Illegal postcards?

Story in the Tribune about those mailers, again. The bottom line is that the content of those mailers is probably protected as free speech ("Printing false information is not a crime," says the story). But who’s paying for the mailers (meaning, who’s contributing to support so-called Rosemead Partners, and how much) DOES need to be disclosed.

The group is claiming to be a "non-profit" organization, and is alleged to have applied for "tax-exempt" status. But the only "non-profit" status the group *may* qualify for is 501(c)(4). Even if they did qualify there, donations to this organization would NOT be tax deductible to the donor (be it Wal-Mart, Mike Lewis, or any other person or organization), and donations *would* need to be declared, as required by the California Fair Political Practices law.

The requirement for disclosure becomes even clearer if the organization appears to be "controlled" by an elected official and/or a candidate for political office. Since Councilwoman Margaret Clark is signing all their mailers, I’d say there’s no question that disclosure is required and tax deductibility for donations is prohibited.

Personally, if it were me, I’d have waited until after the FPPC filing deadline to see if the appropriate declarations were filed. And if they weren’t, *then* I’d have called in the hounds (of course, so far, I have been singularly unimpressed by the Public Integrity Division’s investigatory prowess. During the recall campaign, I presented them with flyers that were clearly illegal, yet no action was taken).

Illegal postcards?

The story barely hinted at anything about the tax-exempt status. Thanks for pointing out the most interesting part.

Would the court have the power to trace all the money back to its origins? That's really the point here - to specifically document that this political harassment is funded by political enemies with deep pockets, and that Rosemead Partners is an astro-turf, fake grassroots group.

"For 'tis the sport to have the enginer / Hoist with his owne
petar"