politics
San Jose Mayor Faces Second Complaint Over Campaign Coordination
A formal complaint filed with California's Fair Political Practices Commission alleges that San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and an independent committee used the same polling firm. The filing claims the arrangement may violate state coordination rules and could result in penalties up to $5 million.
May 22, 2:55 PM·1m read1 source
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The filing states both the campaign and the committee paid Impact Research $89,500 for polling and strategic services. The complaint notes that the committee has raised and spent more than $23 million supporting Mahan's campaign for governor. It alleges the shared polling firm and timing of an ad campaign may constitute improper coordination under state law.
Background on the filings This is the second formal complaint filed against Mahan and the committee. The earlier complaint also alleged violations of coordination rules between the campaign and the independent group. Campaign finance records cited in the new complaint show the committee paid Impact Research in February 2026 and the campaign paid the same firm in April 2026.
The complaint states the firm's work included message testing and voter modeling.
Donor activity and polling position Several donors have reduced or redirected contributions to the committee in recent days. Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings withdrew $1 million from the committee this week. Mahan currently polls in sixth place in the race for governor.
The complaint states that if coordination is established, the committee's expenditures could be reclassified as in-kind contributions to the campaign. Officials for the Mahan campaign and the committee did not respond to requests for comment when contacted by the New York Post.
Impact Research also did not respond.
