A formal complaint has been filed with the state’s political watchdog agency regarding the failure of a controversial appointee to Santa Ana’s Rental Housing Board to file a conflict-of-interest and financial disclosure statement as required by the state’s Political Reform Act.
Tracy La, founder and leader radical advocacy group VietRise, was nominated for the Rental Housing Board by left-wing Councilman Ben Vasquez. She was appointed by the city council on November 7, 2023 and sworn in that evening. According to state law, she was required to fil a Form 700 – a financial disclosure statement that local government authorities rely on to determine conflicts-of-interest – within 30 days of assuming office. Failure to do so can lead to fines of $10 each per day, up to a maximum of $100.
La should have filed her Assuming Office Form 700 Statement of Economic Interests by December 7, 2023. As of this writing, she has not done so, making her 144 days late. If the law did not cap fines at $100, La would be liable for $1,440 in fines and counting.
Neither has she filed the annual Form 700 disclosure form that was due on April 2 of this year.
The complaint was filed on April 16 and obtained by the OC Independent. The California Fair Political Practices Commission confirmed receipt of the complaint but otherwise had no comment. The complaint demands the city “conduct an immediate investigation into the failure of Ms. Tracy La” to file her statement of economic interests, notify the public about the breach and “take any actions to rectify this breach of duty.”
“The integrity of our city’s governance relies heavily ion adherence to established ethical guidelines and legal requirements,” states the complaint.
So far, the city council has filled four of the seven seats on the Rental Housing Board. Unlike La, the other three members have filed their Form 700 financial disclosure forms as required by law.
The Rental Housing Board is charged with enforcing provisions of city’s draconian rent control law that was adopted in 2021 after the current progressive majority took control of the the city council. La occupies one of two seats set aside for members who have no financial interest in rent control as either tenants or landlords. It is assumed the at-large members will function as “neutral” members will approach case with an open mind and without political axes to grind.
However, La and her organization were vocal rent control advocates who actively lobbied the council to adopt the stringent rent control ordinance La will now have a hand in enforcing. La’s appointment seemingly confirms the contention of an Apartment Association of Orange County lawsuit that the structure of the Rental Housing Board violates housing providers constitutional rights to due process.
The lawsuit contends the two at-large members “are likely to be at the very least indifferent to, if not actively opposed to, property owner interests, establishes a probability of unfairness that runs afoul of due process principles,” the lawsuit states.
READ: Lawsuit Alleges Santa Ana Rent Control Law Violates Federal, State Constitutions
La and VietRise make no secret of their conviction that rent control is “pro-working people” necessary to protect them from predatory landlords. In November 8, 2022 tweet, La clearly identifies herself as a political opponent of rental housing owners and as being on the side of “working people” and rent control:
VietRise lobbied the Santa Ana City Council to create a Rental Housing Board that was even more heavily tilted against the property rights of landlords:
VietRise was founded in 2018 as a “fiscal sponsorship” of the left-wing Korean Resource Center (KRC). Essentially, VietRise staff are employees of the KRC, which handles VietRise’s administrative and back-office functions so that La and her staff can focus on political activism. VietRise receives significant funding from various deep-pocketed progressive “philanthropies” that by-and-large fund progressive advocacy groups in this country.
Currently, La and VietRise are helping lead the charge to allow foreign residents of Santa Ana who do not have legal right to live in the United States to vote in Santa Ana city elections.
