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Pro-Measure A Tax-Hike Contribs Blow Past $350,000, Much Of It From Organized Labor, Development, Corporate Interests


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(May 25, 2016, 10:15 a.m., updated 11:50 p.m.) -- Campaign contributions from organized labor, development and corporate interests (the vast majority officed outside Long Beach) have now brought the total sum collected through May 21 by the pro-Measure A-sales-tax-increase campaign committee to over $350,000 (cash + in-kind contributions). $140,000 came in early May from three union PACs (on top of $10,000 previously reported from another union PAC) in addition to $150,000 from LB's police and firefighter unions in monetary contributions in April plus roughly $20,000 in a non-monetary contribution (voter survey contending public would support measure if told it was for police, fire and infrastructure.)

Documents recently filed with the City Clerk's office also show that in addition to mailings, the committee has hired and paid salary sums (mainly a few hundred dollars each, some a bit more) to roughly three dozen individuals to perform unspecified campaign work.

[Scroll down for further.]


Sums given to: "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" include:

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 10: West Coast Arborists [on May 10, 2016, Council approved $1.8 million contract to handle LB tree trimming]$ 500
May 20: District Council of Iron Workers PAC$5,000
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
April 6: Lyon Communities and Affiliated Entities [owns "Pumpkin Patch" parcel on PCH in SE LB and has various LB residential/apartment holdings]$16,000 [May 25, 11:50 p.m. update: Committee campaign treasurer Mark Taylor indicates this amount is an in-kind contribution of office space]

As previously reported by LBREPORT.com, other sums received by the Committee in May include:

May 17Darren 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 17The 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 15Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters Political Action Fund
Los Angeles
$20,000
May 15United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local Union 112$3,000
May 12CCE 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 12The Gallos, Inc.
Long Beach 90802
$1,000
May 11Shooshani 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 6Mike Walter [title for ID], Exec. Ass't to CSULB President [and former LB Harbor Comm'r.]$1,000
May 2Int'l Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 11 PAC$10,000
May 2James Callahan, chairman, Metropolitan Stevedore$2,500
May 2Frank Colonna, Real Estate Broker$500

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Nearly half of the over $358,191 cash and non-monetary contributions collected by the pro-Measure A Committee has come from the PACs operated by two unions that represent LB's Police Officers and Firefighters as they prepare to negotiate new contracts with the City after the election.

In addition, LB's police and fire PACs also contributed nearly $21,000 as "kind-kind" contributions that paid for a survey that contended the public would support a sales tax increase if were told that it would fund police, fire and infrastructure.

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Measure A itself doesn't mention police, fire, infrastructure of any specific items. It is legally a general tax that the current and future Council can spend on any general fund items. In putting the measure on th 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.

Vote by mail ballots began flying May 9. Election Day is June 7.

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