State Panel Clears Hurtt on Common Cause Charge : Politics: FPPC rejects watchdog group’s complaint that the senator violated campaign financing limits.

The state Fair Political Practices Commission has rejected a complaint against state Sen. Rob Hurtt by a political watchdog group that argued the Orange County Republican and two political organizations he helped form violated campaign contribution limits.

California Common Cause asked the FPPC in October to investigate whether Hurtt (R-Garden Grove) and the groups circumvented the law by contributing $7,500 to a Republican candidate in a special election last fall for Northern California’s 4th Senate District.

But the FPPC said in a letter made public Monday by Common Cause that Hurtt had not violated any regulations and the case would be closed.

Hurtt, who had expressed confidence since the complaint was filed that he would be exonerated, responded by suggesting Common Cause was on an ideological campaign to discredit Republicans--and that the group owed him a public apology.

“They took a pretty direct potshot and they were proven wrong,” Hurtt said. “It’s pretty discouraging when anyone can file a frivolous complaint like this and get a headline.”

Ruth Holton, Common Cause executive director, said her organization has no plans to apologize to Hurtt and suggested the FPPC decision would cause problems in future special elections.

“We frankly are still very disturbed by Rob Hurtt’s actions,” Holton said. “They may be technically legal, but we think they violate the spirit of state campaign finance law. We stand by our position.”

Holton also denied that her group, which has long pushed for reforms of the state’s campaign finance regulations, is out to sabotage the GOP. “I think if Mr. Hurtt asked Democrats, he’d discover that they find us just as objectionable as Republicans do,” Holton said. “We figure we’re doing our job when both sides are angry at us.”

Hurtt, a wealthy businessman who owns a Garden Grove manufacturing plant, was swept into office last year on a vow to elect more Republicans. Bolstered by alliances with such wealthy businessmen as Howard Ahmanson of Irvine, Hurtt has talked of bankrolling candidates in hopes of wrenching the Legislature from the Democratic Party and boosting himself to a leadership position.

A first step was the race for the 4th Senate District, where Hurtt supported conservative businessman Maurice Johannessen, who marched to easy victories in an Aug. 31 primary and Nov. 2 runoff.

The race also prompted the complaint from Common Cause. The watchdog group argued that two political organizations--Allied Business PAC and Citizens for Change--should have been registered with the state as political action committees controlled by Hurtt, who wields “significant influence” over both.

Under Hurtt’s hand, Common Cause said, the groups violated a state ban on transferring money to a candidate from a political organization controlled by an elected official. Allied Business PAC contributed $2,500 to Johannessen in August and another $2,500 in September. Citizens for Change gave him $2,500 in August.

Common Cause also charged that Citizens for Change should be registered as a “sponsored committee” of Allied Business PAC because it is funded entirely by the political group and two Allied members. As such, a $2,500 contribution from Citizens for Change should have been aggregated with those made by its sister organization, meaning they exceeded the $2,500 limit for donations to candidates from political action committees, Common Cause argued.

Susan L. Bobrow, an FPPC counsel, said in a letter to Holton that the agency had found no evidence Hurtt, who resigned from Allied’s executive committee before taking office, controlled the political group.