Disclosure Violation Draws Fine

The owner of an Escondido mobile home park was fined $17,500 for failing to disclose his contributions to political campaigns in Escondido and Poway, the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission announced Thursday.

Richard Kuebler, owner of Moonglo Mobile Home Park in Escondido, was found guilty of contributing $23,000 in donations to a committee working to defeat a 1988 ballot measure that was approved by voters and which established a mobile home rent control ordinance.

Although the committees that worked against that ballot measure reported the donations, Kuebler failed to disclose that he had made them on documents that he was supposed to file, said FPPC spokeswoman Carol Thorp.

Kuebler also was accused of paying for two “hit piece” mailers in a Poway election without identifying himself as the sender of the mailers, as required by state law.

Kuebler made the Escondido campaign contributions and financed the Poway mailers out of his mobile home park’s bank account.

Last year, an administrative law judge dismissed the charges against Kuebler, saying that, although he signed the checks on behalf of Moonglo, the FPPC had failed to prove that he owned the mobile home park, controlled its campaign donations or made any of the disputed campaign donations from personal funds.

The FPPC rejected the judge’s decision and, at a rehearing, presented business records showing that Kuebler was the sole owner of the mobile home park. With that documentation, the judge held that Kuebler was liable for 11 violations of the Political Reform Act, as originally charged.

On Thursday, the FPPC formally adopted the recommendation of the judge and ordered the fines.

Kuebler did not return phone calls made to his office.