Company That Printed/Assembled Signs For Independent Expenditure Committee Backing Garcia Says Another Company Distributed Them [Visible On/Around Multiple LB Business Properties, Unclear If With Property Owners' Consent] And Will Remove Them "Immediately After The Elections"; Garcia And His Campaign Disavow Responsibility; Committee (About Which Foster Has Said "You Don't See My Name On It") Has Collected $101,000 From 13 Contributors; See Them Here

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(Mar 31, 2014, 4:10 p.m.) -- The independent expenditure committee "Friends of Long Beach, a Committee Supporting Vice Mayor Robert Garcia For Mayor 2014" paid two OC entities for "street signs supporting Robert Garcia," one of which tells LBREPORT.com that it printed and assembled the signs and says the other entity "distributed" the signs (that have appeared on multiple Long Beach business properties, unclear if with property owner's consent) and that other entity will take them down "immediately after the elections."

Below are photos showing placement of some of the independent expenditure committee's signs at locations in Long Beach visible over the past several days.

Shows height perspective

Some of the signs are at street level.

In small print, the signs indicate they're paid for by "Friends of Long Beach, A Committee Supporting Vice Mayor Robert Garcia for Mayor."

LBREPORT.com is unaware (and it can't be conclusively determined on simple viewing) if the signs above, or others from the independent expenditure committee, were placed in these locations with the property owner's consent.

In an email reply to an inquiry from LBREPORT.com, Cogs South Signs in Santa Ana said today (Mar. 31):

COGS South printed & assembled signs for the Garcia campaign [sic: we believe means independent expenditure committee supporting Garcia].
[Names another entity] distributed the signs & will take them all down immediately after the elections.
All signs should be posted in accordance with Long Beach Municipal Code. We are unaware of any complaints from any property owners in the city.
We know that campaign signs have their detractors, but we believe they play a vital role in our democracy. Many concerned citizens that want to serve their community in public office can't afford more expensive methods (such as mailers) to reach potential voters.

Paperwork filed by the independent expenditure committee indicates it paid COGS South Signs $4,315.95 and paid the other entity $3,545.

The independent expenditure committee has also sent at least two mailers -- received at Republican households but apparently not Dems -- making various representations about the records of Mayor Foster and candidate Garcia. [A Fact Check report on these two mailers is coming, part of a series by LBREPORT.com that has examined mailers by the Lowenthal, Otto and candidate-run Garcia campaigns.)

The independent expenditure entity received $101,000 from 13 contributors between Jan. 24 and March 22, 2014.

Mar. 22	Bunkers Int'l Corp, Lake Mary, Florida	$5,000
Mar. 22	Three Rivers Trucking, Corp, Exeter, CA	$5,000
Mar. 13	California Laborers for Equality and Progress, Sacramento address	$20,000
Mar. 10	Donald Attore, Public Affairs, Attore & Associates, Villa Park, CA	$2,500
Mar. 1	Advanced Environmental Group, LLC Carson, CA	$10,000
Mar. 1	Michael Gless, Los Angeles, attorney with Keesal, Young & Logan	$3,500
Mar. 1	Progressive Transportation Services, Inc., Long Beach, CA	$2,500
Feb. 13	Price Transfer Group, Rancho Dominguez	$5,000
Feb. 12	Victor Larosa, Rancho Palos Verdes, CEO/Pres. Total Transportation Services, Inc.	$2,500
Jan. 29	Affiliated Development Group, Long Beach	$5,000
Jan. 26	West Coast Agencies, LLC, Long Beach 90806	$10,000
Jan. 26	De Anza Building and Maintenance, Los Altos (SF Bay Area)	$25,000
Jan. 24	TMSI, Long Beach 90815. [TMSI's President is 3rd dist. Councilman Gary DeLong]	$5,000

As previously reported by LBREPORT.com, on Feb. 25 Mayor Bob Foster, who moments earlier endorsed Garcia for Mayor at press event held by the Garcia campaign, declined to take reporters' questions, but was pursued by LBRegister reporter Joshua Stewart and LBREPORT.com publisher Bill Pearl.

Stewart reached Foster first and asked Foster if he'll be involved with the independent expenditure committee...as Garcia distances himself. Foster told Stewart "I may, I don't know, we'll see, I haven't, I haven't, you don't see my name on it. Not right now."

LBREPORT.com's Pearl tried a second time in a slightly different way, asking in the present, not future: "Do you have anything to do with the independent expenditure committee?" Foster replied "not right now," got in his car and drove off.

Among the independent expenditure campaign's larger contributors is John Vidovich, a prominent northern CA businessman who told LBREPORT.com that he contributed $25,000 because he admires what Mayor Foster has done in office and wants to see it continue under Garcia. (LBREPORT.com coverage here.)

Independent expenditure committees are legally allowed o collect campaign contributions that exceed LB's voter-enacted limits on contributions to the candidate's campaigns but they must operate completely independently of (no coordination with) the candidate or the candidate's campaign. Garcia and his campaign have disavowed any connection with or responsibility for the signs prepared and posted by the independent expenditure committee.

Other independent expenditure committees have surfaced in the current election cycle, including one supporting Doug Otto for Mayor, another (from the LB Area Chamber of Commerce) supporting Damon Dunn for Mayor and another supporting Jack Rosenberg for City Council.