The Campaign Cash Count Heading into Election Day

Some big donations rolled into candidates' coffers in the final weeks of the campaign, and independent expenditure groups made their presence felt

If it’s true that money is the mother’s milk of politics, there were a lot of cash cows on the Martinez campaign trail in the closing weeks of the campaign. I just received the latest mayoral and City Council campaign finance reports for the filing period ended Oct. 22 (thanks to the Martinez City Clerk’s Office for expediting my request), and the spigot of campaign cash showed no signs of slowing in October. You can review all the filings here.

In this post, I list the total amount raised year to date by each of the campaigns through Oct. 22 (unless otherwise noted) and also note any significant contributions that came in during the filing period. I also break out the political expenditure groups/political action committees that spent their own funds either in support of or opposition to particular candidacies. As you’ll see, the independent expenditures in many cases dwarfed the amounts raised by some campaigns (if you, as I, are concerned about the influence of special interest money in politics at every level, that is not a good thing to see).

The mailers financed by the independent expenditures were often noteworthy for their harsh attacks (some would call them sleazy and dishonest) on particular candidates or group of candidates. One from the Contra Costa County Deputy Sheriff’s Association in support of incumbent Debbie McKillop in her race against Ben Therriault caused a particular stir on social media last week for the salvos it launched against Therriault, a Richmond police officer and union president who ran unsuccessfully for county sheriff earlier this year. It included the line “Martinez doesn’t need Richmond’s problems.”

Before getting into the individual totals, here are some general takeaways.

• Sean Trambley won the money sweepstakes in the mayoral race, raising a total of $51,591 between monetary and nonmonetary contributions and loans to his campaign. No other candidate topped $30,000 in total contributions for this year’s campaign.

• Mike Menesini received only $6,900 in direct contributions (he loaned his campaign an additional $21,000), but he benefited tremendously from independent expenditures not affiliated with his campaign. As you’ll see below, the Building Jobs PAC spent over $25,000 alone to try to get him elected, and another PAC connected with developer DeNova Homes also spent big on his behalf.

  

The Build Jobs PAC really wants Mike Menesini to be the next mayor of Martinez.

• In the City Council district races, Jay Howard and incumbent Debbie McKillop blew away their opponents in fundraising, thanks largely to money from organized interest groups. In fact, they outraised many of the mayoral candidates, even though they’re running in district races and note citywide.

Below is a breakdown of each candidate’s fundraising year to date through the filing period ended Oct. 22 (unless otherwise noted), as well as contributions of note received since their last filings.

Mayor

Lara DeLaney: $17,025 in monetary contributions; $9,334.72 in nonmonetary contributions. Received a $2,000 individual contribution from John Noon on Oct. 3 and a $1,000 individual contribution from Harriett Burt on Sept. 28.

Mike Menesini: $6,900 in monetary contributions and $21,000 in loans received. Made a new loan to his campaign in amount of $2,500 on Oct. 14.

Mark Ross: $21,600 in monetary contributions; $6,287 in loans received; $1,500 in nonmonetary contributions. Received contributions of $4,900 from International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 549 PAC; $4,900 from UA Local 342 PAC Fund; and $1,000 from Laborers International Union of North America.

Sean Trambley: $36,691 in monetary contributions; $10,000 in loans received; $4,900 in nonmonetary contributions. Received $1,500 contribution from consultant Gauray Parikh on Sept. 30; $1,000 contribution from consultant George Fontas on Oct. 14; $1,000 contribution from Martinez Police Officers Association on Oct. 14

Brianne Zorn: $19,921 in monetary contributions; $2,453 in loans received; $2,400 in nonmonetary contributions. Received $4,900 contribution from John Klopp, chief technology officer of Acer Therapeutics, on Oct. 18; $1,000 contribution from resident Julian Frazer on Oct. 2.

City Council

Jay Howard: $23,685.72 in monetary contributions, $4,000 in loans received. Received a $1,500 contribution from Sheet Metal Workers Local 104 on Sept. 29; $1,000 contribution from Martinez Police Officers Association on Oct. 17; and $1,000 individual contribution from loan agent Lynda Plummer on Oct. 22

Nakenya Allen: $2,866 in monetary contributions (as of filing dated Oct. 29).

