Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Campbell is asking that the state auditor investigate the covert taping of conversations with journalists done by a spokesman in Attorney General Jerry Brown's office.
That office released a memo Monday finding that spokesman Scott Gerber, who resigned last week, did not break state laws by taping six conversations with five reporters this year. The memo also found that Gerber had been told not to tape such conversations but did it anyway.
The issue has become a campaign issue as Brown plays the undeclared Democratic front-runner in the governor's race.
The California Republican Lawyers Association yesterday demanded an independent investigation of the case by the district attorneys' offices of Alameda and San Francisco counties, where some of the taping occurred.
Doug Heller, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, also demanded an independent investigation Wednesday of the taping. Heller's group has criticized Brown's office for changing the title and summary of a ballot measure sponsored by Mercury Insurance Co., a charge that sparked the San Francisco Chronicle story at the center of the interview-taping controversy.
Here's Campbell's e-mail:
"The secret taping of reporter conversations is a very serious matter that could have a chilling effect on press freedoms. It is all the more serious when undertaken by a state law enforcement agency without proper consent. In this case, where the Attorney General's office itself is the subject of the potentially illegal behavior, the Attorney General's office should avoid even the appearance of partiality.
"The Attorney General should invite the State Auditor to conduct an independent investigation pursuant to California Government Code Section 8547.5 to determine whether the Attorney General's office has violated state law. This step will assure the people of California of the neutrality and validity of the outcome."
Torey Van Oot and the Bee Capitol Bureau report on the people and politics of California government. Get 
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