Following a recent lawsuit that accuses a California State University campus of illegally advocating for Proposition 30, University of California officials said there have not been any reported violations of a policy that prohibits faculty and staff from using public resources for political campaigns.
Last week, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of taxpayers, and a CSU Monterey Bay student filed a lawsuit against CSU Monterey Bay in the Monterey County Superior Court for reportedly using taxpayer resources to encourage students to vote for Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed tax measure.
The lawsuit claims that Ernest Stromberg, director of the division of humanities and communication at CSU Monterey Bay, sent a message in September to more than 300 CSU students through a university email address, urging them to vote in support of the tax measure.
The email tells students to “work together to pass Prop 30,” which he said would allow students to get a “$498 tuition refund,” according to the suit.
The proposition would temporarily raise personal income taxes and sales tax to close the state’s budget deficit. If the tax measure does not pass, the CSU and UC systems would each face $250 million in trigger cuts, or automatic spending reductions.
The complaint alleges Stromberg’s email violates a law prohibiting state employees, including public university faculty and staff, from using state resources or time for campaign activity.
The CSU system holds that Stromberg’s email was “inappropriate” and “crosses the line” in advocating for the tax measure, said Mike Uhlenkamp, spokesman for the CSU chancellor’s office. He said the University has made it clear to faculty and staff on multiple occasions what is politically permissible as state employees.
“We are in a unique situation right now. … The outcome of (Proposition 30) will have obvious effects on the University system,” Uhlenkamp said. “As we are so close to the elections, people want to be informed and share their opinions, express to fellow faculty members, employees, students what they think should be done, but it does cross a line.”
Uhlenkamp said CSU Monterey Bay is currently reviewing Stromberg’s actions and will determine if any personnel action needs to be taken.
The UC, whose faculty and staff are required to follow the same restrictions as other state employees, has not had any reported issues following the policy, said UC spokeswoman Dianne Klein. UC employees can provide information on the proposition, but are prohibited from using university resources to advocate on behalf of a proposition or candidate.
“Right now I’m working, the university is paying my salary, so I can’t send anything on company time,” Klein said. “(If) I’m at home … I can (advocate) on my own time.”
Both the UC Board of Regents and the CSU Board of Trustees, however, endorsed Proposition 30.
The Taxpayers Association calls on the court to declare Stromberg’s actions illegal and issue a court order that prohibits further use of public resources for political campaigning, said Tim Bittle, director of legal affairs for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. The association also hopes the court will require the CSU system to pay fees to the student who filed the suit for the reported violation of his free speech rights, Bittle said.
Contributing reports by Erin Donnelly and Nikki Somani, Bruin senior staff.