AD71 Watch: Controversy Over Blais Business & Miller Mailer

Neil Blais Contradicts His Own Government Filings: Work for LA County Agencies that Help Illegal Aliens Becomes Campaign Issue

Embattled Candidate Disavows Record, Own Web Site in Recent Media Account

In a shocking revelation in the 71st Assembly District election, Assembly candidate Neil Blais told the Riverside Press Enterprise that he received 'no payments' from the County of Los Angeles, yet in Blais' Official Statements of Economic Interests (Form 700 attached) he reported that he made over $100,000 in 2007 from government agencies including the County of Los Angeles.

Futhermore, Blais filed a 2006 Statement of Economic Interests under penalty of perjury claiming that his position in the sole proprietorship of Blais & Associates was valued at up to $1 million and that the firm, owned by his wife, had four clients -- the Housing Authority of the County of Los Angeles, the Community Development Commission of the County of Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles County Community Development Foundation, in addition to the City of Chino Hills.

Last week, KTLA Channel 5 Los Angeles reported that Los Angeles County's welfare and housing agencies provide $1 billion annually in services to illegal aliens -- about 25% of the tax dollars they spend each year. A key component to each of these agencies' ability to garner additional dollars for the services they provide is revenue from grants. On his website, Blais describes his business as a "grant management firm which helps cities and counties increase revenue by locating federal and state grant opportunities and writing winning proposals." Later in the same paragraph, Blais lists the County of Los Angeles first amongst his clients.

"This is very simple," said Dave Gilliard, Jeff Miller's campaign consultant. "Neil Blais filed his own Statements of Economic Interests. Every filing he has made makes it clear he works for the Housing Authority and other government agencies of Los Angeles County. His own website brags about that work. If Neil is telling the truth now, why did he file false Statements of Economic Interests, and why did he lie on his campaign website?