Lt. Gov Candidate Hahn's 'Desperate Ploy' to Limit Newsom Fund-Raising Fails

Free to raise boatloads of cash...

​Earlier this month, would be-lieutenant governor Janice Hahn filed a complaint with the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) alleging that Democratic opponent Gavin Newsom was violating campaign finance guidelines by having the option to go back to those who already donated to his gubernatorial campaign and asking them to write him new checks for his bid to be lieutenant governor.

Back in February, Roman Porter, executive director of the FPPC, took a moment off from watching his wife give birth to tell Calbuzz he thought this was a dubious argument, since limits apply "per candidate, per election."

Now, the final decision is back from the FPPC, and, indeed, the commission has dismissed Hahn's complaint.

Hahn's chief strategist, Garry South, a former adviser to Newsom, lambasted the decision. "This is clearly a perversion of what voters had in mind" when they passed Proposition 34, he said.

South said that a candidate should not be allowed to say that he or she is going to run for governor, raise money from supporters under limits "that are four times as high," spend the money, and then drop down to the lieutenant governor's race. 

"If Newsom is allowed to exploit this loophole, you will bet other candidates will in the future, and the whole thing will become a mockery," South said. 

Newsom's attorney Tom Willis told us in March that Hahn's complaint was a "desperate ploy to get some press and chill some contributors."

Whether or not it was a "desperate ploy," the attempt to stop Newsom from raking in the dough seems to have failed.