On October 6, 2020 we received a letter from the FPPC stating that they had received a sworn complaint from Ajay Mohan alleging that we had violated the Political Reform Act’s campaign disclosure provisions. Not surprisingly, Ajay Mohan is closely connected to Democratic candidates running for Tustin City Council, Becky Gomez and Letitia Clark (you could have easily checked this out and perhaps noted this in your article).
On October 8, 2020 you issued your article stating many falsehoods using words like “charged”, even though we had only received our first communications from the FPPC two days earlier informing us of the complaint filed against us. That same day our attorney notified you with a Demand for Retraction of All Defamatory and Deceptive Publications and a Notice of Cease and Desist from All Further Defamatory and Deceptive Publications. The following day your published response was “It’s always fun to get a call from a lawyer demanding a post be removed.”
On October 6, 2020 we called the FPPC and reviewed the allegations. Here is what we found. We were not in violation of not reporting funds, but there were some discrepancies in how James and I had accrued obligations between ourselves as we received donations through our separate campaign accounts and how we accounted for these obligations as a team splitting costs 50:50. Throughout our campaign we have used a campaign accounting service and this service had never faced a “team” running for office. According to the FPPC, this was a minor clerical error, not “failed to report a single cent” as stated in your article. We don’t expect any further action from the FPPC.
Respectively,
Kurt Bensworth on behalf of James Perez and Team Tustin 2020
Bensworth for Tustin City Council 2020 FPPC ID# 1426213
Perez for Tustin City Council 2020 FPPC ID# 1426330
Editor’s Note: The post in question was a headline and press release provided by the Democratic Party of Orange County; they are responsible for the content and the headline. This blog typically publishes press releases for Democratic Organizations and Candidates as sent (not every release, but many). When I asked the lawyer what was inaccurate, be declined to be specific.
The Tustin Race is A Joke: Tustin needs the party politics out and true candidates that are for Tustin. Not these Dem-Repubic hacks who keep their machine humming along. This city needs union money out, individual campaign contributions set to $250, no PAC money, you cannot fund your campaign (YOU KNOW NOBODY WANTES YOU!!!), and outside influences out. Tustin don’t vote these hacks in. LISTENING TO these guys who all have faults is pure democrat bs. This is the GODs TRUTH. WE ARE THE SILENT MAJORITY THAT WANTS THESE PEOPLE OUT! WHY IS PLANNED PARENTHOOD AND TUSTIND PD AND FIRE AUTHORITY FUNDING THESE CANDIDATES! BECAUE THEY ARE BUYING RAISES AND CONTRACTS! FIGHT IT!
Lee Fink – Who? He claims he has lived here forever. What have you DONE for Tustin in the last five years? You just came on the spot out of nowhere and raised all your Demacrook money. Over 100k and counting, please let me know how you plan on spending all that money on votes. The thought is sickening, WAKE UP TUSTIN. You want this sick progressive building Rainbow huts for the homeless everywhere? SPEND MONEY AND LOSE. LOSER
Beckie Gomez – Can she retire already? Besides 8 total signs around town, we are going to endure 8 more years of her. Legacy and everyone e remembers that YOU DON’T CARE FOR OUR CHILDREN. YOU NEVER DID! DON’T VOTE FOR HER! SPEND MONEY AND LOSE.
Letitia Clark – She says she balanced budgets and saved our city. What did you do for four years? Just another Democrat hack that thinks she is a winner. Take that UNION MONEY AND MOVE TO YOUR NEXT POST. Yawn!
AJ JAH – Guy ran and FORGOT all his friends. His beloved TPD also abandoned him because he SUCKS. NOW HE HAS NO FRIENDS. GO BACK TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND DO NOTHING FOR NOBODY. POLITICS FOR BIG BOYS – GO CRY IN THE CORNER.
Ryan Gallagher – Who? Another Loser Like Austin. SPEND MONEY AND LOSE. ANOTHER entitled loser.
JUDGE Jorge – Who? ANOTHER LOSER! SPEND MONEY AND LOSE.
Cris – Who? HE SHOULD OF JOINED THE TICKET WITH JAMES AND Kurt! TO WIN FOR TUSTIN!
WHO ARE THESE GUYS JORGE/RYAN don’t vote for these entitled goons WHO WANT TO REPRESENT YOU. THEY DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT TUSTIN OR YOU. ALL THEY CARE ABOUT IS NOT BUILDING A HOMELESS SHELTER IN THE LEGACY. JUST CARE FOR THE NICE PART.
The democrats are in the business for running for office and winning. When they identify a group of idiots running for office who don’tfollow the rules, the party pays attention, screenshots, and documents everything. There is a reason all these allegations are coming to light. The FPCC is black and white on how elections and campaigns are supposed to be run.I don’t believe Mr. Bensworth and Perez have any idea of what they are doing.They are running this campaign with no sort of planning or idea what so ever.Who is their Political Consultant? According to social media, it seems like Barry Cooper, who, according to the FPPC, couldn’t even file his campaign reporting on time (see below). Nobody investigated him then (who knows what he did back then), so they are probably up to their tricks again. Do they even understand the technicalities of running for office in California? HELL NO.
You can not go on Facebook and state you have raised 55k and then have nothing to show for it. If you are lying now, who knows what you will lie about when you hold public office (for Tustin, I hope you don’t hold any office). Who will believe the non-sense that your money fell through even if it existed? It is probably a good reason
those donors didn’t waste money donatingto your campaign. ALSO, WHO WOULD DONATE THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY TO YOUR CAMPAIGN? The belief that these guys can change things finally. What are they going tochange, campaign finance law? The worst thing is they are making an insult tothe rules and procedures people seeking public office have to follow. Great job, Dan, don’t give up. These guys use the threat of legal action to silence their stupidity. Funny, this sounds like a guy in the White House. This group of miscreants is the worst thing that has happened to Tustin in the near-decade and the community wasting one vote on them is one vote wasted. Don’t believe in false promises of people who can “change” the system. The system is way too big to be changed, and the current system of city government is operated in a manner that these idiots could never understand.
Facts are facts. I will not believe some half-written pressrelease alleging fake news and Mr. Bensworth’s expertise in running “team” campaigns. When the FPCC reviews the data and fines will be levied, we are talking about substantial penalties. Unfortunately, it will take months to see what happens with this, and by then, people will have moved on. People that are defending these idiots, please take a deep breath and take a look at yourself in the mirror and evaluate your life choices. I blame people for not running And letting these people get involved because Tustin finds itself in this situation.
FPPC Action: In the Matter of Cooper for Council 2018, Barry Cooper, and Gary Crummitt; FPPC No. 19/325. Staff: Chief of Enforcement Galena West andPolitical Reform Consultant Chloe Hackert. Barry Cooper was a successful candidate for Tustin City Council on November 6, 2018, General Election. Cooperfor Council 2018 is his candidate-controlled Committee. Gary Crummitt is theCommittee’s treasurer. The Committee, Cooper, and Crummitt failed to reportexpenditure information on a pre-election campaign statement for the reportingperiod of September 23, 2018, through October 20, 2018, in violation ofGovernment Code Section 84211 (1 count). Fine: $230.