A paid public communication by livablecalifornia.org
Dear Speaker Anthony Rendon:
Please oppose SB 902, SB 995, SB 1085, SB 1120, AB 725, AB 1279, AB 2345, AB 3040 and AB 3107.

These Nine Bad Bills are rushing through the legislature with no Sacramento media left to WARN the public.

The Nine Bad Bills will Destroy Our Communities
  • kill homeownership by banning single-family "zoning"
  • allow 10-unit luxury apartments on almost any block
  • severely cut back on needed affordable housing
  • invite speculators to buy up stable Latino & Black suburbs
  • take away yards and garages in new homes
  • override city councils and kill public hearings
  • gentrify our diverse working-class SoCal areas
  • kill a 108-year-old voter right to save open space
These Communities in Your District are Seriously Threatened by the Nine Bad Bills:
  • Maywood
  • Bell
  • Cudahy
  • South Gate
  • Lynwood
  • Paramount
  • Lakewood
  • (North) Long Beach
  • Hawaiian Gardens
Thank you for listening, Speaker Rendon. We appreciate your hard work.
The volunteer movement at livablecalifornia.org.
Please reach us at contact@livableca.org
LBReport.com

Follow the Money

Garcia-Run Campaign For March 2020 Tax Measures A & B Racked Up Over $100k In Unpaid Bills; Since Then, These Entities Have Given His Committee These Sums



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(August 1, 2020, 7:30 a.m.) -- Recently filed campaign reports show that the political committee operated by Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, that most recently ran the March 2020 campaign for Measure A (to extend a 2016 sales tax increase that LB voters were told would be temporary) and to increase LB's hotel room tax (that LB Councilmembers say will be used for arts-related purposes) shows the following:

  • In the twelve days leading up to the March 3, 2020 election (Feb. 21-March 3), the Garcia-run Committee spent $143,411 (against grassroots opponents to Measure A who used social networks, fliers and a small number of yard signs)

  • As of election day (March 3), the Garcia-run committee reported an ending cash balance of $21,965 with outstanding debts (unpaid bills) of $115,008.

  • In the weeks and months that followed the election (Measure B passed handily; Measure A passed by 16 votes, a County tally currently under legal challenge by LB's Reform Coalition), a number of salient entities contributed sums to, in effect, help pay down the Garcia-run political committee's unpaid bills/debts. They included:

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  • The immediately above ad space donated by LBREPORT.com

    April 28, 2020Long Beach Firefighters Ass'n PAC$15,000
    April 30, 2020Lift Up Long Beach Families -- Rex Richardson Ballot Measure Committee$20,000
    May 13, 2020Long Beach Police Officers Ass'n PAC$25,000
    June 9, 2020Emericon Builders$15,000
    June 16, 2020Waterford Residential, LLC$10,000
    June 24, 2020MWN Community Hospital, LLC$25,000
    June 30. 2020United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 324 PAC$2,500
    July 26, 2020Laborers Int'l Union of North America Local 1309 PAC$5,000
    Sponsor

    Sponsor

    Tied with the LB police offices' union for the largest single contribution ($25,000) was MWN Community Hospital, LLC , the City's lessee/operator for the still shuttered facility (awaiting state licensure). An April 8 city release described MWN as "a partnership between Pacific6 Enterprises, co-founded by former Molina Healthcare CEO John Molina; AHMC Healthcare, a privately held hospital corporation founded by Jonathan Wu; and Network Medical Management, which provides administrative support to medical groups and physicians."

    Sponsor

    Sponsor


    On April 14, 2020, the City Council (motion by Councilman Daryl Supernaw) voted without dissent to advance $250,000 to pay for certain Community Hospital (elevator related) repairs described at the time as related to provide COVID-19 patient capacity. An accompanying Council agendizing memo acknowledged that MWN was technically supposed to pay for repairs of this type under the terms of its lease with the City. The agendizing memo also acknowledged that the $250,000 sum advanced by the City Council action didn't include a legal requirement of reimbursement of the sum for the City's taxpayers.

    Sponsor

    Sponsor

    In a July 17, 2020 update, the City's Director of Economic Development, John Keisler, told LBREPORT.com that as stated in the April 2020 agendizing memo "The City would be making these repairs effectively as an advance to MWN with the understanding that MWN and the City will work together to secure reimbursement to the City for these costs from the State or other sources. However, there is no assurance of reimbursement." In its 45-year agreement with MWN, the City has agreed to share up to $50 million in construction costs related to the seismic retrofit of the facility. The City may request reimbursement or credit for the elevators as part of this agreement or other sources."

    Mr. Keisler also indicated that it's the City's understanding that the anticipated surge in hospital visits related to COVID-19 didn't materialize and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) no longer required the use of Community Hospital for patient transfers.

    Sponsor


    The third largest contributor to the Garcia-run political committee was Councilman Rex Richardson's-run political committee, a ballot measure committee that between early April, 2019 and late June 2019 collected a whopping $200,000+ for some type of then-publicly unspecified ballot measure

    On Jan 7, 2020, Richardson and his Council allies suffered a stinging political setback when the Council -- by the slimmest majority -- declined to advance to City Attorney drafting stage a Richardson-proposed $298 million debt-bond/property tax increase Nov. 2020 ballot measure.

    Instead, on a 5-4 vote on a substitute motion by Councilwoman Suzie Price, the Council approved a second half of Richardson's agenda item, to request a report from city staff with details on available state and fed'l funding sources. (Voting "yes" on the Price substitute were Councilmembers Price, Supernaw, Mungo, Andrews and Austin. Voting "no" were Councilmembers Zendejas, Pearce, Uranga and Richardson.)

    During the more than four hour agenda item, Mayor Garcia didn't publicly state his position on the item, pro or con.

    Sponsor

    Sponsor


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