Fresno City Council candidate Ariana Martinez Lott has allegedly improperly coordinated with a progressive minor political party in violation of state campaign finance laws.
A person by the name of Marni Jacobs filed a complaint with Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz over campaign mailers sent out by the California Working Families Party that feature Martinez Lott.
Driving the news: Mailers appeared in Fresno mailboxes on Monday advocating for Fresno Building Healthy Communities CEO Sandra Celedon, who is running for the Assembly in District 31.
The other side of the mailer promotes Jane Kim for Insurance Commissioner, Michael Tubbs for Lt. Governor, Naindeep Singh for Fresno City Council District 1 and Martinez Lott for District 7.
California Working Family Parties is also one of several groups hosting a phone bank in support of Celedon and Martinez Lott.
Why it matters: California campaign finance law requires all independent expenditures supporting candidates exceeding the $1,000 aggregate threshold to be filed with Form 496 with the City Clerk’s Office.
What they filed: While California Working Families Party did file a Form 496 with the city on Tuesday, it did not disclose its spending on the mailers.
California Working Families Party disclosed $10,000 of digital advertisement spending on May 8. It did not include any other spending.
Go deeper: The complaint alleges that the California Working Families Party and the Martinez Lott campaign are also violating state law with the phone bank event.
The complaint states that any related expenditures, such as mailers and text messages supporting Martinez Lott, must be treated as in-kind contributions to the campaign.
What we’re watching: Jacobs is requesting City Attorney Andrew Janz to investigate the alleged state law violations and to impose any appropriate fines and penalties for late and non-filings and for the coordination violations.