By Miriam Raftery
 

December 17, 2009 (El Cajon) – The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has fined Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) $20,000 for soliciting and accepting donations over legal limits. The FPPC also fined the Fresno Central Committee $29,000 for laundering money from major Anderson donors including Hamann Construction family members, Sycuan and Barona Indian bands, then funneling hefty sums back into Anderson’s campaign coffers. Anderson has since returned more than $100,000 in donations.

Fines were levied shortly after Anderson’s annual holiday party last week, where he posed for photos with hundreds of constituents. Outside the party, protesters used a loudspeaker to inform party-goers of the controversy, carrying signs that read “Jail Joel” and calling for the Assemblyman to resign.

By Miriam Raftery
 

October 8, 2009 (San Diego’s East County)—The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has launched an investigation into allegations that Assemblyman Joel Anderson’s campaign may have received funds funneled illegally through the Fresno County Republican Central Committee. (Read details.) Anderson (R-Alpine) has announced plans to run for the State Senate.

The news sparked heated comments from Simon Mayeski, a state board member of Common Cause, a citizens watchdog organization committed to holding government officials accountable for their actions and encouraging citizen participation. “It is extremely discouraging that the constant need to raise campaign dollars now places Joel Anderson, my very own Assembly representative, under the investigative eye of the FPPC,” Mayeski, a San Diego resident, told East County Magazine. “It is even worse that he is under investigation because of the Commission’s own decision, and not by complaint of another politician.”