News Clips

Good government advocates have argued for years that some ballot measure committees are used as slush funds for candidates to get around finance laws and boost their own campaigns. Kathay Feng, the executive director of California Common Cause, said Allen’s ad “appears to be an attempt to circumvent California’s campaign finance limits.”

According to a 2016 study by Nicolas Heidorn, Policy and Legal Director of California Common Cause, state law allows local jurisdictions to set their own rules when it comes to limits on how much a candidate can raise and when. Only 109 cities (23% of all cities in the state), including Fresno, impose limits.

The practice of allowing corporate interests and labor to make unlimited contributions to help legislators with legal problems is troubling to Kathay Feng, executive director of California Common Cause.

Sylvia Moore, an organizer from California Common Cause, which works to increase voter participation, held a workshop to teach students how campaign contributions influence elections. Moore said she thinks campaign contributions can influence how politicians vote on bills that affect higher education affordability. “It is important for students to get involved (in elections) because these issues affect them and their future,” she said.

CA Common Cause also advocated strongly for the bill. “Every voter has a right to know who is trying to influence our votes and our Legislature,” said Nicolas Heidorn, the group’s legislative affairs director, in a statement. “While Congress and federal agencies fail to act to require more transparency in the post-Citizens United era, the Disclose Act will continue California’s leadership in building a strong and transparent democracy.”

Kathy Feng, executive director of California Common Cause, an ethics watchdog group, said employee donors are worrisome. "There's been a long history of coercion of employees to take political positions or make donations at the direction of their employers," Feng said. "There is a power relationship. A staff person might feel compelled to donate regardless of how they might feel personally about a candidate or a campaign."