California’s campaign finance watchdog decided to not investigate claims of wrongdoing by a Huntington Beach nonprofit library group.  

City council members called for the investigation in the final weeks before a special election to determine whether their restricted section of the library would be allowed to move ahead, alleging that the nonprofit Friends of the Huntington Beach Public Library had illegally donated funds to a campaign committee. 

Mayor Pat Burns said he wasn’t sure if they’d broken the law, but that he wanted an official review at the council’s May 6 meeting. 

“I always feared putting somebody in jail that was truly innocent,” Burns said, referencing his career with the Long Beach Police Department. “If they’ve done something wrong, well they’ll have to answer, but if they’re innocent I’d like to prove that.”

[Read: Huntington Beach Calls for Probe of Library Nonprofit’s Political Spending]

But the Fair Political Practices Commission, the state’s primary watchdog over campaign finance laws, announced they would not be moving forward with a full investigation in a letter to both the nonprofit and the Citizens for Good Governance Political Action Committee, which the nonprofit donated $23,000 to last year. 

“Based on a review of the complaint, the evidence provided, and your response, the Enforcement Division will not pursue an enforcement action in this matter,” wrote Christopher Burton, the assistant chief of the enforcement division. 

Both groups celebrated the decision in separate news releases, with Cathey Ryder, who chairs the spending committee, calling it “political theater and a complete waste of taxpayer money.” 

“The complaint was a blatant attempt to discredit the VOTE YES campaign while the election was already in progress,” Ryder wrote in a statement last week. 

She also called it an attempt to distract from an unpopular advertisement posted by the Vote No campaign, which was run by Councilman Chad Williams. 

“We have reason to believe that this could be considered an illegal in-kind expense from the City to Chad William’s No on Measure A and B campaign and are investigating our options to have those that waste taxpayer money held accountable,” Ryder wrote. “Using the elected City Attorney to attack those standing up to his politics will bankrupt Huntington Beach.” 

Williams and Burns did not respond to requests for comment on this article. 

Last month, Huntington Beach voters ultimately approved two measures that removed the library’s restricted section, abolished a proposed book review committee and made it so the city council could not look at outsourcing the library’s operation to a private company. 

[Read: What Does the Future of Huntington Beach’s Library Look Like?]

In an unsigned statement, the Friends of the Huntington Beach Library also celebrated the decision and said their goal moving forward was to “serve the community with integrity and purpose.” 

“This outcome affirms that Friends’ advocacy has remained in full compliance with the Political Reform Act and its campaign disclosure provisions. It underscores the organization’s longstanding commitment to lawful, transparent, and principled public engagement.”

Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.