Since July 1, these three candidates’ campaigns spent between three to 14 times what they would receive ($10,140) in annual wages as councilmembers.
By Joseph Brizzolara
Election day is quickly approaching and candidates for the Downey City Council have filed their last round of campaign finance disclosure forms ahead of November 3.
Candidates for districts One and Three have individual donation caps of $1,000 and District Five, an at-large district that covers the entire city, has a cap of $2,000.
The only incumbent, Mayor Blanca Pacheco, raised roughly three times as much as her competitor and The Downey Patriot editor Eric Pierce raised a little over eight and half times as much as his competitor. Martin Trujillo was the top fundraiser this season with over $147,000.
Independent Political Action Committees (PACs) also threw their influence around this election cycle. While legally barred from directly coordinating with a candidate, PACs can spend unlimited amounts of money to benefit (or disadvantage) a particular candidate. PACs spent a combined total of just under $28,700.
Here’s an update:
District One
Blanca Pacheco, is currently serving as mayor after being appointed by the City Council late last year. Pacheco is an estate lawyer. The challenger, Alexandria Contreras, is a regional organizer with YIMBY California, a pro-development housing advocacy group.
Pacheco’s campaign raised about $49,400 from the beginning of the year through October 17, the close of the filing period. Her campaign spent about $35,900 during the same period.
Major donors to Pacheco’s campaign who contributed during the most recent filing period included the California Apartment Association ($1,000), Cristina Garcia’s Assembly campaign ($1,000), and Saleh for City Council ($250).
Contreras’s campaign collected around $16,650 from the beginning of the year through the end of the filing period. Her campaign spent $8,510.08.
Major donors to Contreras’s campaign include Disa Lindgren, Technical Assistance and Support Coordinator for a nonprofit organization, who maxed out with donations totalling $1,000 over the course of the campaign.
The First District encompasses southeast Downey. It’s bordered by Brookshire Avenue to the west, the San Gabriel River to the east, and Stewart and Gray Road for most of its northern boundary.
District Three
Eric Pierce, editor of The Downey Patriot, has raised around $29,100 from the beginning of the year. Major donors to Pierce’s campaign include BizFed PAC ($1,000), a LA County-based pro-business political action committee, and Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Frometa ($250). Pierce paid the Downey Patriot $1,350 for print ads.
Catherine Alvarez, co-founder of the Downey Tenants Union, raised $3,387 and listed no contributors on her disclosure forms.
The Third District encompasses northwest Downey. It’s hemmed in by La Reina Avenue and Downey Avenue to the east and Burns Avenue to the south.
District Five
Deputy District Attorney Mario Trujillo has raised $147,126 from the beginning of the year and has spent about $108,100 during the same period.
Donors to Trujillo’s campaign Alejandro Jimenez DDS Inc. (2,000), Blue Sky PAC ($1,000), BizFed PAC ($1,000), Efferen Sanchez Insurance ($2,000), attorney Marc Grisner ($2,000), Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 1309 ($1,000), Susan M. Tyler, an insurance broker for New York Life ($2,000), and Edwin Urrieta ($2,000).
Carmela “Carrie” Uva, a realtor with 24 Hour Real Estate, raised $48,153 from the beginning of the year and has spent roughly $43,100. Uva’s donors include Jervis Property Management ($1,000), Florian Pepaj, owner of Value Painting ($2,000), Nelly Morcos ($1,000), Ignacio Talvera, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, ($500), and Dave Masone of Crossfire Services, Inc. donated a total of $1,500 from the beginning of the year.
PACs
Downey Leadership Council, which supports Pacheco, Pierce, and Trujillo, raised the most with $20,500. Some of their donors included Coast Engineering Designs Inc. ($2,500), Group Delta Consultants, Inc. ($2,500), Louis Ippolito Integrity Waste Management ($5,000), South Cord Management, LLC ($3,000), and Watergroup Designs, Inc. ($2,500). They spent $18,966.85.
Citizens of Downey Supporting Mario Trujillo for City Council 2020 raised $6,260 and spent $5,563.40. Their donors include attorney Maria G. Diaz ($2,000), Michelle Etchebarren, owner of Attorneys in Motion ($1,000), and president of Greenbox Loans Inc. Raymond Eshagian ($1,800).
BizFed PAC spent close to $2,000 to benefit Blanca Pacheco.
Candidates Dalejuan Peevy (District 3), Arturo Gonzalez (District 5), and Juan Martinez, Jr. (District 5) did not file disclosure forms with the city clerk.
