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FOLLOW THE MONEY
WHERE DO CANDIDATES GET THEIR MONEY?
It can be very expensive to fund a campaign for Mayor or City Council. It is important to know who is donating to those campaigns and what sort of influence they may yield over candidates.
Most candidates receive funds from friends, neighbors, and business associates. Some candidates have received donations from political action committees (“PACs”) and union or employee association PACs. There are also independent expenditures (“IE”) made by PACs, union and employee association PACs. Last election year a Super PAC made an IE on behalf of a candidate, a first for Costa Mesa elections to our knowledge.
Technically, a Super PAC is called an independent expenditure-only committee. Super PACs may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations and individuals, then spend unlimited sums to overtly advocate for or against political candidates.
IEs are expressions of the support or opposition of candidates. IEs are not to be coordinated with a candidate’s committee or their agents. IEs are separate contributions and are not subject to contribution limits.
It seems like each election we see mailers sent to voters on behalf of candidates (but in opposition to their opponents) by Super PACs. This type of mailer is what many call a “hit piece,” or a very negative opposition mailer. While this is legal, it often doesn't change the mind of an informed voter because the claims are usually vague and not true. That is why we urge you to be an informed voter!
Since the candidates are required to file forms with the City disclosing donations over $2,000, we can gather information from those forms to shed some sunlight on the campaigns. All forms can be found on the City's website. The following is a comparison of candidate donations:
John Stephens
As of September 21, 2024, Mr. Stephens had $57,588.15 in his coffers and has collected another $112,000 in donations since that time. Most of his donations come from persons or companies involved in real estate/construction/development businesses, followed by political action committees, many of them organized by real estate and construction unions. Costa Mesa residents are only 10% of his donors. John Stephens files disclosure statements at a regular frequency and is transparent.
James Peters
Mr. Peters loaned his campaign about $7,600, but is largely supported by people and businesses outside of Costa Mesa . That is followed by developers and those in the real estate industry, including Jim Righeimer, Steve Mensinger and John Saunders. He files disclosure statements at a regular frequency and is transparent.
District 1
Adam C. Ereth
As of September 21, 2024, Mr. Ereth had $7,940.03 in his account and has collected more donations since that time. Most of his donations come from outside our city. That is followed by unions, associations and political action committees. Only a few residents have donated to him. Adam Ereth files disclosure statements at a regular frequency and is transparent.
Michael J. Buley
Mr. Buley is for the most part supported by individuals and businesses outside of Costa Mesa, followed by lawyers and Republican PACs, and then by Costa Mesa residents. One of those residents, Kevin Koshi, might be the same Kevin Koshi of Costa Mesa who was arrested in connection with medical lab patient brokering scheme (see https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/crime/2019/04/05/lake-park-lab-owner-at-center-of-patient-brokering-scheme-out-of-jail/5472732007/). Another donor is the owner of a cannabis beverage company. He files disclosure statements regularly and is transparent.
District 2
Loren Gameros
Mr. Gameros is running unopposed, but as of September 21, 2024, he had $3,404.16 in his account. He has been filing disclosure statements regularly and is transparent. Most of his donors are from unions and political action committees, followed by people in the real estate/construction/development business. Only about 16% of his donations come from local residents. He received $2,500 from the campaign funds of John Stephens and Jeffrey Harlan, but then turned around and gave $5,000 to Jeffrey Harlan's campaign fund. Because ? ? ?
District 6
Jeffrey Harlan
As of September 21, 2024, Mr. Harlan had $24,593.54 in his coffers and has collected about $63,000 more since that time. Jeff Harlan gets most of his donations from unions and PACs, including apartment association PACs, and from lawyers. The next largest group of donors are people in the real estate/ construction/development business. Fourteen percent of his donors are Costa Mesa residents. He files disclosure statements regularly and is transparent.
Jefferson Pettis
Mr. Pettis's statements disclose that Republican PACs, including the Lincoln Club, are the primary contributors to his campaign, followed by donors from outside Costa Mesa. Nineteen percent of his individual donors reside in Costa Mesa. Donations from developers, including John Saunders, make up the remainder of his campaign funds. The Lincoln Club also independently spent funds on his campaign. He files disclosure statements regularly and is transparent.