Pro-Sales Tax Hike Committee Still Collecting Money After Election, Recent Contribs Incl. LBPOA PAC and LBCC Trustee Doug Otto 2016 Re-Election Committee

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As of June 7. Pro-Tax-Hike-Committee Owed Roughly $150,000+ More Than It Had Cash On Hand

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(July 16, 2016, 8:10 p.m.) -- The June 7 election is over...but paperwork filed by the political committee that funded the $600,000+ campaign for Measure A (City Hall-sought sales tax increase to 10%, Council can spend the measure's revenue for any general fund items it wishes) has continued to collect money.

Campaign finance forms filed by the Committee show that contributors who after June 7 election day gave more than $1,000 (in aggregate over the past 90 days) to the Committee include:

[Scroll down for further]

Long Beach Police Officers Association Political Action Committee	$25,000 (July 6)
Doug Otto for LB Community College Trustee 2016 [LBREPORT.com note: re-elected April 2016]	$5,000 (July 6)
Waste Management and Affiliated Entities [LBREPORT.com note: June 14, 2016: Council votes 8-0 (Lowenthal absent) to award 10 yr. year contract (not to exceed $3.5 mil/year) for recyclable collection services]	$5,000 (June 23)
Iron Workers Local 433, City of Industry	$7,500 (June 16)
Arman Gabay (Lists self as owner The Charles Company, Excel Property Mgm't Services)	$5,000 (June 15)

The Committee may have had contributors of less than $1,000 since June 7 but they won't be known until the Committee files subsequent cumulative disclosure paperwork.

The Committee's June 7 (election-day) cumulative filing reveals that as of that date it had $112,006.76 cash on hand with outstanding debts (unpaid bills) of $268,271.70.

The Committee (officially the "Mayor Garcia, Foster & O'Neill Committee to Support Measures A & B to Protect Police & Fire and Repair Infrastructure in Long Beach. Major Funding by Long Beach Police Officers Association PAC and Long Beach Firefighters PAC, Local 372") files its financial statements as an officeholder controlled committee whose officeholder is Mayor Robert Garcia.

The Committee's June 7 filing includes multiple pages of persons listed as doing salaried work of unspecified types. Measure A passed on a roughly 60%-40% vote citywide (against non-unified, poorly funded opposition) with very high numbers of "yes" ballots (over 70% "yes") in parts of Council districts 1, 6 and 9. (In one 1st district precinct, Measure A received over 80% of ballots with "yes" votes.) Ballots in these districts overrode the measure's failure to gain majority support in high propensity voter areas including ELB Council district 5 (failed districtwide roughly 45%-54%), eastern (Los Altos) precincts of Council district 4 and parts of Bixby Knolls; the measure passed with barely 52% of the vote districtwide in Council district 3.

During the relatively short run-up to the election, the Long Beach Police Officers Association PAC gave $200,000+ to the campaign committee (the Committee's June 7 cumulative filing indicates a June 6 $50,000 LBPOA contribution was reversed the same day as made); LB's firefighters Ass'n PAC contributed $70,000+ (includes $20,000 on June 6, listed below). These two public safety employee associations and LB's other City Hall public employee unions are now preparing to negotiate new contracts.

Measure A is a general tax, which will be imposed in Long Beach starting Jan. 1, 2017, and current and future Council can spend the revenue on any general fund items they wish. It will raise LB's sales tax to 10% (while it's currently 9% in Lakewood/Signal Hill and 8% in most OC cities). [L.A. County's Metropolitan Transportation Authority is seeking a half cent sales tax increase Countywide in November 2016; see below for details on other tax measures.]

In putting the Long Beach sales tax increase measure on the ballot, the Council approved a non-binding resolution stating the Council's "intent" to prioritize spending of the tax revenue on police, fire and infrastructure. It will also create a "citizen advisory committee" (chosen by the Mayor) that can review but not change Mayor recommended and Council approved spending.

Among contributors to the Long Beach sales tax increase Committee prior to the June 7 election were:

June 6: Long Beach Firefighters Ass'n PAC	$20,000
June 6: DDM Operating Partners, Long Beach [LBREPORT.com note: bizapedia.com indicates DDM's principal is Ensemble Investments, LLC. CorporationWiki.com indicates Ensemble Developments LLC is an officer in DDM (and other companies.) June 14, 2016: Council votes 9-0 to approve $6 million purchase/sale agreement and development opportunity at Pacific Ave./3rd St. for Ensemble Investments, LLC.	$3,000
June 4: IBEW Local 11 PAC	$10,000
June 2: Grand Prix Ass'n of LB	$2,500
June 2: LB Hotel Properties	$2,000
June 2: P2S Engineering	$2,500
June 2: Live Nation, Houston TX	$2,500
June 1: LB Police Officers Association PAC	$100,000
June 1: John Molina (CFO Molina Health Care)	$10,000
June 1: SMG (operates city-owned LB Convention Ctr)	$10,000

May 31: Plenary Group, USA Ltd., Los Angeles [LBREPORT.com note: Dec. 15, 2015 Council votes 9-0 to approve entering 40+ year Civic Center rebuild/operate "public private partnership" transaction]	$5,000
May 26: Acebo and Associates, LB 90807 [2005-2008: Kevin Acebo was Deputy Mayor to then-LA Mayor Villaraigosa; 2001-2003, was Political Dir for CA Democratic Party]	$4,200
May 26: Noapara Enterprises, Arcadia, CA	$5,000
May 26: Reinforcing Iron Workers Local 426, Norwalk CA	$7,500

