Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia loves to show off his two corgis, displaying them on his social media accounts, his financial reports and his reelection campaign materials.
Cardboard cutouts of corgis even adorn the entrance to Mejia’s office at City Hall East, making it resemble the dorm room of an especially proud dog parent.
Now, Mejia’s corgis are the subject of a complaint submitted to the city’s Ethics Commission, alleging that the controller has impermissibly blurred the lines between his government communications and his campaign operation.
Former State Sen. Isadore Hall, looking to unseat Mejia in June, conceded in his complaint that the corgi images — especially the one meant to look like Sherlock Holmes, with a pipe and magnifying glass — are “adorable.”
Nevertheless, Hall suggested that the graphics run afoul of a city law barring candidates from using city resources, since the cap-wearing corgi appears both on Mejia’s official city website and on his campaign yard signs.
Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia uses images of corgis, sometimes sporting a pipe and a magnifying glass, on his website, his campaign materials and even the entrance to his office at City Hall East.
(David Zahniser / Los Angeles Times)
“These practices, if substantiated, undermine public confidence in the neutrality of the City Controller’s office and violate clear prohibitions on using public assets for campaign advantage,” Hall said in his complaint.
The complaint, and the focus on the controller’s signature mascots, has sent the race for the city’s top auditor position in an unusual direction. Jane Nguyen, a Mejia campaign spokesperson, pushed back on the idea that the controller failed to comply with city law, while also suggesting that Hall is “jealous of our cute corgi graphics.”
In an email, Nguyen said it’s common for politicians to use similar designs and color schemes in their campaigns and their official government duties. At the same time, she said the “Sherlock corgi” used in city publications is different from the one in Mejia’s reelection campaign.
“He is wearing glasses in one version and is not wearing glasses in the other version,” she said.
David Tristan, executive director of the city’s Ethics Commission, which levies fines when enforcing local campaign finance laws, declined to comment, saying his office “cannot confirm or deny the existence of a complaint or investigation.”
Attorney Jessica Levinson, a former Ethics Commission president, said the agency responds seriously to allegations that city resources have been misused for campaign purposes. Still, she voiced doubts that Hall’s complaint would lead to a meaningful ethics case.
“This is not the type of thing that’s going to topple democracy,” she said. “Even if the allegations are true, I don’t think this weighs particularly heavily on the minds of voters.”
Hall, 53, is basing his complaint on a city law that bars city employees from using city cars, email lists, supplies or other municipal resources for campaign purposes. For example, city employees cannot take part in campaign activities while wearing uniforms with “official city insignia.”
The complaint goes beyond Mejia’s corgis, which are a diminutive herding breed beloved by the late Queen Elizabeth II. Hall also contends that the controller’s campaign logo, font colors and other design elements match the branding on his official city website, making it appear that the city is effectively endorsing his reelection bid.
Nguyen said Mejia’s corgi images and other designs were created as part of his 2022 campaign, without using city resources. She also said that the campaign logo is “far different” from the controller’s city logo, since it contains the word “for.”
Mejia, 35, has proven to be a savvy purveyor of marketing, distributing corgi stickers at community events and sending his staff to City Council meetings in green city controller jackets. He and his team are equally strategic about publicizing data on homelessness spending, legal payouts and other city expenses.
On his campaign website, Mejia described himself as “the father of two corgis, Killa and Kirby. He is known for bringing his dogs to work, walking them down the marble corridors of City Hall. They also showed up this year on an Instagram video where Mejia and his staff performed choreographed moves to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” outside City Hall.
Former state Sen. Isadore Hall has filed an ethics complaint against City Controller Kenneth Mejia, his opponent in the June election.
(Isadore Hall for Controller)
Hall has faced scrutiny over his own election activities.
In 2014, The Times reported that Hall’s Senate committees spent $7,812 on cigars and membership at cigar lounges, $42,000 on airfare and hotels and $11,000 to stay at the Fairmont Hotel in Kihei, Hawaii, during a conference.
Hall defended the expenditures, saying they were for campaign fundraisers, dinners with potential donors and other political activities. He won his Senate race and made an unsuccessful run for Congress two years later.
Nguyen, in her email, pointed out that Hall was also accused of illegally using general election donations to pay for his primary campaign for Congress in 2016. In response to those and other violations, the Federal Election Commission issued a $24,000 penalty to Hall’s campaign.
Hall said earlier this year that he learned from the experience and had held his accountant accountable for the error.
Hall is not the only candidate running against Mejia. On Tuesday, entertainment industry executive Zachary Sokoloff formally launched his own bid for controller, promising to bring a “problem-solving approach to City Hall.” Sokoloff, 36, said he would “lead by listening” and “bring people together to fix what’s broken.”
Rick Taylor, Sokoloff’s campaign strategist, said he views Hall’s ethics complaint as “not relevant” to the upcoming campaign.
“Let’s focus on what the public wants to know,” he said. “They want to know who’s capable and competent and can do the job.”