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Press Release: Berkeley Progressive Student Association Files Numerous Campaign Violations Against 4 Candidates, 2 Organizations
Complaint documents numerous clear Berkeley Election Reform Act (BERA) violations by Rashi Kesarwani, Ben Gould, Greg Magofna, Lori Droste, the Berkeley Democratic Club, and the Berkeley Police Association
On Saturday, UC Berkeley students filed with the Berkeley Fair Campaign Practices Commission (FCPC) documenting campaign violations by anti-progressive candidates Rashi Kesarwani, Ben Gould, Greg Magofna, and Lori Droste and the Berkeley Democratic Club and Berkeley Police Association for clear violations of the Berkeley Election Reform Act (BERA).
The complaint, submitted by the Progressive Student Association (PSA), contains at least a dozen violations1 including failing to report expenditures, making illegal expenditures, failing to file required reports, and submitting false information, perjury, and failure to register apolitical committee with the city.
“These anti-progressive candidates and the equally problematic organizations supporting them aren’t just lying to voters about their own records and in numerous cases those of their opponents; they’re also lying to voters about their campaign finances,” said PSA President Harriet Steele. “These kinds of violations provide them with unfair and illegal advantages over their progressive opponents who follow the rules.”
The Progressive Student Association (PSA) is UC Berkeley’s chapter of Our Revolution - which was founded by Senator Bernie Sanders in summer 2016 to continue the legacy of his historic presidential bid - as well as the premier political organization on campus. The organization was originally founded as UC Berkeley for Bernie (UCB4B), and was the largest college chapter of Senator Sanders’s campaign. Since then, its accomplishments have included raising Berkeley’s minimum wage to $15 (effective October 1), passing Berkeley Measure U1 to fund affordable housing, electing Council member Kate Harrison in 2017, and raising Berkeley’s affordable housing mitigation fee to fund affordable housing.
1 The complaint groups the violations into 9.5 sections.
The full text is here.
