State Inquiry Clears Mayor Kruse

An investigation by state officials has cleared Lawndale Mayor Sarann Kruse of charges that she improperly used a city-funded newsletter for political purposes.

The investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission was prompted by a complaint filed in July by Nancy J. Marthens, a city activist who accused Kruse of participating in an improper political mailer because her picture appeared in the July-August issue of the city’s newsletter, “The Lawndalian News Report.”

Marthens charged that Kruse violated Proposition 73, a 1988 campaign reform law that prohibits the use of political mailers at public expense. The law prohibits a city-funded newsletter from publishing a story or photo that “singles out for attention” an elected official.

In a Nov. 21 letter to Marthens, Connie Pereira, a lawyer for the commission, said Kruse had no control over the publication and therefore did not violate Proposition 73.

Nevertheless, Pereira said the investigation concluded that the photo and story about the mayor was a violation. But because the violation appeared to be inadvertent and because the law was relatively new at the time, Pereira said the commission decided not to fine the publisher, Informed Lawndalians Inc., a nonprofit corporation formed by the city in the early 1970s. The commission can fine violators up to $2,000 for every violation.