In
the wake of a formal complaint claiming his campaign lacked financial
disclosure, Richard Gutierrez has refiled documents with the Secretary
of State’s office, The Desert Sun has learned.
The
80th Assembly District Democratic candidate could still be out of
compliance, though, because 90-day election cycle reports require
campaigns that have raised $50,000 to report $1,000 contributions
within 24 hours.
As reported on mydesert.com,
Gutierrez told The Desert Sun editorial board on Monday that he had
about $150,000 on hand. Documents filed with the Secretary of State,
however, show Gutierrez has $105,387.
Gutierrez’s
campaign resubmitted the documents with the California Secretary of
State on April 21. The complaint was lodged April 17.
"It’s just my ignorance that’s kind of gotten us into hot water," said Pat Goodwin, campaign treasure.
"We’re trying to get up to where we should be and from here on out doing it right."
Goodwin,
who owns Pat Goodwin Bookkeeping and Tax Service in Moreno Valley, said
the filings were now updated. This is the first state race Goodwin has
worked, she said.
The filings show the El Centro
orthodontist has only spent $1,739 on the campaign with expenditures
for telephone service and the Riverside County Registrar of Voters.
The
April 21 updated filing does not include the cost of creating
drgutierrezforassembly80.com, which was purchased Oct. 13, 2007,
according to Godaddy.com, a domain registration site.
Gutierrez did not return phone calls to his cell phone seeking comment.
"The
information has to be filed on line No. 1 so the public knows where the
money goes and No. 2 makes it accessible," said Carmen Balber,
political reform director with Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica.
"Whether
or not the violations were intentional or through ignorance doesn’t
really matter that much to a voter. They still lack information."
Formed in 1985, the Consumer Watchdog is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that fights pocketbook issues and campaign finance with lobbying and litigation.
{}Fine can be assessed
Dale
Wissman, a labor relations representative with the California School
Employees Association, lodged a formal complaint claiming Gutierrez had
not submitted semiannual and pre-election campaign statements nor
disclosed contributor information.
Wissman supports Democratic candidate Manual Perez in the 80th Assembly District race.
The
FPPC can assess a fine of up to $5,000 per violation and has 14 days to
respond to the complaint. A political reform act violation is a
misdemeanor. Local jurisdictions decide whether to bring criminal
charges.
"Our enforcement division takes into
consideration all information related to any investigation or
inquiries," said Roman Porter, an FPPC spokesman.
The FPPC has 14 days to respond to a formal complaint, at which time they disclose whether they intend to investigate or not.
The next electronic filing deadline is May 22, which covers the reporting period from March 18-May 17.
However,
candidates who have raised or spent $50,000 and are required to file
electronically are obligated to post contributions within 24 hours in
the 90-day period prior to the June 3 election.
"If
they can’t fill out the forms to the campaign right, how can the public
count on them to manage a $100 billion budget in California," Balber
said.
"The information matters and it’s their responsibility, as candidates, to provide it."
