Requesting investigation into WDAAC and Yes on L allegations

The following was emailed to CityCouncilMembers@cityofdavis.org this morning

Dear Members of the Davis City Council,

I am writing to request formally that the Davis City Council send a letter to the Yolo County District Attorney and California Fair Political Practices Committee (FPPC) requesting investigations into the allegations against the West Davis Active Adult Community (WDAAC) and the Yes on L campaign, as described in the following article by Alan Pryor:

https://newdavisite.wordpress.com/2019/02/13/yes-on-measure-l-campaign-violates-fppc-disclosure-laws-by-failing-to-report-davis-vanguard-ad-expen/

(Or please click here if that link wraps).

Specifically, the article alleges:

• About $70,000 of campaign expenditures which were made by the Yes on Measure L campaign for attorney fees were illegal under FPPC campaign finance regulations as written in the FPPC Disclosure Manuals that provide guidance and requirements for such campaign expenditures.
• The Davis Vanguard ran daily ads since the inception of the campaign until voting day and for a substantial period beforehand. The payment for these ads is not disclosed on any financial statements filed by the Yes on Measure L campaign, which is a violation of FPPC regulations.
• A disclosed financial filing of $3,000 to "Froggy's" for food service for a Vanguard fundraising event is not an allowable campaign expense for the Yes on Measure L campaign under FPPC guidelines.
• Over $64,000 of non-monetary contributions to the Yes on Measure L campaign for salaries have been disclosed in campaign filings but the recipients of these salaries have been kept secret, and it is not known if these payments were for personal gain, which is prohibited by FPPC regulations or otherwise disallowed under FPPC guidelines.

These allegations, if true, seem to me to be serious corruptions to our democratic process and a deceptive and problematic insertion of corporate money into our citizen campaigns. I hope that the Davis City Council shares my concerns and addresses this issue accordingly. If I have not identified the appropriate authorities for these complaints, I request that you address these concerns to whomever the appropriate authorities are.

For the record, I did not volunteer for the No on L campaign or contribute monetarily to that campaign.

Sincerely,

Roberta Millstein
Davis citizen

Addendum: I received a response from Councilmember Will Arnold, who said that the matter would be taken up for action at an upcoming closed session.