REDDING - A small northern California paper published a report Sunday questioning the ethics of a state lawmaker's chief of staff who run his own lucrative political consulting firm on the side for the last five years.

The Redding Record Searchlight looked into the outside professional activities of David Reade, chief of staff to recently termed out state Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale).

Reade operates DSR Enterprises which took in an estimated $500,000 in revenues from 2003  through this year in revenues according to state records. He earned that money while also continuing to enjoy his $100,000 a year state salary.

In his capacity as the proprietor of DSR, Reade engages in conservative campaign consulting, fundraising and lobbying - all activities that political observers and experts told the paper in this story amounted to a "disturbing" conflict of interest.

"How do we know it didn't influence his legislative work that he wasn't lobbying for them," University of California, Berkeley, Political Science Professor Bruce Cain said.

For his part Reade contends that he done nothing wrong, that all the moonlighting work was performed off the state's clock and that what he does on the side is a common practice in Sacramento.

Reade is set to keep his job as chief of staff to newly elected Republican Assemblyman Jim Nielsen (R-Redding) in Assembly District 02.