In Brief

Unethical in Del Mar?

Recent cases at California’s Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) involving Del Mar elected officials or candidates:

Stephen Quirk and Stephen Quirk for Del Mar City Council 2022 – a Commission-initiated complaint. Alleged violation: campaign non-filer; case open and pending as October 20, 2024. The City of Del Mar’s webpage for 2022 election candidate filings does not show, as of October 20, 2024, filings from Quirk or his committee that were due in January and July 2023, or a termination filing. Thus, Del Mar voters still do not have access to information about campaign contributions received or expenditures made by Quirk’s campaign after September 24, 2022, for the November 8, 2022 election.

Dan Quirk – a Staff/Filing Officer referral; case closed June 6, 2024; violation type: Statements of Economic Interest Non-Filer; Disposition: Violations Found, No Action.

Terry Gaasterland – a Commission-initiated complaint dated July 21, 2023 involving potential violations of the conflict of interest provisions of the Political Reform Act. The complaint alleges that at its April 17, 2023 meeting, the Council considered SANDAG’s “Coastal Connections Conceptual Planning Study” report, and by a 4-1 vote (Worden opposed), passed a motion by Councilmember Gaasterland to move forward with three specific concept designs for further evaluation; the complaint alleges that Gaasterland’s participation in this discussion and decision constituted a conflict of interest, in that her motion included designs most likely to have a positive impact on the value of her nearby residential property. Case open and pending as of October 20, 2024.

The FPPC is the non-partisan commission that has primary responsibility for the administration of California’s Political Reform Act, which regulates campaign financing, conflicts of interest, lobbying, and governmental ethics.

Update:

On November 6, the FPPC’s Enforcement Division issued a “No Action Closure Letter” to Councilmember Gaasterland, stating, in part:

This letter is in response to our investigation concerning a complaint alleging you, in your capacity as a member of the Del Mar City Council, violated the Act’s conflict of interest provisions. After conducting our investigation and review, we are closing this matter without further action.

The Enforcement Division’s investigation determined it was not reasonably foreseeable that the April 17, 2023 governmental decision would have a financial effect on your real property financial interests, due to the financial effect being contingent on intervening events and decisions made by other governmental agencies. Therefore, this matter will be closed as the allegation has been disproven.