California: Fair Political Practices Commission

Jerry Brown got some headlines today with the word that he had appointed Sacramento veteran Lynn Montgomery to the Fair Political Practices Commission. There's something truly perverse about Jerry getting to name someone to the agency that promotes integrity...

Let the 2010 GOP politicking begin.

Tom Hudson, the chairman of the Placer County Republican Party, filed a formal complaint with the state's campaign watchdog agency on Monday only hours after Meg Whitman announced she was exploring a run for governor.

In his complaint to the Fair Political Practices Commission, Hudson accuses Whitman of hiding her campaign expenditures, claiming she has been campaigning for months without disclosure.

"To date, Candidate has refused to file any campaign reports to disclose the tens of thousands or perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on her behalf to win the Republican nomination," he writes in his complaint.

Hudson cites press reports that Whitman "retained, hired and fired numerous campaign consultants, press assistants, pollsters, attorneys and campaign organizers over the last many months.

SACRAMENTO - The state Fair Political Practices Commission postponed a decision Thursday that would make it more difficult for politicians to use generic ballot measure committees as less-regulated slush funds for political fundraising.

Bowing to concerns from both concerned election law attorneys and some commissioners, the FPPC voted unanimously to delay adoption of the regulation until its details could be clarified, which would happen before the commission's next meeting in early January.

Less than a week before the Nov. 4 election, three Northern California Assembly races have each drawn over $1 million in independent expenditures, according to the state Fair Political Practices Commission.

In two of those races, AD 15 and AD 10, respective Democrats Joan Buchanan and Alyson Huber have each had more than $1 million spent on their behalf alone. In AD 30, the independent expenditures are almost evenly split between Democrat Fran Florez and Republican Danny Gilmore, each supported by over $560,000 in IEs.