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Santa Clara Co. Supervisor Won't Resign Over Questionable Spending

SANTA CLARA (KCBS) — A Santa Clara County supervisor is responding to allegations of improper spending with a county-issued credit card, telling KCBS he has nothing to hide.

Board president George Shirakawa Jr. is under scrutiny for spending thousands in taxpayer money over the past four years. Expenses charged to the account include fancy dinners, golf courses, along with trips to casinos.

Shirakawa came under fire earlier this year for spending on a $90,000-a-year-bodyguard. He told KCBS that he doesn't plan to resign.

KCBS' Mike Colgan Reports:

"My policy has always been any expenditures out of my office that aren't within my guidelines, I'll reimburse the county and I'll continue that practice," he said.

The county is looking at revising its charging policies in light of the controversy. County Executive Jeff Smith said they started the "P-Card" procurement card program for county employees in 2001, to cut down on paperwork.

"There are about 728 cards in the county. In the last quarter only 390 of them were utilized at all," Smith said.

He said most of them are used for purchasing office supplies and gasoline for when people are out of the region.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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