By Michael Armijo
Walnut – An organization of Walnut residents, “Citizens to Protect Walnut” announced yesterday that they filed legal complaints against Walnut City Council candidate Betty Tang with California’s Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), California’s Attorney General and with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The residents claim Tang has illegally received and reported political campaign contributions from at least two tax-exempt charitable organizations, and they cite the City of Walnut’s website for the proof.
Walnut resident Phil Bennett, speaking on behalf of Citizens to Protect Walnut, said that since the Diamond Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Confucius Chinese Language School of Walnut are organized as nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations, they are completely prohibited from participating “in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.” The Diamond Youth Symphony Orchestra is organized as a 501(c)(3) tax tax-exempt charitable organization, and the Confucius Chinese Language School is organized as a 170(b)(1)(a)(ii) tax-exempt charitable organization.
When asked for proof of these violations of the law, Bennett said the evidence was “right there in black and white, on the current websites of the City of Walnut, the Diamond Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Confucius Chinese Language School of Walnut.”
“Campaign contributions are political activity. And if you look at Betty Tang’s Campaign Statement filed with the City of Walnut on February 25, 2014, she reports that she received a $1,000 campaign contribution from the Diamond Youth Symphony Orchestra on February 18, 2014 and a $500 campaign contribution from the Confucius Chinese Language School on February 16, 2014,” he said. He also noted that if you go on the websites of these two organizations, they both show that they are classified by the IRS as tax-exempt charitable organizations. “That’s all you need to know to establish that there has a violation of the law,” Bennett said.
Bennett said what made Tang’s violation of campaign contribution laws particularly bad was the fact that she is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Diamond Youth Symphony Orchestra, as she states on her campaign literature.
“First, as a Board Member she has actually participated in steering her organization’s charitable funds into this illegal political activity, and she has placed this entire organization at legal and financial risk. I can’t believe she is that ignorant about what tax-exempt charitable organizations are allowed to do. I wonder what contributors to this organization will think about this diversion of their money into political activity?”
Bennett said he was unpleased that a City Council candidate is violating state and federal campaign laws and engaging in unfair political activity.
“I think Walnut citizens would expect their candidates to be aware of the campaign laws before they decide to run for elective office and then to respect these laws. I don’t want anyone on our City Council who got there illegally and unethically.”
Bennett said he hoped the complaints he has filed on behalf of Citizens to Protect Walnut with the FPPC, California Attorney General and IRS will not only result in fines for these violations of the law but also trigger a wider investigation into other possible violations of contribution laws by Tang’s campaign. Tang’s office did not return communications regarding the allegations.
