Sheriff’s campaign funds are questioned
Group says identities of Dicus’ donors suspect and can’t be confirmed
About $36,000 of the donations to San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus’ first political campaign are suspect, according to a complaint filed earlier this month with the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
“When you’re looking for somebody to vote for, you really need to look at who’s supporting them,” Gail Fry, a member of the San Bernardino/Inland Valley chapter of the National Action Network, said Tuesday at a news conference in downtown San Bernardino. “And that’s why it’s important to look at the campaign contributions.”
In the complaint filed May 11, the group alleges Dicus has received $11,500 from businesses that have been closed, do not exist in California or do not appear to ever have existed; $24,875 from people claiming association with businesses that do not exist under the specific names given in campaign disclosure statements; and a single $5,000 donation in excess of the $4,900 cap on campaign donations.
“These baseless accusations against me are laughable at best,” Dicus said in a written statement. “My campaign complies with all California Fair Political Practices Commission regulations to ensure financial transparency for our county’s residents. It is standard practice to redact the personal home addresses of campaign contributors, but this information is available through the FPPC.”
An example complaint filed by Fry: “Riverside Transport” gave $3,000 to Dicus’ campaign committee, Shannon Dicus for San Bernardino County sheriff/coroner/public administrator 2022. But according to the California Secretary of State’s Office, the company has been defunct since July 2015. She raised similar concerns about six other companies.
“There were seven businesses that contributed to Sheriff Dicus’ campaign and those businesses are not legal entities,” Fry said. “So we don’t really know who contributed.”
She also reported contributors where she said no record of their employer exists, citing expired business names for contributors. But calls to several of the businesses she complained about showed the businesses were still in operation and owned by the people listed on the campaign
finance records.
“They’re required under the Political Reform Act to provide the true source of their donations and they are supposed to provide the legal entity that they are known by,” Fry said. “It leaves questions as to who is really donating that money.”
Dicus said Fry and her organization are playing partisan politics.
“I’m proud to be supported by a broad group of individuals, leaders and small businesses throughout the county,” Dicus
wrote. “I believe in taking off the red and blue jerseys to focus on keeping the residents of San Bernardino County safe. Frankly, I am not interested in playing the partisan politics that opponents want to play.”
Dicus’ campaign has far more in the bank than the $36,375 Fry complained about. According to campaign disclosure forms filed April27, Dicus’ campaign committee has $259,224.75 on hand.
In contrast, his challenger in the June 7 primary election, former San Bernardino and Riverside deputy Clifton Lee Harris, had $5,922.14 left in his account as of April 28, documents show.