[Updated] How Do San Gabriel City Council Candidates Fund Their Campaigns?

WE INVESTIGATE

How do San Gabriel City Council Candidates Fund Their Campaigns (Photo – City Hall, sangabrielcity.com)

How candidates fund their campaigns is important because it gives voters insight into the wealth, connections, and loyalties of the candidate.

By Sean McMorris

Does a candidate self-fund, solicit mostly from small donations, or rely on a handful of large donations from special interests? The answer to these questions could help voters decide whom best will represents them if elected to local office.

Most members of the voting public do not know that they have access to this information. The documents are called campaign finance reports and are technically called Form 460s and Form 497s. The Form 460 is the most comprehensive document with a history of the candidate’s donations and expenditures. The Form 497 is a 24-hour report for large donations. The closer we get to an election, the more often these reports must be filed. To access these documents a member of the public simply has to request access to them via the city clerk’s office. Fortunately, some cities post them online for easy access, including San Gabriel and Pasadena.

Self-fund, small donations, or large donations from special interests?

Following is a breakdown of the campaign finance reports of the six San Gabriel City Council candidates running for two seats in the March 3, 2020 elections. Note that San Gabriel does not run a primary. The top two vote-getters on March 3, 2020, will win the two at-large city council seats that are up for election.

Here are the candidates:

– Julie Costanzo (Sales Director, Hilton San Gabriel).

Julie Costanzo is an incumbent councilwoman. To date, she has raised $3,600 from three donations:

• $2,500 from Athens Services (the City’s trash contractor).
• $1,000 from China Tibetan Herbal Spa, Inc. (a San Gabriel business).
• $100 from Julie herself.

Julie did not receive any donations under $100.

– Tony Ding (Insurance Broker, Self-Employed)

As of January 18, 2020, Tony Ding has raised $60,875.Tony donated $20,000 to his campaign and loaned his campaign $11,500 ($31,500 total self-funded). Notable donations include:

• $2,000 from JBM Prestigious Realty and Wealth, Inc. (a real estate corporation).
• $1,500 from Jiana Corp. (a real estate rental and investment corporation).
• $1,000 from “Lam for Monterey Park City Council 2020”.
• $800 from the Indochinese American Political Action Committee.
• $600 from Chinese News USA, Inc. (a news service corporation).
• Tony received $3,131 in donations under $100.

– Anthony J. Faure (Retired)

To date, Anthony has not raised or spent enough money to have to file a report (a candidate who raises or spends $2,000 must begin filing Form 460s). However, a public records request shows that Anthony contributed $265 in personal funds for the purchase of lawn signs.

– John Harrington (Lawyer — Staff Council, LACERA)

John Harrington is an incumbent councilman. To date, John has raised $20,052. John loaned his campaign $9,200. Notable donations include:

• $1,700 from Garfield & Lincoln Properties LLC (an Alhambra-based developer).
• $1,600 from Pelogic Consulting Corp. (no business info could be found, but the address is a San Marino residence).
• $1,580 from TML International Corp. (the address is the same as the address provided for Pelogic Consulting Corp.).
• $1,000 from Hawaii Supermarket, Inc. (a large grocery store in San Gabriel).
• $1,000 from San Gabriel Superstore (a strip mall in San Gabriel).
• $500 from BizFedPAC (a business political action committee).

John did not receive any donations under $100.

Update
Read More:
San Gabriel City Councilman’s Campaign Heavily Funded by One San Marino Family.

– Anagh Mamdapurkar (Civil Engineer, City of Los Angeles)

To date, Anagh has raised $8,181. Anagh loaned his campaign $4,500 dollars. Notable donations include:

• $1,000 from a self-employed lawyer.
• $200 donation from El Monte Mayor Pro Tem, Jerry Velasco.
• Anagh received $2,127 in donations under $100.

Paul Cole Padilla (Educational Administrator)

To date, Paul has raised $8,998.

• All of his donations have come from his parents: a $999.99 donation from each of them and a $7,000 loan from his father.

Paul has not received any donations under $100.

> Two of the candidates, Juli Costanzo and Anagh Mamdapurkar, answered ColoradoBoulevard.net‘s candidate questionnaire. Candidate’s websites were linked to their names if they have a website.

Update:

• On Feb. 17, 2020, Julie Costanzo received $2,000 from San Gabriel Superstore (a strip mall in San Gabriel).

> Since the publication of this article, additional pre-election campaign finance reports have been submitted by the candidates and more will likely be submitted in the lead up to the election. They can all be viewed here.

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