San Diego resident Yvonne Elkin was determined to get her $100 dollars back.
Elkin, who’s been politically active most of her life, gave the money to former San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher early last year when he announced his run for state Senate. She was impressed with his leadership as chairman of the Board of Supervisors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Then Fletcher dropped out of the race last March amid allegations of sexual assault. The claims were detailed in a lawsuit filed by a former employee at the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, where Fletcher served as chairman of the board of directors.
It was enough to change Elkin’s mind about Fletcher.
“Even though it was only a hundred dollars, I didn't think that he should have it anymore,” Elkin said in a recent interview. “You've broken our trust.”
But getting back a campaign contribution isn’t so simple. Contributors to political campaigns in California can ask for their donations back. But in nearly all cases, under state law, it’s up to the candidate to decide. In Elkin’s case, it took four months and repeated requests.
Fletcher has returned tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations — mostly larger contributions from influential individuals and organizations. But his campaign kept most of the money from his abandoned state Senate run. As KPBS reported earlier this year, Fletcher has used more than half a million dollars in campaign contributions to fight the sexual assault allegations in court.
The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), which enforces campaign finance and ethics laws, has since launched an investigation into Fletcher’s use of campaign funds for his legal defense.
Fletcher has denied the sexual assault allegations and claims the affair was consensual. His campaign attorney, James Sutton, did not respond to an interview request or an emailed list of questions.
John Pelissero, director of government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, said politicians should be more proactive when it comes to meeting contributors’ expectations.
“When they drop out of a race, they really have to have more of an ethical awareness that they have an obligation to go back to their donors and ask if they'd like to have their money refunded,” Pelissero said.
A four-month fight
Elkin has always been civic minded.
“Even back when I was young, in the '60s, we did a lot of advocating for civil rights and voting rights,” she said.
Now that she’s retired, Elkin’s advocacy work includes knocking on doors, working the phones and contributing to political candidates who align with her values.
After news broke of the sexual assault allegations against Fletcher, Elkin wanted to shift her focus — and resources — to other candidates.
“I want to choose how my money is spent,” she said.
Elkin emailed Fletcher’s campaign last April to ask for a refund. A campaign staffer replied that Fletcher would contact her, but over a month passed with no response. So she sent another email.
“Your actions have destroyed our trust in your ability to make good decisions,” she wrote. “Please refund my $100 contribution at the earliest possible time.”
Again, no response. A third email also went ignored.
In a fourth email, she threatened to go to the county Democratic Party and the media with her grievances.
“There are other candidates running for office this cycle that need and deserve that $100, and it should be my choice as to which of them receives that donation,” she wrote last August.
That apparently got the campaign’s attention. The next day, the campaign responded that her refund check was on the way.
Influential donors get refunds
Elkin was the only contributor who received a refund for under $1,000, according to Fletcher’s campaign finance records. It’s unclear if Fletcher declined refund requests from other small-dollar donors.
But the campaign finance reports do show that Fletcher returned tens of thousands of dollars to influential people and organizations who asked for their money back.
It appears they had a much easier time.
The political action committee for the Asian Business Association of San Diego, for example, contributed about $5,000 to Fletcher’s campaign. The group later asked for a refund when he dropped out of the race.
"We'd actually never done a refund before,” said Jason Paguio, the business association’s CEO. "We contacted the campaign's treasurer and they were very quick to get back.”
The refund check arrived about a month later. Paguio said the group invested the money in other candidates.
Other large-dollar donors who received refunds include the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians ($5,500), California Life Sciences Association PAC ($4,900) and Ace Parking owner & managing partner Keith Jones ($5,500).
As of June 30, according to his latest campaign finance filing, Fletcher had refunded over $66,000 to contributors. After spending over half a million dollars on legal bills, Fletcher still had $300,000 in his campaign coffers at the time.
FPPC Investigation
In September, the FPPC announced it would be investigating a complaint regarding Fletcher’s use of his campaign funds. The complaint was filed by Kenneth Moser and Richard Shingley following KPBS’s reporting on the issue.
FPPC rules state that a candidate can spend campaign funds on matters "reasonably related to a political, legislative, or governmental purpose.” That includes attorneys’ fees that are “directly related to activities of the (campaign) that are consistent with its primary objectives.”
Fletcher’s campaign has argued that the lawsuit was tied to his run for state Senate, and therefore the spending is allowed. Some campaign finance experts say the situation is murky.
The FPPC investigation could take many months to resolve. Moser said he has not heard any recent updates from the commission.
The complaint does not raise concerns over contribution refunds.
Only in rare situations does a candidate have to return money to a contributor. For example, when a candidate raises money for the general election ahead of schedule but loses in the primary, then those contributions must be returned.
Otherwise, it’s up to the candidate to decide whether they honor a refund request.
Pelissero from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics said refunding contributors should be Fletcher’s priority — not his legal bills.
"Political candidates have an ethical duty to meet their donors’ expectations," he said. "If you keep the funds just for legal purposes, for your own personal behavior, that's inappropriate and really unethical."
Campaign finance filings in the coming months will show how Fletcher decides to use the leftover cash from his defunct state Senate campaign — which could include transferring the money to a new committee for a potential future election. Or dumping more money into his legal defense.
