The state Fair Political Practices Commission has opened an investigation into a political action committee that targeted former Chico mayor Scott Gruendl in the 2014 City Council race.
The PAC, called Butte County Awareness and Accountability, and its treasurer, Thomas Kozik, are under investigation as a result of an in-depth story about their activities published two months ago by ChicoSol, said Dylan Levine of the FPPC’s Enforcement Division. The FPPC said it would not comment on any specifics of its investigation while the probe is under way.
ChicoSol’s story detailed apparent violations by the PAC of laws governing political activities in California.
In the November 2014 election, Butte County Awareness and Accountability’s campaign-disclosure reports say that 78 percent of its spending went for two mailers attacking Gruendl. State law requires that if a PAC spends 70 percent or more of its funds in a city race, its reports on fundraising and spending activities should be filed with that city. However, instead of filing with the Chico city clerk’s office, Kozik sent the PAC’s disclosures to the Butte County elections office in Oroville.