Andal disclosures reveal financial depth of relationship with college campus developer

A review of CA-11 challenger Dean Andal's personal financial disclosure forms this week sheds further light on why the Stockton Republican was such an animated force for the development of a Delta College satellite campus in the planned community of Mountain House just outside of Tracy.

Andal, a former state lawmaker, Board of Equalization member and now congressional candidate who has made ethics and honesty in government a part of his campaign platform, had a lucrative deal with Kamilos where he was set to receive one-half a percent bonus of any future land sales involved in the Mountain House development.

On the disclosure form's "Schedule V - Agreements" Andal, in what appears to be his own handwriting, discloses that on Nov. 30, 2004 he was to receive:

"$6,205 monthly retainer through 1/1/08 (and) ½ percent of future land sales bonus."

The disclosure form was filed with the House Legislative Resource Center on May 2.

Attempts to reach Andal, a Stockton Republican who is opposing Democratic incumbent Congressman Jerry McNerney for control of the CA-11 seat, to explain the details of the agreement between him and developer Gerry Kamilos and his PCCP Mountain House LLC organization were unsuccessful.

In prior interviews, however, Andal has consistently denied being the consultant for Kamilos whose company was named in a June San Joaquin County Grand Jury report as the recipient of trafficked information coming from a closed 2006 Delta College trustees meeting.

During that closed-door meeting, both staff and trustees expressed concerns about PCCP Mountain House breaching its development contract with the college after the company missed a critical deadline to provide evidence of letters of credit in order to proceed with the multimillion-dollar campus. Less than a day after that meeting those concerns were relayed by one or more trustees directly to the well known Sacramento-area developer.

Evidence of the leak was noted in the grand jury report and publicly verified by one trustee who said he received a call from Andal after the meeting. During that phone call Andal brought up information that was discussed by the board only when it was in closed session.

Under California law such a leak by the trustees would be a violation of the state's Brown Act and a potential misdemeanor crime, if prosecuted.

The allegations of the leaks were formally verified in a September written response to the June grand jury report by the Delta board members. Addressed to the county's presiding judge, Delta trustees admitted to violating the Brown Act during the 2006 meeting involving the Mountain House campus project.

Observers note that had the Delta trustees opted to find Kamilos in breach of contract, they could have then decided to jettison the Mountain House site in favor of a parcel inside Tracy being offered by the city.

And, as part of their mea culpa to the grand jury, the trustees also noted that because of delays and mismanagement from all parties associated with the project, that $50 million of the original $250 million in Measure L bond money approved by area voters in 2004 has been wasted.

In reaction to Andal's financial arrangements, McNerney said in a statement that he was not surprised by the financial arrangements between Andal and Kamilos. The congressman did note with regret that the delays caused by the parties involved in the Mountain House campus project have greatly inflated the price of the project due to the escalating price of building materials.

"Dean Andal's intimate involvement in the waste of tens of millions of dollars from delayed construction of the Mountain House Delta College campus calls into serious question his claim that he is a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars," McNerney told PolitickerCA.com. "We are now a year behind when the Mountain House campus was supposed to have been completed and driving by the site today, it's clear they're still just pushing dirt around."