Show Me the Money: Who's Funding the Mayor, Council Campaigns

Here's what the early campaign finance reports show about who's backing who in the Martinez races

I got a look at the campaign finance reports filed to date with the city clerk in the races for mayor and City Council seats. You can view the filings for yourself here, but here’s a quick overview of where the money is coming from for all those glossy campaign signs we’re seeing around town.

Mayor’s Race

Lara DeLaney

The longtime council incumbent’s biggest donation to date is $4,474 from Dick Duncan. She’s loaned herself $2,000, and has a couple individual $1,000 donations from Lorna Markus and Ron Sparacino.

Mike Menesini

The perennial political figure who was the last mayor before Rob Schroder’s 20-year reign is getting the bulk of his money from himself and the influential Dunivan family. By my count, Menesini has given himself $14,000 so far and has gotten an additional $5,000 from Earl Dunivan, his mother Joanne and Dunivan’s downtown property management business entity.

Brianne Zorn

The first-term council member has gotten $4,900 so far from the environmental group Thousand Friends of Martinez to go with a $1,000 donation from Kay Cox and a $1,039 donation from Stacy Walker of Frostline Refrigeration.

Sean Trambley

The planning commissioner has wracked up the most donations in the early going, largely from local business interests. The owners of Martinez’s first cannabis dispensary Velvet Cannabis, Farid Harrison and Matthew Morea, have given Trambley a combined total of $5,900 ($4,900 came from Harrison). He also has received donations of $2,450 each from Ernest and Nancy Lompa. Ernest Lompa is listed as an entrepreneur in the campaign filing, and Nancy Lompa as the owner of On Line Binding. He also received $1,000 donations from Firas Masarweh, owner of Troy Greek Cuisine, and William Ahmanson of the Ahmanson Foundation, and $2,500 from Nancy Eisner.

No filings have shown up yet for the other two mayoral candidates, longtime council member Mark Ross and longtime resident Michael Ayers.

City Council

District 1

Nakenya Allen

The community organizer and activist is running a grassroots campaign funded with small-dollar donations. Her largest single donation to date is $250.

Jay Howard

The carpenter/construction superintendent’s only donation to date is $1,000 from the trade union IBEW 302, which often plays a big role in supporting union-friendly candidates in local elections.

District 4

Debbie McKillop

The incumbent running for a third term reported a $2,000 donation from the Contra Costa Deputy Sheriffs Association. She is chief of the Forensic Crime Laboratory at the Sheriff’s Office.

No filings have shown up yet for Richmond police officer/union president Ben Therriault, who is running against McKillop after an unsuccessful effort to unseat Sheriff David Livingston in the June primary election.

The next filing deadline is Thursday, Sept. 29, so fresh campaign finance statements should become available soon. I’ll share them with you when I see them.

That’s it for now!