New Investigation Finds Former Assemblyman Adam Gray Gave Nearly $40K in Campaign Funds To Family Members

Gray’s half-sister, mother got tens of thousands of dollars of funds under “campaign consultancy”, “civic donations”

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A new investigation this week revealed that former Assemblyman and current Congressional candidate for the 13th Congressional District Adam Gray (D) spent around $40,000 of campaign funds by paying his own family members between 2012 and 2019.

Gray is currently running for the 13th Congressional seat, which spans the San Joaquin Valley covering all of Merced County, most of Madera County, and parts of Stanislaus, Fresno, and San Joaquin Counties, against the current Congressman John Duarte (R-CA). Gray was an Assemblyman for 10 years representing the area between 2012 and 2022. Term-limited out in 2022 and with an open Congressional seat, Gray ran against Duarte in 2022.

However, Duarte beat Gray in the closest House race in the country by around 500 votes. The total was so close that it officially wasn’t called until late November. Despite losing in 2022, Gray decided to run again this year. And once again, the 2024 race is close, with every election prediction hub labeling it as a toss-up. According to the USC/Poly poll last month, Gray has a narrow 46% to 45% lead with a 9% undecided vote. However, with Duarte having more money in the tank than Gray, and the GOP currently riding a wave of Latino support, pollsters have said that Duarte has shifted the race back to being a virtual tie.

This week, records accessed from the California Secretary of State found that, between 2012 and 2019, Gray had paid his half-sister, Marit Medefind, a nurse and diabetes care specialist at Golden Valley Health Centers, over $37,000 worth of “campaign consultant fees.”

While Gray did do the right thing and report the payments, it’s questionable as to what campaign consulting and civic donations are in these situations. At best, it’s Gray diverting campaign funds to pay family members a considerable amount of money, rather than do what countless other campaigns do and opt out of nepotism. As Gray nor his campaigns had clarified what the funds were used specifically for in the past, it is questionable as to what exactly he paid his family for.

Click here to read the full article in the California Globe