski, with sons, David (left) and Joseph. Click photos to enlarge).<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n