Assembly candidate Dawn Addis accepts, then returns, donation from wind energy lobbyist
Morro Bay City Councilwoman Dawn Addis, who is running to represent the Central Coast in the California State Assembly, accepted a $250 donation from a registered state lobbyist, campaign records show.
Campaign spokeswoman Gail Bunting said Thursday that once the campaign realized the error, the donation was immediately returned.
The campaign for the Democratic challenger to Republican incumbent Jordan Cunningham was alerted on Monday that the donation was being investigated by the California Fair Political Practices Commission, which regulates state and local campaign finance.
Addis’ campaign spokeswoman on Thursday said that the donation was made on the candidate’s website and reported in campaign finance records Jan. 23 before it was realized the donor was a lobbyist registered with the state.
Candidates for elected office are prohibited from accepting cash or in-kind donations from lobbyists. Since returning the money, Addis’ campaign has added a disclaimer on her fundraising website explaining campaign finance rules, including that lobbyist donations are prohibited.
The donation of $250 came from Denver, Colorado-based attorney Steven Black, who is registered as a lobbyist with clients in the wind energy industry.
Castle Wind, LLC, listed on the California Secretary of State’s website as Black’s client, is a wind energy company and a “joint venture” between Trident Winds Inc. and EnBW North America Inc., according to a news release from the company.
The company is currently invested in a bid to develop offshore wind turbines off the Morro Bay coast.
In August 2019, the company announced it had entered into an agreement with a community choice energy agency, Monterey Bay Community Power, to declare both their shared interests in establishing a floating wind project off the Central California coast.
Reached by phone Thursday, Black, called the donation an “inadvertent mistake” and confirmed that it has been returned. Black said he is more familiar with rules regarding federal campaign finance laws and he was not aware of California limitations.
After speaking with Black, Andrea Deveau, a spokeswoman for Castle Wind, called a Tribune reporter unsolicited to confirm that “the mistake has been acknowledged, cured, and will not happen again.”
The FPPC investigation into the donation was spurred by a submitted complaint, according to a response letter obtained by The Tribune.
The letter states that agency’s Enforcement Division will investigate the allegation and notify the complainant once there is resolution.
An FPPC spokesperson could not immediately be reached late Thursday for an update on the agency’s investigation or what possible penalties or fines Addis’ campaign could face, if any.
Addis is running for the 35th Assembly District, which encompasses all of San Luis Obispo County and northern Santa Barbara County. It has been represented by Cunningham since 2016.
Addis spokeswoman Bunting said that the candidate is proud of the fundraising the campaign has pulled off after entering the race relatively late in November.
“She’s covered a lot of ground in the last couple months,” Bunting said.
Both Addis and Cunningham filed end-of-year campaign financial statements with the Secretary of State on Jan. 23 for the 2019 calendar year.
As of Dec. 31, 2019, Addis reported raising a total of $87,900 in contributions and spending a total of $14,008, leaving her with a cash balance of $75,401 going into 2020.
Notable donors include state Sen. Bill Monning, SLO County Supervisor Bruce Gibson, Morro Bay Mayor John Headding, Grover Beach Mayor Jeff Lee, former San Luis Obispo Mayor Jan Marx, county supervisor candidate Ellen Beraud, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union, the California Council of Service Employees, the Central Coast Labor Council, and the Atascadero Democratic Club.
As of the end of last year, Cunningham had a roughly 4-to-1 financial advantage over Addis, having raised a total of $372,413 in contributions. He spent a total of $113,099 in 2019, and including the amount of cash he began the year with, Cunningham had a cash balance of $338,272 as of Dec. 31, 2019.
Notable donors include a host of political action committees for large corporations, including the vaping company Juul Labs Inc., Koch Industries, Phillips 66, Exxon Mobil, Sempra Energy, Southern California Edison, Walmart, Sprint, AT&T, Charter Communications, Dish Network, UPS, Ford Motor Co., Union Pacific Railroad Co., Disney, and Tesla.
Cunningham also accepted donations from the Western States Petroleum Association and the American Wind Energy Association, records show.
This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 6:04 PM.
