OC Blog

Business IEs Pouring In For Claudia Alvarez For Assembly

I checked out the "late expenditures affecting a candidate" filings affecting Claudia Alvarez's Assembly campaign.

Labor has spent nearly $100,000 in IEs for Jose Solorio this month, but business interests haven't been sitting on the sidelines, either.

JOBS-PAC "A Bi-Partisan Coaliton of California Employers" spent a little more than $85,000 on Alvarez's behalf since May 15 -- basically mailers and polling.

A group called Californians United also made a $30,000 IE for broadcast ads for Alvarez on May 11 (this IE consisted of $24,000 from McLarand, Vasquez, Emsiek & Partners, Inc. of Irvine and $5,000 from O'Brien Mechanical II, Inc. of San Franisco). The same group m ade another $10,000 IE for broadcast ads on May 15 -- and this is where a reader better versed in campaign finance arcana could be of assistance. The IE states it was a $10,000 expenditure, although the filing reports more than $100,000 in contributions from various business interests. Perhaps that means Californians United still has $90,000 left to spend in that IE -- I don't know.

All in all, about $125,000 in business interest spending to elect Alvarez. Solorio and Alvarez may zig-zagging around the political map, but labor and business interests seem pretty clear on where the two candidates are coming from.

Jose Solorio Loans $45,000 To His Assembly Campaign

An OC Blog reader just commented that Jose Solorio has put $45,000 of his own money into his Assembly campaign.

I checked the Secretary of State website, and sure enough: $45K from Jose Solorio.

Unless Jose is secretly an investment genius, that's a lot of money for a senior OCTA manager. If Jose wins, he'll be able to repay the loan in no time. But if he loses -- ouch. Solorio would likely be able to pay back some of that loan due to his position as a Santa Ana Councilman, but even a councilman in a big city would hard pressed to raise that kind of cash for an Assembly account.

Personally, I've never understood why anyone who was not personally wealthy would sink that kind of moolah into a political campaign.

Which Way Is Left In The 69th Assembly District?

I received this from the Jose Solorio for Assembly campaign a few days ago:

Business Leaders for Jose Solorio

Michael Ray    Jose Romo

Roger Faubel    Bob Goodrich

Dr. Sean Schick    Debbie Trabattoni

Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido
Anaheim Mayor Pro Tem Richard Chavez
Garden Grove Mayor Pro Tem Mark Rosen
Orange County Water District President Paul Anthony

Cordially invite you to attend a fundraising event to support

Santa Ana Councilman Jose Solorio for State Assembly

69th Assembly District

breakfast will be served

The Center Club
650 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

$250 per person
Bronze Sponsor $500   
Silver Sponsor $1000
Gold Sponsor $2000      
Platinum Sponsor $3300

Please RSVP by Tuesday, May 23rd by calling Kimberlee Ward at (562) 787-5808 or emailing kimberlee@JoseSolorio.com

The Democratic contest in the 69th Assembly District is  intriguing to me as an outside GOP observer, because the candidates seem to be upending the classifications into which they'd conventionally be placed. Santa Ana Councilwoman Claudia Alvarez was the "business Democrat" during her narrow loss to Assemblyman Tom Umberg two years ago -- but according to Democratic insiders I've spoken with she's been veering to the left this primary.

For example, she has staked out a more liberal stance on the drivers licenses for illegal immigrants issue than primary rival and fellow Santa Ana Councilmember Jose Solorio.

The conventional depiction of Solorio, for that matter, has been as the "union Democrat" in this race -- as evidenced by his greater level of labor support vis-a-vis Alvarez and Armando De La Libertad (the withdrawal of the SEIU endorsement notwithstanding). For example, a union PAC with ludicrously long name -- Strengthening Our Lives Education, Community Action And Civic Participation, A Coalition Oof Labor Organizations -- spent $96,383 on voter contact for Solorio between May 8 -- May 20.

Now you have Solorio's business leaders breakfast. Solorio zigs from left to right and Alvarez zags from right to left -- while De La Libertad seems to zig all over the place trying to figure out where he stands on the major state issues.

I don't pretend to be an expert in internal OC Democratic politics, and tend to defer to the judgment and insight of my Democratic friends -- who tell me this has been a strange primary where the candidates have been all over the ideological map in search of an advanatge over their opponents.

SEUI Local Withdraws Endorsement of Jose Solorio For Assembly

This came over the transom from the Claudia Alvarez for Assembly campaign a few minutes ago:

SEIU's working families dump Jose Solorio in 69th Assembly District

Core supporters and contributor withdraw their endorsement

Santa Ana :  Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 347 has withdrawn its endorsement of Jose Solorio for State Assembly in the 69th District. SEIU Local 347 and other SEIU locals have been Mr. Solorio's largest contributor with over $29,000 in direct contributions and an additional $50,000 in funds through an independent expenditure committee known as “Strengthening Our Lives Through Education, Community Action, and Civic Participation”.

“Jose Solorio does not keep his promises and people are starting to find that out.” said John Shallman, Campaign Consultant for Democrat Claudia Alvarez. “He has been telling voters to trust him and now we see he is all talk and no action”.  Shallman added.

In a letter dated May 17, 2006, to Jose Solorio, Teresa Sanchez, Assistant General Manager of SEIU Local 347 wrote “Today I was informed by Union leaders that you have failed to meet your commitment that you made …to support working families.”  The letter (attached below) goes on to say “ This (withdrawal) reflects the deep disappointment our members have when an elected official makes a commitment to his or her own employees and subsequently fails to live up to that commitment.”

