The Deputy Sheriffs’ Association (DSA) just closed their “primarily formed” campaign committee that exists solely for the purpose of electing John Hirokawa sheriff and opened a “general purpose” committee called “Ready for Reform.” What could be the advantage of doing that?
One possibility is that the DSA plans to make independent expenditures for several candidates, but up to now they have only showed interest in spending money to elect John Hirokawa sheriff. It is more likely that the answer has to do with the rules that govern the naming of different types of committees.
A “primarily-formed committee” has to include the candidate’s name but a “general purpose committee” does not. This matters because if the DSA spends thousands of dollars on negative mail against Sheriff Laurie Smith, they want voters to think their committee is a good government group called “Ready for Reform” rather than a committee that was primarily formed to support Hirokawa called “Public Safety for a Safer Santa Clara supporting Hirokawa for Sheriff 2018.”
Do you have a news tip you would like to share? Would you like to contribute to The Left Hook? Email us at LeftHookBlog@gmail.com
No Comments