AC Transit director faces $60,000 fine

The state Fair Political Practices Commission is recommending that AC Transit Director Mark Williams be fined $60,000 for failing to file legally required campaign finance reports for five years.

The commission, which enforces the state’s campaign finance laws, will consider imposing the judgment at its Jan. 18 meeting.

Typically, an officeholder or candidate and the FPPC staff will negotiate a settlement when investigators find a finance law has been violated. But Williams had not responded to 14 notices to contact the commission.

Attempts by The Chronicle to reach Williams on Monday also were unsuccessful.

Williams, 31, of Castro Valley, was elected to the AC Transit board in 2010, representing Ward 4, which includes Ashland, Castro Valley, Cherryland, San Lorenzo and parts of Hayward and San Leandro. He was re-elected in 2014, capturing 58.1 percent of the vote.

He serves on the board’s external affairs committee, according to the transit district’s website, and serves on the City of San Leandro Redevelopment Successor Agency Oversight Board, The American Public Transportation Association Transit Board Members Committee and the Transit Board Members Legislative Subcommittee.

In a 108-page order, the commission found that Williams failed to file 10 semiannual disclosure statements that report how campaign funds are raised and spent. He also failed to file two additional reports during his 2014 re-election campaign.

“The failure to comply with these obligations denied the public important information regarding contributions and expenditures made in support of a candidate before the election,” the order concluded.

In Williams’ last filed report, at the end of 2010, his campaign had $6,297.

The recommended fine is the maximum allowed under the law — $5,000 for each violation.

“This goes to the heart of California campaign finance law,” said spokesman Jay Wierenga, referring to the mission of the commission. “People are supposed to be able to see how candidates are raising and spending their money.”