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Matt Mahan’sfloundering campaign for California governorhas been hit with a new bombshell complaint accusing the San Jose mayor of illegally coordinating with a billionaire-funded PAC — and the allegations could warrant penalties up to $5 million.
The Post exclusively obtained the complaint, which accuses Mahan and an independent expenditure committee called Back to Basics of violating state election law on coordination by using same polling company, Impact Research, and each paying the firm $89,500.
Allegations made to the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission note that similar sharing of “key strategists” has resulted in major fines in the past, and Mahan’s indiscretions could trigger penalties in the millions.
Political experts told The Post that Mahan’s use of the same polling firm as the pro-Mahan committee was unprecedented, “sloppy” and “unseemly.”
Mahan, who ispolling in sixth place, has been in a free-fall this week, as billionaire donors like Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings — whoclawed back $1 million from the pro-Mahan committee— are jumping ship.
Other billionaire backers to the pro-Mahan committee have included venture capitalist Michael Moritz, Los Angeles businessman Rick Caruso and Stripe CEO Patrick Collision.
The complaint could carry massive consequences because California Back to Basics has already raised and spent more than $23 million supporting Mahan’s gubernatorial campaign, which has reportedly led to himmissing more than third of San Jose city council meetingssince he launched his campaign in January.
If regulators determine the IE committee coordinated with the campaign through the use of “shared key strategists,” those expenditures could potentially be reclassified as illegal in-kind campaign contributions.
“This has the potential to be one of the largest enforcement actions in FPPC history,” the complaint states.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
