October 2009 Archives

Here are the final two installments of the series on candidates' campaign finance reports. The material from Rio Hondo College is long because some of the candidates have raised a lot of money.

RIO HONDO COLLEGE

DIVISION 1
Norma Garcia: Raised $35,855, spent $24,076 and has $11,779 in cash. Key contributions include $3,500 from Rio Hondo College Faculty Association; $1,400 from Michael Lehrer of Los Angeles; $1,000 each from Hope Bullock, Carmen Camacho, Associates of Hacienda Heights, Glen Dake of Los Angeles, Luis Garcia, Heateflex Corp. of Arcadia, League of Conservation Voters, Armando Ramirez of Pasadena, Telacu Industries that has the contract to manage construction of the Administration of Justice Building and physical education complex; $500 each from Angela G. Acosta-Salazar, CH2M Hill of Englewood, Colorado, Evergreen Property Investments of Industry, Adrian Guerra of Whittier, John Raul Guerra of Rowland Heights, LA Noria Entertainment of Pico Rivera, Bruce Saito of Long Beach; United Steelworkers, Vanir Construction Management of Sacramento, which has a $1 million contract from Rio Hondo to manage the Applied Technology building renovation contract.

David Siegrist: Filed a form stating he will spend no more than $1,000.

DIVISION 3
ANGELA ACOSTA-SALAZAR: Raised $13,383, spent $3,771 and has $10,222 in cash. Key contributions include $2,500 each from Ernie Camacho, president of Pacifica Services that has a contract with the college to manage its infrastructure and central plant projects, and Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local Union; $1,500 from Virginia Campos Consuelo Diaz, both of Whittier; $1,000 from Assemblyman Charles Calderon and $500 from Anita Garcia of Hacienda Heights.
Crystal Chavez: Raised no money.

DIVISION 5
Madeline Shapiro: Raised $4,163, including $800 contribution from herself; spent
$1,643 and has $2,520. Key contribution includes $3,000 from Rio Hondo College Faculty Association
Michelle Yanez-Jimenez: Raised $8,002, spent $6,092, and has $1,909 in cash. Key contributions include $1,000 from Telacu Industries that has the contract to manage construction of the Administration of Justice Building and physical education complex; $500 each from Abisco Products Co. of Santa Fe Springs, Angela Acosta-Salazar, Alliance Service Group of Whittier, BRJ and Associates of Pasadena, the campaign account of Central Basin Municipal Water District board member Robert Apodaca, Quatro Design Group that has the architectural contracts from the college for the Administration of Justice Building and Santa Fe Springs Regional Public Safety Training Center and South Whittier Educational Center, at Rio Hondo College, Southwest Management Consultants, and Vanir Construction Management of Sacramento, which has a $1 million contract from Rio Hondo to manage the Applied Technology building renovation contract.

PICO WATER DISTRICT
(Three seats at stake)

Victor Caballero and James Roybal filed a joint statement: Raised $3,335, spent $3,294 and has $40 in cash. Key contributions include $1,050 from Joe Caballero.
Victoria Aguilera Galarza: Filed a form stating she will no spend no more than $1,000.
Adrian Diaz: Filed Filed a form stating she will no spend no more than $1,000.
Andres "Andy" Gonzalez: Filed a form stating she will no spend no more than $1,000.
Antonio (Tony) Martinez: Filed a form stating she will no spend no more than $1,000.
Salvador Orozco: Filed a form stating she will no spend no more than $1,000.

NORWALK-LA MIRADA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
(Four seats at stake)

Darryl Adams: Filed form stating he will spend no more than $1,000.
Ed Hengler: Filed form stating he will spend no more than $1,000.
Chris Pflanzer: Raised $7,943, including $4,043 loan from himself and $951 loan from Tom Wright of La Mirada; spent $5,397; and has $2,546 in cash. Key contributions include $500 from former Norwalk Councilman Luigi Vernola, $300 from Karen Jentz of Chula Vista and $250 from Wright.
Margarita Rios: Raised $4,745, including $1,200 contributions from herself; spent $3,954 and has $790 in cash. Key contributions include include $800 from Dilip Sangani of Joyland Childcare in Norwalk, $500 each from COPFIRE and the Los Angeles School Police Association, $250 each from the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs; spent $3,954 and has $790 in cash.
Jesus "Jesse" Urquidi: Raised $13,313, including $8,100 loan from himself spent $9,422 and has $3,891 in cash. Key contributions include $1,000 contribution from the former Norwalk Councilman Luigi Vernola; $500 from Roger Ruiz of Norwalk; $250 from Paramount Unified School District board member Vivian Hansen.
Ana Valencia: Raised $13,403, including a $7,900 loan from herself; spent $9,012; has $7,251 in cash. Discrepancy is because of $750 owed to David Gould and $2,110 the campaign had from previous campaign. Key contributions include $1,000 from the DRIVE Committee, a Teamsters Washington, D.C. political action committee and $250 from Montebello school board member Geri Guzman's campaign committee.

