Family Vacations, Nice Clothes, and a Cigar Humidor: How an OC Politician Was Found for Misusing Campaign Funds
California Politics
Believe E. PinhoNovember 24, 2023
California election watchdogs have found a former Orange County councilman owed $100,000 for using campaign funds to cover the election
a
myriad
by
personal expenses, including family vacations and his children’s jail
telephone bills and clothing valued at $2,400, in violation of state law.
This month’s decision by the Fair Political Practices Commission ended a four-year period
–
long investigation into William Brough’s costs,
a Republican
who served three terms in the California Assembly representing the Dana Point area. The FPPC, which oversees candidates and campaign finances, found multiple discrepancies in Broughs’ 2018 and 2020 campaign committee reports.
Brough spent a total of $17,303 in campaign funds on personal expenses and failed to comply with multiple record-keeping requirements, even when his campaign treasurer warned him of violations, according to the FPPC report.
I need all your receipts ASAP, you’ve gone crazy for them [credit] card use and I have one stupid receipt for every ten issues, treasurer JenEve Slater wrote to Brough in 2018, the FPPC investigation found.
The unusually large FPPC fine is the latest allegation of misconduct against Brough, who was accused of sexual harassment by four women in 2019, prompting Orange County Republicans to call on him not to run for re-election.
Brough said in a telephone interview with The Times on Tuesday that he is no longer active in electoral politics, although he works as a political consultant and lobbyist.
In the case of the FPPC campaign finance investigation, Brough initially agreed to a payment plan for a $47,000 fine. But after making a $7,500 payment in April, he stopped making payments, according to the filing. Brough said he stopped making payments to settle with the FPPC and stop the investigation.
It went on like this for four years, he said. I just wanted to get on with my life.
The commission responded by more than doubling the fine amount and imposing the maximum fine for the charges. At a public meeting last week recommending the Broughs fine, FPPC Chairman Richard Miadich increased the fine from a recommended $90,000 to $100,000 and made the unusual motion to direct staff to make this a priority for collection purposes and to use all the resources at your disposal. to ensure that we can redress the full extent of this omission.
According to the FPPC filing, Brough failed to complete accurate cost information for more than 140 meals, ranging in price from $100 to $3,738, for a total of more than $53,000.
Brough also spent campaign money on personal travel, including a stay at a tony Boston hotel and a Red Sox game. Brough said the trip to Boston was a stop on his way to Ireland for a legislative trip and questioned why he was punished for paying for it with campaign money.
The FPPC said I couldn’t have done it because it wasn’t part of the Irish Caucus trip itinerary, Brough said on Tuesday. But if I was with a co-worker and we were in Boston and I went out to dinner with a co-worker, I absolutely could have used the campaign money.
Another international trip took Brough to the Netherlands for an internet marketing project
Association Assn.
conference. After attending a two-hour conference that ended with tastings at a local bar, Brough spent several days exploring the area, according to the documents.
Investigation revealed that Brough was visiting the region with his wife for her birthday and he asked the IMA if he could visit while he was in the area, the FPPC document said.
In another case, the FPPC reported that Brough used campaign funds to purchase a $1,300 custom cigar humidor, a custom bourbon bar cabinet, a portable ice maker and a compact refrigerator, which he listed as office expenses but then took home when he left the room. Edit.
The FPPC investigation began in 2019, after conservative political consultant Aaron Park filed a complaint, alleging that the politician used campaign funds to pay for a trip to Boston with his family to attend a Red Sox game to live, as well as other extravagant expenses.
Park told The Times on Tuesday that he initially helped Brough get elected, but quickly changed his mind about the lawmaker when he heard allegations of campaign finance improprieties and allegations of sexual assault.
Brough was stripped of his committee assignments in the Legislature in 2020 after state investigations found he made unwanted advances on several women, including an Orange County supervisor.
Park began looking into Brough’s financial history and, after twenty hours of investigation, filed a complaint with the FPPC.
I see things on his social media, like the Red Sox game he went to, and it matches up with campaign spending and stuff like that from his controlled accounts, Park said. I’m going, there’s no way that’s a campaign expense.
Park, a political watchdog, said he has filed many complaints with the FPPC over the years, but this was by far the largest punishment I have ever seen.

Fernando Dowling is an author and political journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of the political landscape and a passion for analyzing the latest political trends and news.