Three Staffers In Mayor's Office Involved In Sales Tax Hike Political Campaign, Being Paid/Reimbursed By Campaign Committee

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Three Staffers In Mayor's Office Involved In Sales Tax Hike Political Campaign, Being Paid/Reimbursed By Campaign Committee; Three Add'l Contributors Surface

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(May 14, 2016, updated May 15) -- Recently filed campaign documents show that three staff members in the office of Mayor Robert Garcia are active in the political campaign for Measure A, the City Hall-sought sales tax increase to 10% (currently 9% in Signal Hill/Lakewood, 8% in most OC cities) for any general fund items current and future City Councils may wish. State law (and the 1st Amendment) allow public employees to work on political campaigns if they do so on their own time and don't tap public taxpayer resources.

The documents show that Mark Taylor (Chief of Staff), Sharon Weissman (Senior Advisor to the Mayor) and Devin Cotter (Legislative Deputy) have been paid or reimbursed sums by the political campaign committee urging passage of the sales tax increase (its official name is: "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.") The police and firefighter unions, as well as other City Hall employee unions, are scheduled to negotiate new contracts with the City in the coming months.

[May 15 update] Mr. Taylor says Devin Cotter and Sharon Weissman are both on unpaid leave from the City, and Mr. Taylor adds that his campaign-related work [he is Treasurer for the pro-Measure A committee] happens on off-office hours (non-city time.) In an email this morning (May 15) invited by us at early evening May 14, Mr. Taylor adds that he has "taken vacation on a few occasions that have required work during weekdays." [end update]

[Scroll down for further.]

Mayor Garcia's office lists ten individuals on its taxpayer-paid City Hall staff, to our knowledge the largest Mayoral staff in LB history and significantly higher than the number of Mayoral staffers under former Mayors Bob Foster and Beverly O'Neill.

Devin Cotter was campaign manager for Garcia's 2014 Mayoral campaign. On May 4, Mr. Cotter spoke in support of the sales tax increase at an evening meeting of the Long Beach Area Group of the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club (photo below) at which Mayor Garcia and Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez had been announced as speakers. At the meeting, Mr. Cotter told LBREPORT.com that he is the campaign manager for the campaign in support of Measure A. [The group's chair has declined to say if a representative of the opposition was invited as a speaker.]

Devin Cotter discusses Measure A sales tax hike at May 4 meeting of Long Beach Area Group of Angeles Chapter of Sierra Club. LBREPORT.com photo.

Ms. Weissman, previously a long time aide to former Councilwoman/Assemblywoman/State Senator Jenny Oropeza, went to work for Vice Mayor Garcia and was active in his 2014 Mayoral campaign. Mr. Taylor, who was a Council office staffer and worked for LBCC before Garcia tapped him as his Chief of Staff, is Treasurer for the political campaign committee supporting the sales tax increase.

Recent filings by the Committee (for periods through May 1, summarized here) indicate that it paid Devin Cotter $5,000 for (FPPC code "CNS") work as a campaign consultant[s], a little over $1,000 for what the campaign listed as office expenses, $374 for phone banks and $47.51 for meeting and appearances. It paid [reimbursed] Mark Taylor roughly $1,650 for office expenses and paid [reimbursed] Sharon Weissman a little over $100 for office expenses.

Campaign filings also indicate that the Committee has spent roughly $7,700 to appear on three slate mailers: one from "Budget Watchdog Newsletter," another from "Election Digest" and a third from "California Voter Guide" (likely arriving in the coming days)

The campaign filings also indicate that in early May the Committee received the following campaign contributions (the first disclosed to date from sources other than the two unions representing LB's police and firefighters):

$10,000 (May 2) from the Int'l Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 11 PAC; $2,500 (May 2) from Jamee Callahan [title for ID] chairman, Metropolitan Stevedore (May 2); and $1,000 (May 6) from Mike Walter (May 6) [title for ID], Exec. Ass't to CSULB President [and former LB Harbor Comm'r.]

The Committee also filed amendment paperwork on May 10 that adds required text -- "Major Funding by Long Beach Police Officers Association PAC and Long Beach Firefighters PAC, Local 372" -- to its official name. It filed the paperwork four days after LBREPORT.com asked the group about the omission (May 6) and published its response here (noting that the Committee had already made the change in its online presence.) The Committee-filed amendment signed by Mr. Taylor as its Treasurer, is dated April 29. At least six mailed pieces (by our unofficial count) reached targeted addressees starting on about April 20 without the now-added disclosure verbiage. The triggering event stems from the Committee's receipt of $50,000 from the LB Firefighters Ass'n PAC (April 3) followed by $100,000 from the LB Police Officers Ass'n PAC (April 11) on top of previous in-kind contributions from the two unions totaling roughly $20,000 for a survey contending the public would support a sales tax increase for police, firefighter and infrastructure purposes.