8th Dist: Dollar Donnybrook: Organized Labor Spends Large Sum For Thrash-Ntuk; Business Interests Spend Big to Re-Elect Austin; Reform Ticket Challenger Ovalle Uses Contribs Mainly From Grassroots Residents
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(Feb. 22, 2020, 9:35 p.m.) -- Continuing LBREPORT.com's "Follow the Money" coverage, newly filed campaign forms show that between Jan 1 and Feb. 15, 2020, organized labor interests have spent $54.086 (from $125,000 collected from three unions) to unseat 8th district Council incumbent Al Austin by supporting challenger Tunua Thrash-Ntuk. That sum combines with $88,636 spent by Ms. Thrash-Ntuk's own campaign since Jan. 1. The total spent between Jan 1 and Feb. 15 to support Thrash-Ntuk (independent contribs plus her campaign) comes to over $142,000..
Since Jan 1, two LB independent expenditure committees funded mainly by various business interests (details below) spent a total of roughly $27,000 and LB's police officers union spent nearly $7,000 to re-elect 8th district Councilman Al Austin. Their $34,000 total combines with $56,808 spent by Austin's own campaign itself for a total spent since Jan 1 to re-elect Austin of roughly $90,000.
Reform Ticket challenger Juan Ovalle, aiming for a runoff against either Austin or Thrash-Ntuk, has no independent expenditure committees supporting him, but is endorsed by former 8th district Councilmembers Rae Gabelich and Jeff Kellogg. Since entering the race in 2019, Mr. Ovalle's campaign has collected contributions totaling over $37,000 in contributions of $400 or less (LB's legal maximum for candidate-run campaigns) mainly from individual residents supportive of changes in a number of current City Hall practices. Since Jan. 1, Mr. Ovalle's campaign has spent $22,515 and as of Feb. 15 reported $15,804 cash on hand left to deploy.
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As previously reported by LBREPORT.com, the "Committee on Behalf of Working Families To Support Tunua Thrash-Ntuk for Council 2020, Sponsored by Labor Organizations" amassed a $125,000 war chest from three sources: $50,000 from the UniteHere! Local 11 PAC; $50,000 from United Food & Commercial Workers; and $25,000 from Dignity CA SEIU 2015 PAC. As of Feb. 15, it had spent $54,086 of that sum to support Ms. Thrash-Ntuk.
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The "Ethical Leadership PAC Supporting Al Austin and Dee Andrews for City Council 2020" spent $12,510 (from sources below) in political activities since Jan. 1 to re-elect Austin. (Vice Mayor Andrews received the lion's share of the PAC's spending, details separately in a 6tth district Follow the Money report.)
The "Ethical Leadership" PAC collected $46,000 in the second half of 2019 from contributors including the CA Apt. Ass'n ($2,000), CREPAC (CA Real Estate: $40,000) and the LB Area Chamber of Commerce ($2,000) from which it spent $26,000 to support 1st dist. Council candidate Mariela Salgado (who finished second to Mary Zendejas in November 2019.)
Council incumbents Andrews and Austin both cast Sept. 19, 2017 votes against Council enactment of "Claudia's Law," a hotel-worker protective ordinance that would have assisted labor efforts (primarily by the UniteHere! union) to organize unrepresented LB hotel workers. The measure was opposed by LB hotel industry/hospitality interests and narrowly failed on a 4-5 vote (Yes: Gonzalez, Pearce, Uranga, Richardson; No: Price, Supernaw, Mungo, Andrews, Austin)
The "Ethical Leadaership PAC" supporting Austin and Andrews received the following sums from the following sources:: :
California Real Estate PAC (CA Ass'n of Realtors): $30,000 (Feb 19)
Long Beach Yellow Cab Cooperative :$4,900 (Feb. 19)
City Light & Power: $4,000 (Feb. 13)
Janet Watt: (owns Little Owl School): $10,000 (Feb. 13)
Sin ce Jan. 1, a second independent expenditure committee, "Neighbors for a Better Long Beach." collected $17,000 from which it spent $16,644 to support Austin (and spent $36,247 to support electing Cindy Allen in the 2nd Council district.) The PAC's 2020 contributors include:
Signal Hill Petroleum ($5,000)
Long Beach Hotel Properties, Inc. ($5,000)
Lyon Management Group ($2.500)
Shoreline Village Enterprises ($5,000)
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Support really independent news in Long Beach. No one in LBREPORT.com's ownership, reporting or editorial decision-making has ties to development interests, advocacy groups or other special interests; or is seeking or receiving benefits of City development-related decisions; or holds a City Hall appointive position; or has contributed sums to political campaigns for Long Beach incumbents or challengers. LBREPORT.com isn't part of an out of town corporate cluster and no one its ownership, editorial or publishing decisionmaking has been part of the governing board of any City government body or other entity on whose policies we report. LBREPORT.com is reader and advertiser supported. You can help keep really independent news in LB similar to the way people support NPR and PBS stations. We're not non-profit so it's not tax deductible but $49.95 (less than an annual dollar a week) helps keep us online.
