In the days before the Nov. 3 election, Mission Local will be posting โelection extrasโ with updates from the campaign trail.ย
Former congressional candidate Saikat Chakrabarti has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission about Sen. Scott Wienerโs campaign. The complaint alleges that Sen. Scott Wienerโs congressional campaign may have illegally shared expenses and coordinated with a PAC, Families for an Affordable San Francisco.
The alleged coordination was the subject of an article in the Washington Sun on Oct. 15.
Though super PACs were historically forbidden from coordinating with campaigns at all, a 2024 FEC advisory opinion now allows PACs to work with campaigns specifically on canvassing efforts.
What Wienerโs PAC and campaign are doing may have crossed boundaries, though, the complaint alleges.
Among other issues, the complaint flags that several staff members are paid by both the PAC and the campaign, an arrangement that the complaint says could mean that the PAC has paid for work that is not canvassing related.
The complaint also calls out other shared expenses, including for food and a DJ at a party and office space. This is legal, the complaint says, so long as the campaign reimburses the PAC at fair market value. But Wienerโs campaign has been reimbursing the PAC for exactly one third of these costs.
The fixed rate indicated that costs were not actually being reimbursed for what they are worth, the complaint said.
Wienerโs campaign suggested that the complaint was just a ploy on Chakrabartiโs end to benefit Chan, who Chakrabarti has endorsed and put money behind.
“Maryland centimillionaire Saikat Chakrabarti falsely implied in the primary that he had AOCโs support. Now, on the eve of the election, heโs at it again filing false complaints in a desperate attempt to try and steer votes to Connie Chan,โ said Joe Arellano, Wienerโs spokesperson. โThese tactics didn’t work in the primary and voters will see through this last desperate ploy, too.”
After receiving the complaint, the FEC is supposed to invite the respondent to reply, after which it decides whether or not to take up the case.