Here is the next installment of the campaign financial reports filed by candidates with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office.

LOS NIETOS SCHOOL DISTRICT
(Three seats at stake)

Art Escobedo: Raised $6,244, including $1,322 loan from himself; spent $6,081 and has no cash. Key contributions include $2,000 from former Cerritos
Councilwoman Grace Hu. Hu also paid for a $2,634 mailer on Escobedo's behalf. He also has $1,010 in unpaid bills.

All of the other candidates: Marisa B. Hernandez, Silvia R. Monge, David Nava, Grisel Vasquez and Diana Louise Villalba filed forms stating they will no spend no more than $1,000.

Here is the next installment of the campaign financial reports filed by candidates with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office. We'll try to file at least one more tonight. Keep watching.
La Habra Heights Water District

(Two seats at stake)

Brad Cooke: Raised $1,689, all in sums of all less than $100; spent $1,636; and has $53 in cash.
George Edwards: Raised $3,220, all of it a loan from himself; spent $3,220; and has no money left over.
Jeff Heintz: Raised $2,929, including a $500 loan from himself; spent $2,481 and has $447 in cash. He received a $200 contribution from John Pearce of La Habra Heights. The rest was in sums less than $100.

Here is the next installment of the campaign financial reports filed by candidates with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office:

EL RANCHO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

(Three seats at stake)

Rachel Canchola: Raised $7,889, including a loan of $3,145 from herself, spent $8,025, and owes $481. Key contributions include $1,000 each from Kenny Kropf, a Pasadena attorney, $1,000 from Ausa Rendon of Chino Hills, $500 each from Murad Menasian of Montebello and John Moss, an IT director for El Rancho; and $250 from Alex Santana of Bell Gardens.
Lorraine Morales De La O: Raised $125, spent $529 and owes owes $500 to David Gould.
Rita Jo Ramirez: Raised $895, spent $1,252, and has $865 in cash.
Joe Rivera: Raised $4,328, including a $1,252 loan from himself; spent $3,828 and no cash on hand. Key contributions include $1,000 from Los Angeles County Probation Officers Association; $150 from Diane Martinez of Paramount, an El Rancho educator, $100 each from Chuck Fuentes and Jeff Prang, Pico Rivera city manager and assistant city manager, respectively, and John Lopez of Pico Rivera, an El Rancho administrator.
Lupe Salas: Filed a form stating she will spend no more than $1,000.

Here is the next installment of the campaign financial reports filed by candidates with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office:

LITTLE LAKE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
(Two seats at stake)

Henry Jesus Bestwick: Filed a form stating he will spend no more than $1,000.
George See Buchanan: Raised $1,945, all of which was a loan from himself, spent $1,945, and has no cash on hand.
"AJ" Mumtaz: Raised $1,599, including $1,500 from the Little Lake Education Association Political Action committee, spent no money but owes $500 to David Gould and Co., has $1,599 in cash.
Hilda Zamora: Raised $2,350, including $1,500 from the Little Lake Education. She also paid back a $1,281 loan from herself. She spent $2,248.
 

As promised, here's the next school district that we have information on. We've already provided information on South Whittier School District. Next up is Whittier City School District This will be the last one that will be posted today. We should have information on some more tomorrow.

WHITTIER CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

(2 seats at stake)

Efrain Aceves: Raised $11,498 for total of $18,103, including a $5,000 loan from himself and $7,700 in contributions from 36 attorneys; spent $10,704 and has $7,398 in cash
Ken Henderson: Raised $4,580, including a loan of $2,000 from himself; spent $4,114 and $165 in cash.
G. Sylvia Hurtado: Filed a form stating she would spend no more than $1,000.
Linda Small: Raised $5,675, including ($800 loan from herself and $4,115 loan from Bank of America Visa at an interest rate of 26.2 percent; spent $5,094 and no cash.

This has to be a first in the many years that I've been covering local politics. Every candidate's campaign statement was available and on time at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office. In previous years -- in fact several weeks ago there normally are several missing. But on Monday, all were available.

So now the plan is to report some of the basic information from their reports on this blog as time permits. We also may be doing some stories in the newspaper, depending on space and time. But the plan is to list the candidates, the money they raised, how much they spent and any key details on who gave money this week. 

