After a week of playing Hamlet to a rising chorus of calls that he resign, Secretary of State Kevin Shelley is telling confidants that he's staying put -- and that he won't even consider stepping down unless two major conditions are met:
-- That he be freed from all state and federal legal liabilities.
-- That he have a "safe place to land" -- i.e., a job.
Gimme a job and a get out of jail free card -- then we'll talk!
"Would he like those conditions to happen? Yes. Would it be possible for them to happen? I don't know,'' said one confidant who asked not to be named because of the touchy nature of Shelley's dilemma.
"This is not a rich guy,'' the confidant said. "He has a wife who used to be a schoolteacher and two kids. He lives in the house that his father (former San Francisco Mayor Jack Shelley) owned.
"He doesn't have the deep pockets to pay for both a long legal battle and support his family.''
As secretary of state, Shelley makes $131,250 a year.
Shelley is under investigation for possible misuse of federal voter education funds, his alleged mistreatment of his staff and his office's alleged fudging of civil service test scores to promote a political supporter's son.
But there has yet to be a formal charge leveled against Shelley or anyone else. It could be months before all the various investigations run their course -- and next year is the last of Shelley's term.
Impeachment is always a possibility. But again, that's not likely to happen overnight.
Many thought Shelley would step down rather than face the prospect of perhaps taking the equivalent of the Fifth Amendment in front of TV cameras at joint legislative hearings this coming week.
But now Shelley appears set to go -- even though some of his advisers privately fear the appearance will only elevate what has until now been largely a print story into a full-blown circus.
From the looks of things, the hearing may prove to be softer on the secretary than first imagined, since all sides -- Shelley included -- will be lawyered up to the max.
"It's important for him to clear the air rather than deal with all of this smoke and innuendo,'' said Democratic state party chairman Art Torres, who called Shelley this past week and urged him to stay on.
"And as far as I know, he's not going to resign,'' Torres said.
"The question is how long he can keep taking the heat," the confidant said. "But at some point, he's going to have to look into himself and at his family and decide if it's worth the fight."
On the other hand, he may not see any other choice.
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