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Mayoral candidate Tom Bates was cleared Wednesday of accepting illegal corporate campaign donations.  

The Fair Campaign Practices Commission voted unanimously that Bates did not violate Berkeley campaign law when he accepted money from fundraising committees of state politicians which were funded in part by questionable corporate donations.  

Berkeley campaign law prohibits candidates from taking corporate money. 

Berkeley resident Sam Herbert had alleged that the donations were illegal because there was no way Bates could verify that the money did not come from an outlawed corporate source. 

But according to City Attorney Manuela Albuquerque, Herbert had misinterpreted the law. She said candidates may receive donations from the campaign funds of political allies, as long as they receive assurances that the money donated was not from a corporate source. 

Bates’ campaign treasurer Mal Burnstein insisted that he had received the proper assurances