8/16 Press Conference
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund Airs New TV and Radio Ads on Rep. Pombo's Ethical Lapses

Statement by Richard Blackston (55), a retired teacher of 24 years from Stockton

Hi, my name is Richard Blackston, and I'm a retired teacher of 24 years from Stockton.

As the latest TV and radio ads by Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund suggest, Congressman Richard Pombo has been getting away with unethical behavior that most ordinary people would never be able to.

Congressman Pombo has taken taxpayer money to take private family vacations to national parks, then tried to sell these parks to his developer friends, and has even used government staff to work on his political campaigns on taxpayer dime.

This is one of the reasons why Congressman Pombo is known as "One of the 13 Most Corrupt Members of Congress" by a government watchdog group (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington).

I would never let my students or my children grow up with the impression that they can expect to get away with unethical behavior.

We should expect our public leaders to be good role models of upstanding character for our children to emulate; unfortunately, Congressman Pombo receives an ‘F' in ethics.