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Another Davis aide resigns during contracts controversy
SACRAMENTO – Another aide to Gov. Gray Davis resigned Wednesday as the administration continued its efforts to put to rest a continuing controversy surrounding a potentially costly computer contract.
Vince Patel resigned as the governor’s interim director of e-government only 3 1/2 weeks after he was appointed to the post.
Patel, previously director of executive information systems for the state, was appointed May 5 to succeed Arun Baheti, who was fired after he accepted a $25,000 campaign contribution for the governor from the Oracle Corp.
Administration officials said that violated a rule against the governor’s aides accepting campaign donations.
The state signed a $95 million, no-bid contract with Oracle last year that was supposed to save up to $111 million through volume purchases and maintenance of database software.
But the state auditor says the deal could end up costing the state up to $41 million more than if it had stuck to its previous software supply arrangements.