Republican Congressman Gary Miller, a five-term incumbent representing the 42nd California Congressional District in heavily conservative Orange County, paid more than $45,000 from his campaign account to his construction development company, G. Miller Development, during the 2008 election cycle alone. Together, the payments to the company- which were broken up into five disbursements- represent the largest source of expenditures by Miller’s reelection campaign. According to the records obtained by the Center for Responsive Politics from the Federal Election Commission, G. Miller Development- a construction company founded, owned, and operated by Miller- received $47,360 from Miller’s campaign funds. That accounts for 22% of the $218,368 in total expenditures made by the Congressman’s campaign as of the latest report. Inquiries made to Miller’s company revealed that it specializes “building and construction,” primarily focusing on “bigger developments.” Curiously, a representative of G. Miller Development told TheRealRight.com that the company did not “have any projects right now.” It is unclear what services, if any, a construction company could provide to a United States Congressional campaign, though comment from the Miller campaign was not readily available. Miller’s actions have raised a number of ethical questions over the course of his career. In 2002, he was accused of sheltering more than $3,000,000 from state and federal taxes by claiming that the sale of 165 acres to the City of Monrovia, California had been made under threat of imminent domain. In fact, videotape from Monrovia City Council meetings showed that Miller had initiated the transaction, requesting on four separate occasions that Monrovia buy his property. Miller allegedly used similar tactics in his sale of land and buildings to the City of Fontana, California, which he again claimed was done under threat of imminent domain, despite the assertion of Fontana officials that no such threats had been made. The Los Angeles Times reported in December of 2007 that the FBI had opened an investigation into the matter.
Miller has not commented on either of the land sales. In 2005, Miller- then serving on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure- allegedly pushed to preempt the Federal Aviation Administration’s authority in closing a small airport in Rialto, California (the first time Congress had ever done so). Subsequently, Miller’s business partner and a major donor to his campaigns, Lewis Operating, won a lucrative contract to develop the tract of land previously occupied by the airport. In the same bill, Miller secured $1.3 million for street improvements in front of a Target store co-owned by he and Lewis Operating. He later borrowed money from Lewis Operating, which he used to purchase land nearby the new development. His later sale of the property earned him a profit between $1 and $6 million. Miller also collects close to $25,000 per year in rent for the space used for his Congressional district office - which he leases from himself. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Miller one of the 20 most corrupt members of Congress in 2006.
