FPPC Head of Enforcement Steps Down

SACRAMENTO (CN) - For the second time in a month, a top member of California's Fair Political Practices Commission announced his resignation from the political watchdog.

Gary Winuk, FPPC chief of enforcement, will resign at the end of February after 5 years with the agency, he said Tuesday.

Zackery Morazzini, FPPC general counsel, resigned in January to take another job with the state.

Winuk and Morazzini resigned less than a month after Gov. Jerry Brown reappointed Jodi Remke as chairwoman of the FPPC.

Winuk played a major role in the political ethics agency's busy 2014, helping the agency cite more than 1,000 violations of the Political Reform Act, according to an FPPC report.

Winuk and the FPPC filed more than three times as many enforcement actions in 2014 than when he arrived to the FPPC in 2009.

"I am proud of the FPPC's many accomplishments during my time here to strictly enforce campaign and governmental ethics," Winuk said in a statement.

Winuk's enforcement division fined several prominent lobbyists and politicians in 2014, including a record $133,500 fine against lobbyist Kevin Sloat for illegal campaign contributions.

Sloat admitted hosting fund raisers and parties for California political figures, and the FPPC sent warning letters to 37 politicians, including Gov. Brown and Secretary of State Kevin de Leon. State Sen. Tom Berryhill, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also received fines during Winuk's tenure.

Winuk previously served as S pecial Assistant to Cabinet Secretary for Homeland Security and Emergency Management for Gov. Gray Davis. His salary in 2014 was $149,000 according to a state worker salary database.

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