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Sequoia Union High School District Trustee Amy Koo is under investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission for multiple alleged campaign finance violations tied to her 2022 school board campaign. In a statement to this news organization, she admitted to one of the violations and said it was “a mistake.”
An anonymous complaint filed on Oct. 27, 2022, alleged that Koo violated three campaign laws, prompting the commission to launch an investigation in January 2024. Koo faces a maximum fine of $5,000 per violation but fines are often less.
The FPPC is responsible for enforcing the state’s campaign finance laws. The commission investigates complaints and can impose penalties when candidates violate election law.
The violations center on a campaign mailer sent by Koo around Oct. 8, 2022. The complaint claims that expenses for the mailer were excluded from Koo’s pre-election expenditure report, which violates Gov. Code §84211.
The commission notified Koo of the complaint on Jan. 20, 2023, requesting a response within 14 days. A year later, on Jan. 2, 2024, the Enforcement Division informed her that an investigation had been launched.
The pre-election statement reviewed by this news organization, which covers through Oct. 10, 2022, lists $4,900 in expenditures, but does not mention payments for mailers.
“We made an error in the FPPC filing because the invoice for the mailer was received several weeks after the mailer went out, and the invoice amount was reported in a subsequent filing. We missed accruing for the mailer cost, and subsequently added an accrual expense to an amended pre-election filing,” Koo said in a statement to this news organization.
The amended statement included $5,045 owed to Lahlouh, a Burlingame-based print shop, for campaign mailers. The amendment was filed on Feb. 28, 2023, after Koo was informed of the complaint.
The payment was also included in a different filing that covered the same period, but that was also filed after Koo was informed of the complaint.
The complaint also alleges the mailer failed to disclose Koo’s mailing address, which is required under Gov. Code §84305 and that her campaign name, “Amy Koo for School Board 2022,” did not specify her candidacy for the Sequoia Union High School District.
FPPC Communications Director Jay Wierenga told this news organization he could not provide an update or more details on the investigation.
“The majority of our cases fall into a category called Streamline. The streamline system was set up and put into regulation to handle the more minor, technical violations in a more rapid manner. Close to two-thirds of all of our cases fit this, and thus are completed within a few weeks to a few months, no more than a half year (generally speaking),” Wierenga said generally about FPPC cases.
“Right now, two-thirds of all cases are concluded within a year and, as mentioned, most streamline cases are handled in a half year or less,” he added.
Before running for the Sequoia board, Koo was elected to the Belmont-Redwood Shores School Board.
