GILROY
– Mayoral candidate Lupe Arellano, who failed to keep up with
campaign finance paperwork the past two years, has paid all of her
fines with the city.
GILROY – Mayoral candidate Lupe Arellano, who failed to keep up with campaign finance paperwork the past two years, has paid all of her fines with the city.
City Clerk Rhonda Pellin reported that Arellano’s payment came via mail on Monday – the same day an article ran in The Dispatch reporting Arellano had turned in her overdue campaign paperwork, but had yet to pay the $700 tab.
Pellin said the $700 goes toward the city’s $23 million general fund.
Arellano, who did not return phone calls before Monday’s deadline, called Monday’s report “slanted” during an interview Tuesday. The former Councilwoman said she has always taken “full responsibility” for not turning in the financial disclosures on time, an element she claims has been “omitted” from articles concerning her fines.
“I take all responsibility for my campaigns, and I have always run above-the-board campaigns,” Arellano said. “I’m sorry I didn’t turn in my paperwork on time.”
According to Arellano, her payment was put in the mail the morning of Sept. 5. She wasn’t given the formal bill until Aug. 27, but for several months had been under pressure from the city and the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission.
“I guess I’m apologizing for taking one week to pay the bill,” Arellano said.
Arellano also criticized reports that used the word “audited” to characterize FPPC inquiries on her most recent financial disclosure filing. FPPC inquiries, although not standard, are not formal audits.
“I probably wouldn’t call it an audit,” Pellin said Tuesday. “They were asking for additional information due to previously filed documents. It’s clarifying information.”
In FPPC language, “audit” refers to a set of programs for formally monitoring campaign statements filed by all candidates for elected office, from statewide offices to special local jurisdictions, as well as the reports filed by lobbying firms and lobbyist employers. The majority of the audits are conducted by a special unit of the state’s Franchise Tax Board.
This process was not triggered by the FPPC inquiries about Arellano.
“They asked me questions about why I have no portfolio this time when I did in the past, and I asked them, ‘Have you seen the stock market lately?’ ” Arellano said. “Asking me questions is a far cry from auditing me.”
Elected officials are required to make public their financial holdings, such as stocks, bonds, salaries and real-estate holdings other than their home. The records must be updated annually while in office and once after they leave office. The information is used to determine whether an elected official should not vote on issues when they have a direct financial interest.
Arellano’s most recent financial statement lists no reportable financial interests. Arellano said she is working as a general business consultant. The income went unreported since it was less than the $2,000 reportable annual minimum.
Arellano can now move forward in her mayoral campaign with a cleansed political slate, something the native Gilroyan will likely need to defeat leading mayoral candidate Al Pinheiro, an incumbent councilman.
The campaign to elect Arellano into Gilroy’s top power seat received other positive news this week. The South County Democratic Club and the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee announced their endorsements for Arellano.
The organizations’ by-laws limit all endorsements to candidates registered with the Democratic Party, according to a press release from the groups.
The latest endorsements for Arellano follow ones made by the South Bay AFL-CIO, a large network of regional unions. Arellano was a councilwoman from 1998 to 2001 before losing a re-election bid. Arellano ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 1999.