There will be no analysis or quotes from the candidates themselves, just the basic information that you could get by going to the Registrar-Recorder's Office yourself. There will be no report on the Orchard Dale Water District where all five candidates filed forms stating they will spend no more than $1,000. It appears, but I'm still double checking that someone is going to spend more than $1,000 in every other local district we cover.

Here's the first report that I've done and it will serve as the model of the ones I plan on posting this week.

SOUTH WHITTIER SCHOOL DISTRICT

(Two seats at stake)

Josue Alvarado: Raised $2,135, including a $440 contribution from himself; spent $2,133 and has $1.12 in cash on hand.
Layla Avila: Filed form stating she will spend no more than $1,000.
Jorge Hernandez: Raised $7,674, including a $100 loan from himself and $2,600 from the California School Employees Association Political Action Committee; spent $2,246, and has $5,427 in cash.
Sylvia Macias: Raised $2,528, including $1,120 loan from herself; spent $$1,818 and has $1,830 in cash.

Wondering how Congressional districts in California might look after reapportionment in 2012? Cali_girl_in_Texas on the www.calitics.com site has posted one proposal that gives us some ideas.

Her plan put Whittier into one district. It's the 39th Congressional District that is now represented by Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Lakewood. Otherwise, Sanchez's district wouldn't change much.

The 38th Congressional District, now represented by Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Norwalk, would lose Pomona but would get Downey. The district also would pick up Republican La Habra Heights.

The 42nd Congressional District, now represented by Rep. Gary Miller, R-Diamond Bar, would lose La Habra Heights and its portion of Whittier. It would pick up Pomona.

Here's the link to the entire plan: www.calitics.com/diary/10267/redistricting-california-2010.

Look for District Attorney Steve Cooley and his announcement that he will prosecute for-profit medical marijuana dispensaries to be front and center at the 6:30 p.m. Tuesday's Whittier City Council meeting.

The council will hold a public hearing to consider whether to approve a request from a Pico Rivera-based nonprofit group called Seventh and Hope to open a dispensary at 8116 Byron Road, Suite D.

Meanwhile, in the story in today's newspaper by Ben Baeder and Thomas Himes, Cooley said he would prosecute for-profit dispensaries. However, representatives from a medical-marijuana advocacy group say that for-profit dispensaries are prohibited in California.

What does this all mean for Seventh and Hope? That's may be the question of the night.

Here's another update on the missing campaign finance reports.
We received an e-mail from Jeffrey Heintz, a candidate for La Habra Heights Water District, saying he had filed on Sept. 24, the deadline. He was one of those listed here as not having turning his forms.

After checking with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office, they said that his form had been filed on time. Heintz's form was misplaced, but found after he told a Registrar-Recorder employee that he had filed his statement, an official from the county said Wednesday.

Pico Rivera isn't the only place where officials are debating the role of the city manager and elective politics.

It's there that Linda Unruh-Fuentes, wife of City Manager Chuck Fuentes, was serving as treasurer of a city councilman's political action committee. She has since resigned.

In PublicCEO.com, James Spencer, its founding editor, writes about the same issue, quoting a letter from Desert Hot Springs City Manager Rick Daniels in the Desert Sun newspaper.
"It is inappropriate and unethical for any city manager or staff person to get involved in the elective politics in the community in which they serve," Daniels stated in the letter.

You should also take a look at comments on Spencer's article. Here's the link to the article: www.publicceo.com.

Here's another update on Whittier-area candidates who have not turned in their campaign finance reports on time.

It turns out Margarita Rios, a Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District board challenger, had turned hers in. For some reason, it was no logged in by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office.

In addition, George Edwards, a challenger for La Habra Heights Water Board, filed a form Friday stating he will spend no more than $1,000.

In addition although unusual, it is perfectly legal for Pico Water Board challengers James Roybal and Victor Caballero to file a joint campaign finance statement. Thus, Roybal's form was on time.

Still late as of Friday morning are:

Victoria (Vikki) Aguilera Garza, Pico Water District
Rachel Canchola, El Rancho Unified School District
Octavio (Toby) Chavez, Orchard Dale Water District
Art Escobedo, Los Nietos School District
Andres "Andy" Gonzalez, Pico Water District
Jeff Heintz, La Habra Heights Water District
Marisa B. Hernandez, Los Nietos School District
Estela Machorro, Orchard Dale Water District
Rita Jo Ramirez, El Rancho Unified School District

We have some new information on the Whittier-area school and water board candidates who haven't filed their candidate finance statements that were due at 5 p.m. Sept. 24. It appears that the inclusion of James Roybal's name on the list of those who haven't filed was inaccurate.

Roybal and Victor Caballero, who both are candidates for the Pico Water Board, filed a joint campaign finance statement. We will be checking with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office on Friday about whether they can do that. We'll also be checking to see if any of the other 11 have turned in their statements.