Our View: FPPC chair looking for new top ‘cop’

California’s Fair Political Practices Commission has earned a well-deserved reputation for being an aggressive and nonpartisan enforcer of the 1974 Political Reform Act.

So it is more than a little disconcerting that two top officials have resigned in recent weeks, after Gov. Jerry Brown reappointed the FPPC’s chairwoman, Jodi Remke, to a new four-year term.

The latest to announce his departure is Gary Winuk, the chief of enforcement, a public servant who can be proud of the pivotal role he and his team played in several complex and high-profile cases during his five years on the job. Winuk helped lead the investigation into Republican-controlled nonprofits that were part of the billionaire Koch brothers’ campaign network. Under former FPPC Chairwoman Ann Ravel, the commission fined the entities $1 million after concluding they tried to hide $15 million in contributions to initiative campaigns in 2012.

As reported in The Sacramento Bee, FPPC prosecutions rose from about 100 cases in 2009 to nearly 350 cases last year. Under Winuk, the enforcement unit went after politicians who didn’t report gifts, campaigns that laundered money and lobbyists who failed to report their clients.

Winuk’s departure follows the resignation of Zackery P. Morazzini, who was the commission’s general counsel. People leave jobs all the time. Morazzini got another job and a raise. Winuk, however, is leaving without another job.

“I understand his desire to move on,” Remke said, adding it’s not unusual for top executives to depart when new leadership takes over. “Enforcement is not about any one person. (Winuk) has built a strong team,” Remke said.

In a statement, Remke said the commission would be conducting a search in the “upcoming months.” The notion that it might take months to fill the position raises the unhappy prospect that the enforcement team will be left adrift, rudderless.

It is essential the FPPC maintain its reputation for integrity and thorough investigations. The Capitol remains under a cloud with former Sens. Ron Calderon and Leland Yee likely to go on trial later this year on federal corruption charges.

Ever larger sums of money grease the business of politics. Interests spent $578 million to lobby the legislative and executive branches in the 2013-14 legislative session, up from $504 million five years earlier.

Strong FPPC chairs have used the law to fine state and local scofflaws who try to hide their campaign contributions, avoid registering as lobbyists and skirt restrictions against giving donations.

Remke, who succeeded Ravel in 2014, came to the FPPC from the State Bar where she had been handling lawyer discipline cases. When she arrived she said her goals included upgrading technology, reducing red tape – not especially inspiring.

Now, her No. 1 goal must be to find the best possible replacement for an enforcement chief who will be tough to replace.

This story was originally published February 4, 2015 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Our View: FPPC chair looking for new top ‘cop’."