The congressional campaign of California Assemblyman Evan Low has been hit with a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint, amidst an intensifying race between him and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo to replace retiring Representative Anna Eshoo.
The complaint was filed over the weekend by the former FEC chair, Ann Ravel, according to SFGATE and ABC7 News, who alleged that Low’s campaign did not disclose that it used the server and email list of nonprofit Stand With Asian Americans as an in-kind contribution.
While Ravel has been a vocal supporter of Liccardo, and is listed as an endorser on his website, she said that the reason behind her complaint isn’t politically motivated.
“My rationale for this has nothing to do with Liccardo and my support of him or any feeling particularly about Evan Low”, she said in an interview with ABC7 News. “What I care about is the democratic process and I care about making sure that all people know who’s behind various campaigns.”.
According to Lam Nguyen, a spokesperson for Low’s campaign, the link was nothing more than a mistake.
“Sam Liccardo is once again deploying his supporters to make false accusations against our campaign, and distract (from) his own shady conduct”, said Nguyen in an interview with the San Jose Spotlight. “This is simply a case of a volunteer working in their personal capacity using the wrong hyperlink. The email list was purchased from the county registrar and reported by the campaign.”.
In a statement acquired by the San Jose Spotlight, Stand With Asian Americans President Michelle Lee and COO Brian Pang denied giving Low their subscriber information.
“It is against our core policies to share, sell or disclose any subscriber information to external entities, including political campaigns”, they said. “(Stand With Asian Americans) has never provided email lists to the Low campaign. Any suggestion otherwise is categorically false and misrepresents our unwavering commitment to our community’s privacy and trust.”.
Robin Logsdon, Liccardo’s campaign manager said that the complaint raises important transparency questions in an interview with the San Jose Spotlight.
“Evan Low will do anything to further his political career, whether it’s breaking the law or taking money from oil companies, PG&E or private prisons”, said Logsdon. “It’s gotten so bad Barack Obama’s former FEC chair is now calling him out, four years after the FPPC opened a still ongoing investigation into him. Voters deserve better.”.
Stand With Asian Americans also sent a statement to ABC7 on the matter, saying “We condemn Ms. Revel’s (sic) politically motivated and irresponsible accusations against SwAA, a civil rights organization fighting anti-Asian hate and discrimination. Ms. Revel failed to reach out to us to verify these allegations, which are easily proven false. Ms. Revel’s complaint, citing Evan’s attendance of a SwAA anti-Asian hate event as evidence of wrongdoing, is outrageous – we wonder if she would attack other minority advocacy organizations under similar circumstances.”.
The race for Congressional District 16 has been rife with multiple politically-targeted election complaints.
Liccardo initially won the race by a wide margin back in March, with Low and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian tying in second place, until a recount request was made, with two FEC complaints being filed against Liccardo in the aftermath.
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc. Make a tax-deductible donation of at least $40 or pledge a monthly recurring donation of at least $10 by August 31 and receive a free copy of The Legend of Mu Lan: Heroine of Ancient China, the inspiration for the classic Disney movie. We are supported in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.