LAW
OFFICE OF
DANIEL BUTT
FOR
RELEASE: October
29, 2026
· Contact:
Daniel R.
Butt, daniel@buttlaw.com,
(510) 255-1094
Complaints
filed over
Measure Q
campaign videos
filmed in
Richmond Fire
Station 66
Richmond
resident asks
District Attorney,
Attorney General,
FPPC, City,
and County
elections officials
to review use of fire-department property in Yes on Q campaign
RICHMOND, Calif. — Daniel R. Butt, a Richmond resident and taxpayer, has filed complaints asking public agencies to review whether Richmond Fire Department property
was used in campaign videos supporting Measure Q, the City’s $120 million fire-station bond on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
The videos.
Between October 7 and October 9, 2026, the Facebook Page “Yes on Measure Q-Stand with Firefighters,”
whose bio
states it
is paid
for by
Richmond Firefighters
& Community
for Yes
on Measure
Q (FPPC I.D. No. 1495415), a committee sponsored by IAFF Local 188, posted four videos that the complaints allege were filmed inside Richmond Fire Station 66: facebook.com/reel/1423431132451069, facebook.com/reel/2021701645162202,
and facebook.com/reel/1089607943938420 (all Oct. 7), and facebook.com/reel/1425102368968864 (Oct. 9). According to the complaints, the videos show the station’s apparatus bay, with a board reading “STATION 66,” Engine E66, RFD-marked vehicles, an engine pump
panel lettered “RICHMOND” and “FIRE DEPT,” and a person in City-issued firefighter turnout gear.
The disclaimer.
Each video states: “All firefighters were off duty during filming. No City funds were used to produce
this advertisement.”
The complaints
allege that
this does
not address
the use
of City
buildings, vehicles,
and equipment, which Government Code section 8314 bars for campaign activity whether or not money is spent. The complaints also note that the committee’s campaign statements on file with the City report paying for videography and digital ads but report
no in-kind contribution for the use of City property. Section 8314 provides penalties of up to $1,000 per day plus three times the value of the use, enforceable by the District Attorney or Attorney General.
A pattern.
The complaints cite May 28 and May 29, 2026 E-Forum publications showing City employees and a firefighter in uniform in a 2026 mayoral campaign’s posts,
and, republished in the May 29 E-Forum, September 15 and October 27, 2022 Instagram posts from a 2022 City Council campaign showing candidates with a uniformed firefighter in front of a Richmond Fire Department engine. They also cite a Nextdoor post by Councilmember
Soheila Bana, made on or about October 25, 2026, showing Councilmember Bana and Fernando Ramirez holding a Yes on Measure Q sign while depositing ballots at Contra Costa County ballot drop box No. 15 at the El Sobrante Library. Mr. Ramirez, identified in the
complaints as a Richmond Fire Department employee, signed the ballot argument in favor of Measure Q as “Fernando Ramirez, Richmond Firefighter.” The complaints allege that this violates Elections Code section 18370, which bars electioneering within 100 feet
of a ballot drop box.
What was filed on October 29, 2026.
A letter to Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton requesting investigation
and civil
action under
Government Code
section 8314
and review
under Elections
Code section
18370; a complaint to Attorney General Rob Bonta, submitted through the Attorney General’s online complaint form; a sworn complaint to the Fair Political Practices Commission concerning whether the committee reported the use of City
property as
an in-kind
contribution; a
formal complaint
under the
City’s political-activity
policy (AP
320) and
a demand to preserve records, sent to the City Manager, City Attorney, and Fire Chief; a California Public Records Act request to the City of Richmond, submitted through NextRequest; and a notice to the Contra Costa County Registrar of Voters about the
drop-box sign.
The complaints are requests for review. No agency has made any finding. Copies of the filings and video stills are available on request.
###
STILLS
 |
Exhibit
1 —
facebook.com/reel/1423431132451069
(posted Oct.
7, 2026,
4:55 p.m.).
Engine E66
in the
Station 66
apparatus bay with the on-screen disclaimer.
 |
Exhibit
2 —
facebook.com/reel/2021701645162202
(posted Oct.
7, 2026,
5:13 p.m.).
Speakers in
IAFF/Local 188
shirts in
front of an RFD engine pump panel lettered “RICHMOND” in the Station 66 apparatus bay.
Exhibit
4 —
facebook.com/reel/1425102368968864
(posted Oct.
9, 2026,
8:54 a.m.).
Captioned re-cut
of the
Exhibit 2
footage (Station 66).
Exhibit 7 — Public Nextdoor post by Councilmember Soheila Bana, on or about Oct. 25, 2026: Councilmember Bana and Fernando
Ramirez holding
a Yes
on Measure
Q sign
while depositing
ballots at
Contra Costa
County ballot
drop box
No. 15
at the El Sobrante Library (comments and reactions omitted).
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