Campaign Contributions for Pasadena School Board

Pasadena Unified Campaign Contributions (Photo – Graphics Dept.)

ColoradoBoulevard.net was able to gather financial disclosure reports with information on contributions received from July 1st to September 21st, the first pre-election period, for four of the five candidates running for Trustee of the Pasadena School Board.

By Melissa Michelson

– District 2 Race

Jennifer Hall Lee reported raising a total of $13,750, including $7000 from 30 individuals.  The individual donors include current and past local elected officials: Assemblymember Chris Holden, PUSD Trustee Michelle Bailey, PCC Trustee Tammy Silver, former PUSD Trustee Elizabeth Pomeroy, former PCC Trustee Linda Wah and current Glendale City Clerk Suzie Abajian. At least five former and current PUSD staff members also donated, as did former Pasadena City Manager Cynthia Kurtz. Four committees also donated $6750: Judy Chu for Congress ($500), Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local No. 4 ($750), Planned Parenthood Advocates Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley PAC ($2000) and the National Women’s Political Caucus–Greater Pasadena Area ($3500). Hall Lee reported spending $7315 during this period including $5300 to Bluestate Campaigns and $1800 to Image Cube Print Shop of Sylmar.

Juan Carlos Perez reported raising a total of $7950 from 16 individuals. Over 60% of that came from current PUSD Trustee Kim Kenne, who donated $5000. The husband of another current PUSD Trustee, Tina Fredericks, also donated. Ten of the other fourteen donations came from people living outside of Pasadena or Altadena, and six of those were from out of state. Perez reported expenditures of $3734 including $624 to a direct mail service out of Maryland, $774 to Pasadena Now, $358 to a power phone dialing company in Laguna Beach, $380 to a yard sign company in Houston, Texas, $462 to a print shop in Van Nuys, $550 to Political Data, Inc. and $120 to a QR code generator from Barcelona, Spain.

– District 4 Race

Scott Harden is running unopposed.  He reported receiving $1050 from 7 individuals and $4750 from himself. He reported spending $7026 during this period including $3750 to Bluestate Campaigns, $1400 for his campaign ballot statement fee and $1276 to Image Cube Print Shop of Sylmar.

– District 6 Race

Tina Fredericks reported receiving a total of $7822 during this period, including $5572 from 23 individuals and $2250 from committees: National Women’s Political Caucus ($1500), Judy Chu for Congress ($500), National Union of Healthcare Workers ($500) and Sandra Chen Lau for Pasadena Community College District Board 2018 (an old campaign account). The individual donors and committees included current local elected officials: Assemblymember Chris Holden, four of the current PCC Trustees: Sandra Chen Lau, Steven Gibson, Ryan Liu and Kristine Kwong, and Burbank City Councilmember Konstantine Anthony. A current candidate for Alhambra City Council, Je-Show Yang, donated in reciprocation as Fredericks had previously donated to his campaign. Fredericks also received a donation from a software engineer from Green Dot Corporation, Ted Liao. Fredericks reported spending $4098 during this period, including $2263 to Pasadena Now, $1024 to the same direct mail firm out of Maryland that Juan Carlos Perez is using, and $415 to a restaurant in Arcadia.

Lisa Kroese reported receiving $10,226 during this period, including $5,226 from 36 individuals and $5000 from one committee, Teamsters Joint Council No. 42. The individual donors and committees included current and former local elected officials: Mayor of Sierra Madre Kelly Kriebs, PCC Trustee Tammy Silver, former PUSD Trustees Scott Phelps and Larry Torres and former PCC Trustee Linda Wah. At least seven former and current PUSD staff members also donated, and nine Sierra Madre residents donated. Kroese reported spending $10,353 during this period, including $5556 to Bluestate Consulting, $2257 to Image Cube Print Shop of Sylmar, $1400 for her candidate ballot statement fee and $900 to Political Reporting Plus.

Voting begins on October 26, 2024, and ends at 8:00 pm on November 5, 2024.

Luca Bonoli, Shashank Tongaonkar, and Nicolas Perez contributed to this article.