An opponent of Los Altos’ Measure C filed a complaint with the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission against one of the initiative’s founders, claiming the proponent failed to disclose a related survey and its origins in Sept. 27 campaign filings.
Los Altos downtown property owner Kim Cranston filed the complaint Sept. 28, alleging Jim Jolly, one of the originators of Measure C, should have reported the survey, which Jolly paid to have done, as a contribution.
“Mr. Jolly and the Committee for Yes on C failed to report this expenditure in the FPPC Form 460 due Sept. 27,” Cranston said in his letter to the FPPC.
Measure C, on the Nov. 6 ballot, requires voter approval of any major transaction of city-owned property involving sale, lease or rezoning.
The resident-led initiative, framed as protecting mainly parks and open space, also applies to the city-owned downtown parking plazas. The recently approved Downtown Vision plan recommends redevelopment of those plazas – changes that could be impacted by Measure C’s passage.
In his complaint, Cranston claims Jolly failed to acknowledge a corresponding online poll with his telephone survey that was conducted by Gravis Marketing. In a letter to the Town Crier, Jolly said he commissioned a telephone poll but was unaware of an online survey. He did not name the company he commissioned.
Cranston contends Jolly doesn’t want voters to know he contracted with Florida-based Gravis, which has partnered with the alt-right Breitbart News.
Reached by the Town Crier, Jolly refuted Cranston’s assertions.
“I have not received any inquiry from the FPPC,” he wrote in a Sept. 29 email. “The fact that Mr. Cranston appears to have sent a document directly to the press indicates this is intended as a smear on me and represents a desperate political tactic.”
Jolly said the text of the complaint, which the Town Crier forwarded to him, “contains many errors about me. … I understand it is easy to send a complaint to the FPPC and that they get a lot of these, most of which are not substantiated. I am confident I have acted correctly.”
