An Orange County Superior Court judge has ordered Orange County Board of Education member Marilyn “Mari” Barke to pay $101,800 in penalties, plus attorney fees, after finding she failed to report millions of dollars in income on her mandatory economic disclosure filings for years. Judge H. Shaina Colover handed down the final decision on September 3, concluding that an earlier state settlement over the same conduct did not go far enough.
Colover initially set the civil penalty at $81,800 before raising it to the final $101,800 figure, according to LAist. The judge found that Barke's failure to disclose community-property assets exceeding $1 million annually was reckless rather than a technical oversight, as reported by the Fullerton Observer. Barke incorrectly filled out her economic disclosure statements, known as Form 700, and later failed to properly correct amended versions of those filings, per LAist's report.
The case traces back to a complaint filed by Lynne Riddle, a retired judge, that first prompted a state investigation. The Fair Political Practices Commission found Barke liable in 2024 for failing to correctly report income and penalized her $3,200 for 16 reporting violations, a sum the court later credited toward her much larger civil judgment. Riddle's lawyers told LAist the ruling was a landmark outcome for public trust, with her legal team adding that transparency is not optional and that the public has tools to hold officials accountable.
Millions in Unreported Income
The scale of what went undisclosed is what separates this case from a routine paperwork slip. The private lawsuit alleged Barke failed to disclose between $13 million and $14 million in personal and spousal income on her annual Form 700 statements from 2018 through 2021, according to OC Juice Blog. Barke filed amended disclosures after the omissions came to light. The unreported income included community-property assets, and Barke said she relied on advice from her former spouse.
Colover said substantial civil damages were warranted to enforce the Political Reform Act and prevent future violations, according to LAist's reporting. The judge's finding that Barke's conduct was reckless rather than a technical error underpinned the higher final penalty, the Fullerton Observer's account notes.
A Rare Private Enforcement Path
Riddle's lawsuit was possible only because of an unusual legal mechanism. Under California's Political Reform Act, private residents may file civil enforcement lawsuits against public officials for reporting violations, per OC Juice Blog. The FPPC presented no evidence of criminal activity, and Riddle hired a lawyer to pursue the matter privately.
Barke also faces attorney-fee liability in addition to the court's stated penalty, according to Voice of OC.
Barke's Defense and Political Standing
Barke's attorney, Mark Rosen, maintained in July that the omissions were unintentional mistakes made by a first-term candidate who relied on advice from her spouse, and he characterized the civil suit as a political vendetta. Rosen pointed to her voluntary correction of the forms and her earlier settlement with the FPPC as evidence of good faith.
Barke has served on the Orange County Board of Education, which oversees the county's education budget for roughly 450,000 students, since being elected in 2018. She was sworn in for a new four-year term representing Trustee Area 2 in July after winning re-election unopposed earlier this year. A photograph of Barke at the California Policy Center appears in LAist's report.
The available accounts do not establish the amount of attorney fees, whether Barke will appeal, or how the judgment might affect her leadership positions.
