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Look it up: Check candidates and elected officials for campaign law violations
The Fair Political Practices Commission, California’s campaign and ethics watchdog agency, receives thousands of complaints each year and opens hundreds of investigations into elected officials from the local level up to the governor.
Is one of your local elected officials, or a candidate running for office in your area, currently under investigation by the agency? Or were they investigated previously and, if so, what was the outcome? Type in their name below to find out.
One caveat: An investigation does not necessarily indicate wrongdoing. The outcome of an investigation determines whether there was a violation. outcome of the investigation determines whether there was a violation.
A recent CalMatters investigation of commission enforcement data found that:
- 19 of the 305 candidates in California races for state Legislature, U.S. House and U.S. Senate have an open case against them, including an investigation into Congressional candidate Evan Low’s relationship with a policy nonprofit that was opened as a result of CalMatters reporting in 2020.
- Two of the state’s eight constitutional officers are currently under investigation — Gov. Gavin Newsom for late filings and Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara for allegations of “laundered campaign contributions” — and both won re-election in 2022 while their cases were still pending.
- Seven of the eight top constitutional officers — all but Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis — have had past violations, ranging from improper disclosures to illegal campaign contributions, according to commission enforcement records.
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Taking our sweet time is a feature, not a bug, of our election system.
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The contract Steel directed to her campaign mail vendor in 2020 charged taxpayers about $24 per meal, three times as much as vendors charged in two other Orange County supervisor districts, according to an LAist review of contracts.
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One UFO researcher called Big Tujunga Canyon a “window area” for paranormal encounters.
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As the Nov. 5 election draws closer, many of us have yet to vote and are looking for some help. We hope you start with our Voter Game Plan. Since we don't do endorsements, we've also put together a list of other popular voting guides across the political spectrum.
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A collaboration devised as part of Getty's PST ART taught students about environmental issues from the perspective of communities across the Americas.
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After his debut at 19 in Major League Baseball, Fernandomania swept L.A. and the nation.