May 25: Firefighters for Better Government, Camarillo, CA	$2,500
May 24: Operating Engineers Local Union 12 Political Fund, Pasadena, CA	$5,000
May 23: JetBlue Airways Corporation, Rockville MD [LBREPORT.com note: Major LB Airport tenant worked quietly with Airport management through much of 2015, then in early 2015 publicly asked City to allow customs facility that would enable international operations and couldn't be limited to JetBlue. Council voted July 2015 (6-3, Austin, Uranga, Supernaw dissenting) to prepare "feasibility report" on action, LGB spokesperson tells LBREPORT.com (mid-July 2016) that study is tentatively set to return to Council in August-September]	$2,500
May 23: Orange County Professional Firefighters Ass'n, Santa Ana, CA	$2,000
May 21: BYD America Corporation [LB Transit choice for electric bus contract]	$2,500
May 21: CRC Services, LLC [website text: "oil and gas operations...include THUMS Long Beach Company [operates offshore portion of Wilmington Field] and Tidelands Oil Production Company [operates onshore portion of Wilmington Field..."]	$5,000
May 20: District Council of Iron Workers PAC	$5,000

May 17: Integral Partners Funding, Newport Beach, CA [Integral Communities is Riverwalk developer (former Will Reid Scout Camp site)]	$5,000
May 17: HDR, Inc, Omaha, NE [Firm providing engineering services for Port's Pier B railyard]	$5,000
May 17: All American Asphalt, Corona, CA [City contractor for Pine Ave. improvement project]	$5,000

May 17	Darren McElroy, President, Environmental Construction Group Signal Hill, CA [LBREPORT.com note: Contractor for demolition of old LB courthouse. Source: company website here.]	$5,000
May 17	The Long Beach Project Owners, LLC Newport Beach, CA 92660 [LBREPORT.com note: The Long Beach Project was among the listed litigation parties that prevailed at the trial court level against CARP [Citizens About Responsible Planning] which challenged the City's EIR for the 8th dist. Riverwalk project.]	$5,000
May 15	Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters Political Action Fund Los Angeles	$20,000
May 15	United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local Union 112	$3,000
May 12	CCE Consulting Group, LLC Hawthorne, CA [LBREPORT.com note: LinkedIn.com lists Erick Verduzco-Vega as a partner in CCE Consulting Group. Mr. Verduzco-Vega was one of Mayor Garcia's Oct. 2014 appointees to the LB Planning Commission.]	$1,000
May 12	The Gallos, Inc. Long Beach 90802	$1,000
May 11	Shooshani Fahrshad President Etc. Real Estate Services, Inc West Hollywood, CA [LBREPORT.com note: We found no LB connections to Shooshani Fahrshad (or Fahrshad Shooshani), but a prominent LB figure, Tony Shooshani is listed on Downtown LB Associates website as the owner representative for LB's downtown City Place and serves on DLBA's Board of Directors.]	$5,000
May 10	West Coast Arborists [on May 10, 2016, Council approved $1.8 million contract to handle LB tree trimming]	$ 500
May 6	Mike Walter [title for ID], Exec. Ass't to CSULB President [and former LB Harbor Comm'r.]	$1,000
May 5	Laborers Int'l Union of North America, Local 1309	$40,000
May 5	Southern CA District Council of Laborers PAC	$40,000
May 5	So. CA Pipe Trades District Council 16	$50,000
May 2	Int'l Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 11 PAC	$10,000
May 2	James Callahan, chairman, Metropolitan Stevedore	$2,500
May 2	Frank Colonna, Real Estate Broker	$500

April 11	Long Beach Police Officers Ass'n	$100,000
April 6	Lyon Communities and Affiliated Entities [owns "Pumpkin Patch" parcel on PCH in SE LB and has other LB residential/apartment holdings]	$16,000 [in-kind contribution/office space]
April 3	Long Beach Firefighters Ass'n	$50,000
Mar. 29	Long Beach Firefighters Ass'n	$7,625.00 (polling/in-kind contribution for "voter survey")
Mar. 28	Long Beach Police Officers Ass'n	$13,316.67 (polling/in-kind contribution for "voter survey")

On the horizon: L.A. County's Metropolitan Transportation Authority is currently seeking a Countywide sales tax increase (which the L.A. County Board of Board of Supervisors is widely expected to put on the the November 2016 ballot) that would raise the sales tax by a half cent for Metro desired transportation projects. If it passes (2/3 voter approval req'd), LB's sales tax would become 10.5%, and 9.5% in Lakewood/Signal Hill...while it would be 8% in most OC cities.

LBUSD's Board of Education has also voted to put a debt bond on the November 2016 ballot for school construction/maintenance (requires 55% voter approval) that would raise property owners' property tax payments by roughly $60 per year per $100,000 of property Assessor-assessed valuation.

And already done: In June 2016, voters in the LB Community College District approved a debt bond for building maintenance/upgrades that will raise property taxes by roughly $25 more per $100,000 of Assessor-assessed valuation.