Complaint: LA-based left-wing nonprofit illegally circumventing campaign finance limits to help Fresno City Council contender

Fresno City Council candidate Ariana Martinez Lott allegedly illegally coordinated with a Los Angeles based political action committee on advertising. 

That’s according to a complaint submitted to the Fresno City Attorney’s Office on Tuesday as well as the Fair Political Practices Commission. 

Driving the news: CA Youth Power PAC spent more than $5,000 in support of Martinez Lott through June 30 in her campaign for Fresno City Council District 7. She will face Nav Gurm on the ballot in November. 

The committee reported roughly $3,800 for coordinated contributions with Martinez Lott and Assembly Candidate Sandra Celedon, as well as $1,400 in independent expenditures in support of Martinez Lott. 

CA Youth Power PAC is the third-layer subsidiary of a nonprofit run from Los Angeles. Nonprofit Power California sits at the top with millions of dollars in net assets. Power California receives donations from various left wing groups. 

Nonprofit PowerCA Action sits under Power California and exists to keep donors anonymous, according to nonprofit database GuideStar. That leads into CA Youth Power PAC, which receives the majority of its funding from PowerCA Action. 

The big picture: A person by the name of Marni Jacobs filed the complaint and alleges several violations of state law by CA Youth Power PAC and the Martinez Lott campaign. 

CA Youth Power PAC reported the mailer sent out in support of Martinez Lott and Celedon as a contribution, which the complaint claims is an admission that the mailer was coordinated by the campaign. 

The organization also ran Facebook and Instagram ads that say they are independent expenditures, but the ads send voters to Martinez Lott’s campaign website. 

What we’re watching: Jacobs is asking the City Attorney’s Office and the FPPC to open a formal investigation into CA Youth Power PAC and to determine if the ads were coordinated with the Martinez Lott campaign. 

Flashback: Jacobs previously filed a separate complaint with the City Attorney’s Office in May alleging that Martinez Lott had improperly coordinated with the California Working Families Party.