Otting raffle prompts concern

Hoping to raise a little cash for her campaign, Newport Beach City Council hopeful Dolores Otting has been raffling off sand and sun on her website with chances for donors to win one of three weekend getaways to San Diego, Honolulu and Cancun, Mexico.

A Newport Beach resident said Thursday that he mailed a complaint to the California Fair Political Practices Commission this week alleging Otting neglected to report the source or fair market value of the trips to San Diego or Cancun on campaign funding disclosure statements filed with the city. A Fair Political Practices representative said Thursday that the commission had not received the complaint yet.

“It’s definitely some sort of misunderstanding,” Otting said. “I follow the rules in my campaign. I follow the letter of the law.”

Otting said she would speak with her campaign treasurer and file an amended finance report with the city to reflect the donated trips. Otting reported the fair market value of one of the vacation giveaways, a weeklong stay at a condo in Waikiki, as two separate donations of $495, but the cost of the two other trips were not reported on her last campaign disclosure statement.

Balboa Peninsula resident Kenneth Vincent, who filed the complaint, said he noticed the omission while looking through campaign statements on the city’s website.

“I hope this can get corrected, and this whole thing can be resolved peacefully,” Vincent said. “I want people to play fair.”

Vincent said he had no affiliation with the campaign of Otting’s opponent, incumbent District 7 Councilman Keith Curry, other than giving Curry about $20 in campaign contributions.

“I’m just a fan of Keith’s and a big fan of playing fair,” Vincent said.

Campaign disclosure records from Sept. 30 show that Curry has raised $60,816 compared with Otting’s $25,922.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at [email protected].