With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today.
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.
-
On campus, many students found USC's reversal to be puzzling.
-
The highly anticipated airport service likely won’t open until October 2025.
-
In her first public statements since controversy erupted over millions of unaccounted for tax dollars, Rhiannon Do says she’s no longer with the O.C. nonprofit Viet America Society. She also says she never had a leadership role. Public documents show otherwise.
-
After San Gabriel's city council rejected the proposal as "too narrow", one city councilmember argued the entire DEI commission, created in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder, had "run its course."
-
A medical industry challenge to a $25 minimum wage ordinance in one Southern California city suggests health workers statewide could face layoffs and reductions in hours and benefits under a state law set to begin phasing in in June. Some experts are skeptical, however, that it will have such effects.
-
“It was a downer,” said Agustin Ruelas, the co-owner at Brewjeria, the Latino and POC-owned craft brewery in Pico Rivera. “We just wanted to honor Selena.”