Insurance commissioner sues Becerra over AG commercial

Making good on a challenge issued days earlier, attorney general candidate Dave Jones has sued incumbent Xavier Becerra over his use of a venerable Sacramento courtroom in campaign ads.

The complaint, filed Thursday, alleges Becerra violated state campaign law by filming multiple commercial spots in the courtroom used by the 3rd District Court of Appeal and sometimes by the state Supreme Court. Jones v. Becerra, BC707549 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed May 24, 2018).

He had already sent a cease-and-desist letter to Becerra's campaign. Jones also filed complaints with the Fair Political Practices Commission and, ironically, the attorney general's office.

Jones said at the time he was giving Becerra's campaign time to voluntarily stop using the material filmed in the courtroom. The complaint said Becerra instead nearly doubled his television advertising buy using the commercials to more than $1.5 million -- and added that he could face a fine of triple that amount.

"On the face of it, there looks to be some merit to the complaint filed by Mr. Jones," said Brian T. Hildreth, a partner with Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk, a Republican campaign firm in Sacramento.

"The statute precludes candidates from conducting campaign activity in state buildings, and Mr. Becerra clearly used a state building to film campaign commercials and produce campaign mailers," Hildreth added. "There is more than enough here to bring the issue to a judge."

"The campaign applied for and obtained a permit from the California Film Commission to film at the courthouse by going through the same legal process that is available to everyone," said Becerra's campaign attorney, Stephen J. Kaufman with Kaufman Legal Group in Los Angeles, in an emailed statement.

"The law cited by Jones does not apply where a candidate uses a public forum that is available to anyone else on the same terms," Kaufman added. "These claims are baseless and frivolous."

Reached Friday, Jones said the permit itself violated state law. His complaint claimed the permit obtained from the Film Commission stated it was for an "on camera interview," not campaign advertising.

The complaint -- filed at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles to challenge Becerra's use of the 1928-era Stanley Mosk Courthouse & Library in Sacramento -- said Becerra violated California Government Code Section 8314. This states in part, "It is unlawful for any elected state or local officer ... to use or permit others to use public resources for a campaign activity, or personal or other purposes which are not authorized by law."

The law goes on to define "campaign activity" as "activity constituting a contribution" and "public resources" as "any property or asset owned by the state or any local agency, including, but not limited to, land, buildings, facilities." The law also contains an exception for "incidental and minimal use of public resources."

Candidates rarely test this code section, Jones said. Instead, campaign firms offer services like creating courtroom sets and hiring actors to play police officers in order to avoid violating campaign law.

It appears unlikely that there will be any resolution before the June 5 primary. Jones, the current state insurance commissioner, will face against Becerra and two Republican candidates.

Jones declined to say whether he would continue the case if he failed to finish in the top two, saying he was "confident" he would face Becerra in the November general election.

Campaign challenges are generally filed in Sacramento County Superior Court and are often expedited to rule before an election. However, these usually involve matters like ballot language.

Jones said he filed in Los Angeles because as the state's largest media market, it had the most voters affected by the campaign violation.

The lawsuit also serves another important function from Jones' perspective: highlighting the fact that he has far more experience as a practicing lawyer than Becerra.

Jones is a former legal aid attorney and special assistant to the late U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno while Becerra's legal career consists of brief stints at the California Department of Justice and a legal assistance organization.

"I think it's important that voters understand that impetus for this commercial appear to be to fill the huge gaps in his resume as a lawyer," Jones said.

State Bar records show Becerra was active from June 1985 to Jan. 1, 1991. He was then inactive until Jan. 1, 2017, renewing only after Gov. Jerry Brown announced he would nominate him to fill out the term of Kamala D. Harris after she was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Except for letting his license lapse for 13 months in 2009 and 2010 while he was serving in the state Assembly, Jones has been active since 1988.

Meanwhile, the state agency that issues permits for filming in state buildings appeared to change language on its website last week. The state Film Commission's "Filming in California State Courthouses" page states, "Filming requests for Appellate Courtrooms located within state office buildings will not be considered."

Around midweek, after Jones filed his FPPC complaint, these two sentences were added: "One exception is the 3rd District Appellate Court in Sacramento. Permit requests for this property should be submitted to the CFC."

The commission did not return a call seeking comment.