Shasta County Supervisor Patrick Jones has been fined for violating campaign finance laws. A settlement has been made following an investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission concerning Jones 2019 run for the State Assembly, which he lost. The campaign raised a total of more than $94,000 between June and October of 2019, with a number of anonymous donations exceeding the $99 limit in the form of envelopes full of cash. The cash donations apparently were not recorded in a ledger that would have identified the dates, sources, amounts and occupations of the donors, all of which is required for a donation of $100 or more. Campaign Treasurer Lyndia Kent told the committee that she accepted the envelopes and refunded money to bring the individual amounts below $100. That’s not a legal way to go about it and it left the campaign with 116 $100 bills, as well as nearly $10,000 worth of smaller bills. Jones and Kent could have faced dozens of counts, but they settled on two counts for a total fine of $10,000- one for poor record keeping and the other for unlawful cash contributions. The F.P.P.C. is also investigating Jones for other alleged violations from earlier this year
-Steve Gibson