Complaints filed with FPPC against Elk Grove Mayor, City Council members stemming from last year's election

UPDATED 1 p.m. |

Complaints were filed yesterday with the California Fair Political Practices Commission and the Sacramento County District Attorney stemming from the 2020 Elk Grove mayoral contest. The complaints were initiated by the group calling itself Elk Grove Hmong Americans.

According to a press release by the EGHA, the complaints against Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen with the FPPC allege the first-term mayor violated "multiple aspects of the Political Reform Act." Specifically, the complaint alleged the Singh-Allen campaign of inaccurate campaign finance reporting as required by law. 

Click on image to enlarge. 

In their press release, the EGHA group also refers to the mayoral contest between Singh-Allen and former Mayor Steve Ly, who is of Hmong descent. In June 2020, Ly made social media comments about a fire that destroyed a Hmong-American-owned business that many interpreted to tie that incident to protests happening that evening in downtown Sacramento where several businesses sustained property damage following the murder of George Floyd.

Ly was criticized, and from there, a political imbroglio ensued on social media involving several individuals. At one point, Singh-Allen's comments in an Elk Grove Citizen story about the Hmong culture were found by many to be offensive.

When the controversy made its way to the Elk Grove City Council in August of 2020, the city council took no action, instead referring it to the Sacramento County Grand Jury for a requested investigation. 

“In our pursuit for justice for our community, we have learned that the scandal against [the] former mayor, Steve Ly, was purely political," Marie Vue, EGHA founder, and president said in the announcement. "It was a launchpad for Singh-Allen to announce her candidacy for mayor."

In her statement, Vue also accused the mayor and city council members of a "lack of leadership and responsibilities as elected officials have contributed to the bullying, harassment, and hate crimes against Asian Americans" and "opponents who have criticized her for the hate she has poured into our community has been methodically threatened, bribed, or sued. She and the councilmembers have violated our constitutional rights as Americans.”

Specific examples of that allegation were not cited in the announcement.  

Former Mayor Ly said he has not been contacted for questioning by the Sacramento Grand Jury. Ly also said he heard recent rumors a complaint might be filed but had no further knowledge of its nature. 

In response to the EGHA actions, Singh-Allen cited a similar complaint filed against her earlier this year. 

“A similar complaint to the FPPC was dismissed for not having any basis in fact," Singh-Allen said. "We expect these latest complaints to face a similar fate.”

Additionally, EGHA filed a complaint with the Sacramento County Grand Jury seeking an investigation in Singh Allen, current city councilmembers Pat Hume, Stephanie Nguyen, Darren Suen, and former councilmember Steve Detrick. The announcement stated, "these individuals abused their authority and used public resources for campaigning purposes" but did not say if they were to benefit Singh-Allen, themselves, or both (see update below).

In the announcement, criticism was leveled against Cosumnes Community Services District Director Jaclyn Moreno, who became engulfed in last year's summer's controversies. Moreno published a story saying when she shared space at Ly's campaign office during her 2018 candidacy, a campaign aid to the former mayor harassed her and that her concerns were not addressed by Ly.

The comments from Pa Kao Her, Executive Chair with Hmong Tracing Roots, said, “Jaclyn Moreno has negatively portrayed our kinship system and called for the dismantling of our cultural structure, a tactic that has subjected us to undue hate and mockery."

Moreno declined to comment on the allegation.  

1 p.m. - In our original post it was stated a complaint had been filed with the Sacramento County District Attorney's office. The complaint was filed with the Sacramento County Grand Jury. The story has been corrected to reflect that.  A separate story on that complaint will be posted later. 

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