California's Evan Low hit with FEC complaint accusing him of illegally using money from his state campaign account for his congressional bid

SAN JOSE, Calif. — In the latest salvo of the highly charged 16th Congressional District race, a pro-democracy and voting rights group is accusing Assembly member Evan Low of violating federal law by using funds from his state campaign account to support his congressional bid.

Defend the Vote has filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission against Low, asking the oversight body to investigate the candidate and his campaign after his state office account — Evan Low for Assembly 2024 — filed a report with the FEC last week noting that it spent roughly $35,000 on advertisements distributed widely across Congressional District 16. Low is running against former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo in an increasingly tense race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo. Defend the Vote has endorsed Liccardo.

Low’s expenditures include an ad buy with Sing Tao Chinese Radio, which airs on two different stations broadcast across the Bay Area. Sing Tao also aired a video on its YouTube channel that Defend the Vote called in its complaint “in substance, a campaign ad.” The video has since been listed as private on the channel.

In the video, which was reviewed by this news organization, the assemblymember touts his accomplishments in the state legislature and ends by saying, “Thank you District 26 for fighting with me, let’s keep California moving forward.” The ad has a disclaimer on it that it’s paid for by Low’s state office account.

“Evan Low is clearly running a campaign ad for Congress with funds from his state campaign committee. You simply can’t do that,” Defend the Vote Executive Director Brian Lemek said in a statement. “It’s plain as day that this is a campaign ad, and despite efforts to hide some of the illegal funds, the paper trail is a mile long.”

In a statement, Low’s deputy campaign manager, Lam Nguyen, accused Liccardo’s camp of creating a diversion.

“Sam Liccardo’s campaign has once again put his endorser up to file false and meritless complaints to distract from Sam’s own ethical failings — his involvement in the Duong corruption scandal, his public safety failures and his attacks on first responders,” Nguyen said. “Voters should heed the warnings of local firefighters and police officers — you can’t trust Sam.”

Nguyen’s reference to the Duong corruption scandal relates to recent raids by the FBI on Andy Duong and his father David Duong, who is the CEO of California Waste Solutions, and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao. The Duongs are major donors to Bay Area politicians — including Low, who donated a recent contribution from David Duong to Ayudando Latinos A Soñar, a Half Moon Bay-based nonprofit. In 2021, California Waste Solutions also donated $10,000 to a political action committee that was started by Liccardo. There’s no indication that the former mayor is being investigated in relation to the Duong’s corruption scandal.

According to the complaint, the electioneering communication report Low’s state office account filed with the FEC “makes it clear that the communications were not limited in distribution to constituents in the 26th Assembly District, but was distributed broadly across the 16th Congressional District.” Electioneering communications are radio and TV ads that are distributed within 60 days of an election and target the candidate’s electorate, which is considered 50,000 or more residents in the district.

The complaint cites a Federal Communications Commission’s database which reports that the two stations Sing Tao is broadcast on reach an audience of 50,000 or more in Congressional District 16. The video ad, the complaint said, was “also distributed widely on the Internet to Sing Tao’s viewers across the Bay Area.”

Low’s state office account also reported an ad buy with Impact Politics, a political marketing agency. The complaint said that while they don’t know the “precise distribution of the ad,” its inclusion on the FEC report indicates that it was widely distributed in the congressional district.

Defend the Vote estimates that only 4% of voters in Congressional District 16 live in Low’s current assembly district.

Liccardo’s campaign criticized Low for his use of state funds.

“Evan Low, who is already under investigation from the Fair Political Practices Commission for campaign finance violations, continues to find new ways to break campaign finance laws and betray the public trust,” Liccardo spokesperson Gil Rubinstein said in a statement. “Ethical leadership is the bare minimum for any elected official. Voters deserve better.”

In 2020, the California Fair Political Practices Commission opened an investigation into Low after CalMatters reported that the assemblymember had stopped reporting behested payments to the Foundation for California’s Technology and Innovation Economy. State law requires elected officials to disclose donations of $5,000 or more given to other groups at their request. The nonprofit is connected to the legislature’s technology caucus that Low co-chairs. The investigation is still open and pending, according to the FPPC’s website.

Defend the Vote is also questioning what kind of money has flowed into Low’s state office account that is now being used for federal purposes.

In California senate and assembly races, individuals can donate a maximum of $5,500 to candidates. But in federal elections, the contribution maximum is much lower at $3,300. Corporations and state political action committees are also barred from donating to federal races, but not to California legislative races.

A review of contributions made to Low’s state account indicate that he has accepted contributions above $3,300 and from corporations and state PACs like Anheuser Busch Companies and Airbnb, which he is legally able to do in a state election but not a federal one.

The complaint argues that Low failed to follow the law by not reporting to the FEC the names and addresses of those who contributed an aggregate amount of $1,000 or more “apparently in an attempt to hide its corporate and labor funding sources.”

The complaint from Defend the Vote is the fourth FEC complaint filed in the Congressional District 16 race. In August, former FEC Chair Ann Ravel filed a complaint against Low, alleging he failed to properly report the use of a nonprofit’s email server and contact list. Two complaints have been filed against Liccardo over the voter-requested recount that happened in the primary race when Low tied with Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian for second. The complaints accused Liccardo of coordinating with the funders of the recount.

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