“Claudia Alvarez welcomes all working families to her campaign in trying to raise the minimum wage, increase access to affordable healthcare and make sure workers have a stable retirement when the reach their golden years.”  Said Shallman.  “Claudia has already been endorsed by the Teamsters and the United Farm Workers (UFW) as well as labor leader Dolores Huerta.” Shallman concluded.

John Shallman can be reached at 818-728-4200.

Claudia Alvarez,
Candidate
69th Assembly District

I don't know why Alvarez's campaign put Shallman's number as the contact phone -- that guy never returns my calls. Each time I call his office, a friendly fellow tells me John is on the phone but will get back to me.

But that aside, this is a nice win for Alvarez as we head into the last two weeks of the campaign.

Miguel Pulido Endorses Jose Solorio In 69th AD

This came over the transom yesterday from the Jose Solorio for Assembly campaign:

SANTA ANA MAYOR MIGUEL PULIDO ENDORSES JOSE SOLORIO FOR ASSEMBLY

Santa Ana, CA (May 9, 2006) -- Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido has announced his endorsement of Jose Solorio for Assembly and shares his reasons why.  Solorio,  currently a member of the Santa Ana City Council, is a Democrat running for state Assembly in the 69th district, which includes all of Santa Ana and portions of Garden Grove and Anaheim.  Assemblyman Tom Umberg, who has also endorsed Jose, is termed out and running for state Senate.

Says Pulido, "Jose Solorio has been a member of the Santa Ana City Council since 2000.  Jose is one of the most hard-working council members I have met in my six terms as Mayor.  He will represent our city, as well as Anaheim and Garden Grove, well in state government.  I encourage everyone who cares about improving the quality of life for their families to vote for Solorio."

Santa Ana Votes To Restrict Where Sex Predators Lives

This came over the transom yesterday from the Claudia Alvarez for Assembly campaign:

Santa Ana Passes Alvarez's Law To Protect Children From Sex Offenders

Criminal Prosecutor and Santa Ana City Councilmember Claudia Alvarez's tough new ordinance  creates "Predator-Free Zones" in Santa Ana.

Santa Ana:  On May 1, the Santa Ana City Council unanimously voted to restrict where sex offenders live in the city.  The ordinance was brought forward by Councilmember Claudia Alvarez who is a criminal prosecutor and is a candidate for the 69th Assembly District.

"I am grateful to my fellow councilmembers and Police Chief Walters for supporting our children. When I brought this forward, I wanted to make sure that a sex offender did not live across the street from a school or where children like to play."  Alvarez said. "With this ordinance, Santa Ana becomes the first city in Orange County to do just that."  Alvarez added.

A state initiative, Jessica's law is scheduled to be on the ballot this November. One of the many provisions of Jessica's Law  would prohibit sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of places where  children congregate. Two examples are schools and parks.

But, other locations such as park and recreation centers, daycare centers and public libraries are not covered. They may be  included as "Predator-Free Zones" under the provisions of Jessica's Law, only if  the local city acts to cover them.

"As this moves forward, I hope we will continue providing safe places for our children to learn and play. I look forward to working with law enforcement, parents and our neighborhoods to make this a success." Alvarez concluded.

State Democratic Party Endorses Armando De La Libertad For 69th AD

This came over the transom yesterday, but I wasn't able to post it due to a DOS attack that put out TypePad out of kilter for several hours:

CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY ENDORSES ARMANDO DE LA LIBERTAD FOR ASSEMBLY

Local Recommendation Uncontested at State Convention

SACRAMENTO, CA – Sunday morning at the Annual State Convention, Armando de la Libertad officially received the endorsement of the California Democratic Party (CDP) for State Assembly in the 69th District.

“As a lifelong Democrat, I am pleased to have the Party endorsement in the Democratic Primary,” said de la Libertad.  In early April local Democrats voted to recommend Armando de la Libertad by a margin of 48%.  Their recommendation was confirmed without objection by delegates to the State Convention Sunday morning.

In addition to the CDP, Armando de la Libertad is endorsed by Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, Congressman Jerry Patterson (retired), dozens of local elected officials, and many community leaders.  Armando de la Libertad said, “Our campaign is picking up serious momentum.  We have to update our endorsement list every day!”

Assembly District 69 includes the heart of central Orange County.  It contains the entire city of Santa Ana, portions of Anaheim, and portions of Garden Grove.

Born and raised in Orange County, Armando de la Libertad has spent his career in the private, public, and non-profit sectors.  The Democratic Primary Election is Tuesday, June 6, 2006.

For more information, please contact Armando for Assembly 2006 at 714-547-VOTE (8683).

Health Care Groups Endorse Claudia Alvarez In 69th AD

This just came over the transom from the Claudia Alvarez for Assembly campaign:

California Doctors and Other Healthcare Professionals Endorse Alvarez For Assembly

Santa Ana, CA -- The California Medical Association's CALPAC has endorsed Claudia Alvarez (D-Santa Ana) for the 69th Assembly District.

"I am happy to receive the support of our state's doctors," Alvarez said. "Healthcare is one of my top priorities and doctors are essential to solving our health crisis. Recently, my mother was in the hospital and you could see that we needed more resources put into healthcare.  I know reimbursements from the government are low and we need to try and get our fair share so that our residents can get quality healthcare," Alvarez added. 

In a recent letter from the Orange County Medical Association, Dr. James Strebig said "The financial contribution of CALPAC is an indication of the support of organized medicine for your candidacy".   

Ms. Alvarez has also received support from the California Dental Association and the California Hospital Association.

A report by the California Healthcare Foundation states that over 6.5 million Californians do not have health insurance.

"Healthcare must be accessable and affordable.  As a Councilmember, I am leading the fight in Orange County to provide healthcare coverage for our children.  When I get to Sacramento, I will work to make sure children throughout California have health insurance and access to dental care,"  Alvarez concluded.