Fresno Unified board member fined nearly $1,000 for campaign contribution violations

Fresno Unified trustee Valerie Davis has been fined $968 by the state Fair Political Practices Commission for failing to report large contributions to her 2018 campaign in the mandated timeframe.

The FPPC said in a release that it found Davis failed to “timely file two 24-Hour Reports, in violation of Government Code Section 84203,” which states that contributions of $1,000 or more made in the 90 days preceding the election must be reported within 24 hours of a candidate receiving them.

The committee also found that Davis failed to timely report contributions received on two pre-election campaign statements, a violation of Government Code 84211.

Davis said Tuesday that she had paid the fine.

In October 2018, Davis said that she believed she reported all of her donations correctly.

Davis’ then-opponent Mark Ratchford had filed a complaint against the incumbent trustee for failing to disclose all of her donations, including late contributions. Campaign filings showed several $1,000 donations that were filed as late contributions but not included on Davis’ Form 460 for the July to September filing period.