Doolittle and Feliz were fined on two counts of violating CA election law in first run for public office

From the California Fair Political Practices Commision (FPPC) online enforcement database:

DOOLITTLE, JOHN; FRIENDS OF JOHN DOOLITTLE; JACK HORNSBY; FRIENDS OF JACK HORNSBY; JOHN FELIZ; SI-84/43, (1987)

84206 (currently 84203) - Two (2) counts
84211 - Two (2) counts

$3,000 fine - John Doolittle and Friends of John Doolittle

$2,000 fine - Jack Hornsby, Friends of Jack Hornsby & John Feliz

$1,000 fine - Jack Hornsby and Friends of Jack Hornsby

An administrative law judge found that state Senator John Doolittle, Doolittle’s aide John Feliz, and 1984 state Senate candidate Jack Hornsby violated campaign reporting laws in connection with the November 1984 general election.

Shortly before the election, Doolittle campaign consultant John Feliz coordinated the production of a mass mailer sent on behalf of Doolittle’s Democratic opponent, Jack Hornsby. The consulting services of Feliz and a Doolittle fundraiser, Jim Grubbs, along with 60,000 mailing labels, were contributed by the Friends of John Doolittle Committee to the Friends of Jack Hornsby Committee. The mailer was sent to Democratic households as a tactic to bring Democratic candidate Hornsby into the three-way race with Doolittle and former state Senator Ray Johnson, thus pulling votes away from Johnson to Hornsby for the benefit of Doolittle.

Doolittle was negligent prior to the election for not making further inquiry into the matter once Feliz informed him of the mailer’s existence.

Note: this was Doolittle's first campaign for public office.