A state watchdog agency has approved a record $106,000 fine to be paid by gay former Assemblymember Evan Low as part of a settlement related to multiple violations of California campaign finance laws he was found to have made via a technology-focused nonprofit he oversaw. It was related to Low’s attempt to hide a $227,000 appearance fee paid to actor Alec Baldwin for showing up at a tech event and fundraiser for Low.
The California Fair Political Practices Commission signed off on the fine at its April 10 meeting on a 3-0 vote, with chair Adam E. Silver recusing himself. He had pulled the item off the oversight body’s consent calendar in order for the rest of the commissioners to discuss it with staff.
In response to a question about the eye-popping amount that Low was fined stemming from the 23 counts of violations he was found to have made, which FPPC staff in an untypical move had decided to fine Low for each one, Assistant Chief of the Enforcement Division Angela Brereton explained they did so because “this conduct was egregious.”
She noted that Low had “purposefully” taken action to conceal the payment to Baldwin and had not reported it for five years.
“We don’t typically charge for every single violation. Often we will combine counts or use certain violations that might qualify under the streamlined program and not charge individual stipulations. We did not do that here,” said Brereton.
In agreeing to the settlement, Low paid off the Baldwin-related expenses and publicly disclosed those payments, according to the FPPC.
Low, who was accused of misusing funds in his state account to benefit his ultimately unsuccessful bid for a South Bay congressional seat last November, was hired earlier this year as the new CEO and president of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund that works to elect out candidates to public office across the U.S. Reached by phone after the FPPC commission’s vote Thursday morning, Low told the Bay Area Reporter that he is glad to have the matter settled.
“I am pleased that the California Fair Political Practices Commission has concluded an overdue process to address these claims with closure. I am now focused on the important work of building and growing a pipeline of LGBTQ+ elected officials across the country," stated Low.
During one point of the hearing, in response to a question from a commissioner on if anyone had inquired about what they were required to report, Brereton responded that Low did have “attorneys involved” on his and the committee’s behalf.
“There were people giving guidance,” she said, “and then this is the activity that we have presented.”
According to the FPPC staff report regarding the agency’s investigation into Low, the Silicon Valley politico was found to have failed to timely file behested payment reports on three counts and failed to verify campaign statements on seven counts. Low’s candidate-controlled committee called Evan Low for Assembly 2020 and Low were also found to have failed to timely disclose accrued expenses on seven counts and failed to timely disclose subvendor payments on four counts, according to the FPPC staff.
Additionally, the committee and Low were found to have failed to maintain campaign records and failed to properly terminate the committee. It led the FPPC staff to recommend Low be fined $106,000 as part of the agency’s settlement with the former legislator.
The FPPC investigation into Low and the nonprofit he founded, The Foundation for California's Technology and Innovation Economy, began the same day that CalMatters published its third installment of its "Sweet Charity" series detailing the relationship between Low and the group.
As the news site noted last month, Low initially told investigators that Baldwin came to his February 7, 2020, fundraiser on his "own accord" as a volunteer. But the commission cited numerous messages between organizers seeking to conceal the nonprofit's payments to Baldwin in draft contracts, as detailed in its “scathing report” released in late March, reported CalMatters.
Sean McMorris of California Common Cause, an ethics watchdog group, told the site that the FPPC findings showed a "knowing and willing attempt to skirt the law" on Low’s part.
As CalMatters had previously reported, Low had co-founded and co-chaired the state Legislature's tech caucus and used his foundation to raise money from various tech companies and executives. The foundation hosted annual policy summits where tech leaders and lobbyists paid five figures to privately mingle with state officials, noted the site, such as the 2020 lunchtime event that featured the appearance by Baldwin.
Later that night, Baldwin was shuttled in a luxury vehicle to a Chinese restaurant in the heart of San Jose's Little Saigon as the "special celebrity guest" for Low's ticketed fundraiser, which doubled as his Lunar New Year celebration, according to FPPC findings and a Facebook page of the event, as CalMatters reported.
"For the Year of the Rat, expect big surprises and a big name," reads the description of Low's fundraiser. "Trust me, you won't want to miss out on this special 'presidential-esque' event!"
Baldwin had a recurring appearance playing President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live” at the time, noted CalMatters. According to CalMatters’ analysis of state campaign finance records, Low had raised more than $400,000 for the tech-focused nonprofit before it picked up the tab on Baldwin's presence at Low's fundraiser.
The FPPC staff report detailed how Low’s nonprofit foundation paid Baldwin to split his time evenly between the two events, but tried to conceal the payment amount for the fundraiser. Low initially had told investigators two years ago that Baldwin had volunteered his time and that he had no involvement in hiring the actor, but in January admitted to knowingly failing to disclose Baldwin’s fee and that it should have been repaid, according to the FPPC report.
CalMatters reported that Low had raised $505,000 over the years for the tech foundation, with the money deemed "behested payments" because they were donations to an organization or agency at a politician's behest. Such donations have long been decried by ethics advocates as being used to influence lawmakers and became a large focus of the corruption investigation at San Francisco City Hall into the payment of such donations by city contractors at the urging of department heads and elected officials.
It led to the Board of Supervisors enacting stricter prohibitions that apply broadly on the solicitation of behested payments from interested individuals, as noted by the city attorney’s office. It took effect in 2022.
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