Yue Stella Yu and Jeremia Kimelman at CalMatters:
Historically plagued by what some staff called an “enormous” backlog, California’s campaign watchdog [the Fair Political Practices Commission] has sometimes taken years to resolve cases — exposing violations or exonerating politicians only after they left office or won an election, a CalMatters analysis has found. While the agency has worked to expedite enforcement, advocates, officials and past and current commissioners say delayed actions can diminish public trust in the state’s ability to prosecute corruption effectively. … The lag in enforcement could leave some voters in the dark in upcoming elections. As of last week:
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On the November ballot, 19 of the 305 candidates for the state Legislature, U.S. House and U.S. Senate have an open case against them, commission data shows.
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Two of the state’s eight constitutional officers are now under investigation — Gov. Gavin Newsom for late filings and Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara for allegations of “laundered campaign contributions” — and both won re-election as their cases were pending.
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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.