Sacramento-area Assemblyman violated campaign rules, failed to report all income from Kiley

A Folsom assemblyman violated campaign finance rules when he failed to disclose income he earned working for his former boss, U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, according to a California Fair Political Practices Commission warning letter.

The California FPPC said Republican Assemblyman Josh Hoover did not report earnings from working on then-Rocklin Assemblyman Kiley’s gubernatorial campaign during the 2021 election to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Hoover served as Kiley’s chief of staff before running for the suburban Sacramento Assembly seat long held by former Assemblyman Ken Cooley, D-Rancho Cordova. Their November 2022 race was one of the hardest-fought and most expensive California legislative elections.

The state Democratic Party poured millions of dollars into Cooley’s campaign to prevent it from flipping red. But Hoover prevailed, winning by 1,383 votes.

Hoover’s campaign focused on his work as a Folsom Cordova Unified School District board member and less on his ties to Kiley, who solidified his right-wing credentials by receiving former President Donald Trump’s endorsement during his successful congressional bid.

Cooley’s team repeatedly alleged Hoover was trying to downplay his ties to “extreme, far-right” figures like Kiley and Trump. The longtime incumbent’s campaign emphasized his moderate Democratic views and played up Hoover’s anti-abortion stance.

The California FPPC began investigating Hoover after receiving a complaint in July 2022. The commission sent Hoover a warning letter with its findings on Jan. 18.

The letter said Hoover did report his other work for Kiley in campaign disclosures and amended his statements to include his work on the congressman’s 2021 gubernatorial campaign. Because Hoover had no record of previous violations, the watchdog agency said, it decided to issue a warning rather than impose a fine.

Matt Hedges, Hoover’s spokesman, said the violation was a result of a “technical error” on one of the forms he submitted.

“The correct income was reported, but two related sources of income were mistakenly combined into one,” Hedges said in a statement. “The form was amended and corrected as soon as it was discovered, well before the warning letter was issued.”