Debbie McKillop: $22,250 in monetary contributions and $557.25 in nonmonetary contributions. Received $2,500 contribution from Discovery Builders, including Albert Seeno III, on Oct. 8; $2,500 contribution from LE03-Awin Management Inc. on Oct. 16; $1,500 from IBEW 302 Community Candidates PAC on Oct. 16; $1,000 from Martinez Police Officers Association on Oct. 14; $1,000 from Northern California Carpenters Regional Council Small Contributors Committee on Oct. 14.

Ben Therriault: $1,236.70 in monetary contributions; $10,000 in loans received; $1,914.34 in nonmonetary contributions.

Independent Expenditure Committees

Independent expenditures represent funds spent in support of or in opposition to a particular candidate by groups not affiliated with the candidate or candidate’s campaign.

Citizens for Property Rights & Responsible Government, Sponsored by DeNova Homes, Inc. and Affiliated Entities: $2,691.05 for mailer opposed to Lara DeLaney

Citizens for Property Rights & Responsible Government, Sponsored by DeNova Homes, Inc. and Affiliated Entities: $2,691.06 for mailer opposed to Mark Ross

Citizens for Property Rights & Responsible Government, Sponsored by DeNova Homes, Inc. and Affiliated Entities: $2,691.06 for mailer opposed to Brianne Zorn

Citizens for Property Rights & Responsible Government, Sponsored by DeNova Homes, Inc. and Affiliated Entities: $2,691.06 for mailer in support of Mike Menesini

Build Jobs PAC, Sponsored by Building Industry Association of the Bay Area: $25,570.18 for mailers in support of Mike Menesini

Contra Costa County Deputy Sheriff’s Association Independent Expenditure PAC: $4,674.81 for mailer in support of Debbie McKillop.

SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION: Speaking of campaign finance filings, here’s the breakdown for the Martinez Unified School District Trustee Area 3 race between Marcia LeBoeuf and Yazmin Llamas. As of Oct. 22, Llamas had received $9,134 in monetary contributions and $957 in loans. LeBoeuf had received $2,084 in monetary contributions. For the Measure K school district construction bond measure, the Yes on K for Martinez Schools committee had racked up $52,899 in monetary contributions through Oct. 22. Not surprisingly, much of the money has come from trade union and construction-related groups that figure to benefit from construction contracts with the school district if the bond passes (it requires 55% of the vote). That includes $10,000 from the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Local Union 302 Community Issues PAC, which has spent heavily in school board and district elections in recent years; $5,000 from the Northern California Carpenters Regional Issues PAC; $5,000 from RGM Kramer, Inc. (which specializes in the planning, design and construction of public schools); and $2,500 from Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association Local Union No. 104. On Nov. 1, the campaign received an additional $2,000 contribution from California Design West Architects, which specializes in the design and modernization of public schools. If the bond measure passes, I would suggest taxpayers and residents keep a close eye on how much these various contributors end up benefiting from construction contracts and that they work to ensure that these contributors receive no special treatment or exert no undue influence over the management of the program and awarding of contracts (several years ago, the influence of big campaign contributors on the West Contra Costa Unified School District’s construction projects came under heavy scrutiny as its bond program became mired in waste and scandal). Finance filings for county and school district races can be searched here.

FINAL NOTES: This will be my final post before the election, but I’ll be back next week to break down the results and winners and losers (if we know them yet). Keep in mind that, based on recent history, hundreds or thousands of Martinez ballots will remain to be counted after Election Night results are posted early Wednesday morning. That’s because late-arriving mail-in ballots and provisional ballots aren’t counted immediately. So we may need to be patient, particularly with the mayor’s race. Because there are so many mayoral candidates, the top vote-getters will likely be bunched together after Election Night, so it may be be days or weeks before we know with some degree of certainty who has won. The same could be the case with City Council and other local races, if the margins are within a few percentage points after Election Night.