Outside money supported Paul Grisanti, but not as much as some Malibu residents speculated
Final expenditure reports from Malibu’s November municipal election have now been filed with a Jan. 31 deadline.
Back in October before the Nov. 5 election, The Malibu Times uncovered required campaign finance reports showing outside money supporting candidate Paul Grisanti, but not to the extent speculated by many Malibu residents.
Although hundreds of thousands of dollars was raised in support of a political action committee (PAC) that appears to advocate for development with support in Riverside County, that PAC supported Grisanti with only a fraction of its war chest. The PAC, called Moving California Forward, spent at least $6,338.69 on two separate mailers in support of Grisanti’s campaign. Now in the PAC’s latest 460 expenditure report filed Dec. 2, 2024, it is revealed MCF also spent $3,169.35 on mailers in opposition to reelect incumbent Bruce Silverstein who won reelection to the Malibu City Council in a hard-fought campaign. Late filings also reveal for the first time that MCF spent the same amount on a mailed flier opposing the reelection of incumbent Steve Uhring, who also retained his seat.
The MCF PAC only spent a fraction of its funds in opposition to Silverstein and Uhring. Its Dec. 2 filing shows a whopping $27,500 in its coffers. There were eight contributors in MCF’s latest filed California 496 form withcontributions starting at $100 ranging all the way up to $10,000 given by Proficiency Rubidoux LLC that does not have a Riverside address, but one out of Irvine. Coming in second in contributions to MCF was an outfit out of North Palm Beach, Florida, called NextEra Energy Resources Development LLC and its affiliate NextEra Energy Resources LLC ID with a total gift of $9,000. The group’s latest filing Dec. 2 claims it spent money on a final push mailer supporting Grisanti on Oct. 29, one week before the election, but fails to include what that cost was leaving the description on the expenditure line reading “mailers and postage” with an amount listed as “0.00.” The other mailers in opposition of Silverstein and Uhring and in support of Grisanti totaled $3,169.35 each.
Another PAC that ran attack ads against Silverstein and Uhring on Facebook is the shadowy California Families for Progressive Leadership, previously known as Truth & Dignity Municipal Leadership. That PAC may also have been behind aggressive attack ads distributed on fliers throughout Malibu. The funding behind that PAC also includes individuals outside of Malibu with its largest contributor a Castro Valley entity identified in FPPC filings as Public Safety For All. A Google search of Public Safety For All did not identify any organization by that name. It does not show up on the Secretary of State website as a registered PAC. No required financial expenditure filings have been made on its behalf in noncompliance with California rules and regulations.
Truth & Dignity Municipal PAC and its treasurer, Gary Crummitt of Long Beach, has been fined by the FPPC for more than a dozen state reporting violations. Crummitt, of Crummitt & Associates, a self-described “nonpartisan political reporting firm,” is the current treasurer of California Families for Progressive Leadership. It is still uncertain who ultimately pushed the attack ads advertised on behalf of CFPL.
The other candidate who was successfully elected to the council was Haylynn Conrad, who self-funded her campaign. The first-time candidate contributed $66,200 to her campaign with total expenditures of $59,875.28.
Dr. Channing Frykman also did not take contributions to her unsuccessful campaign for City Council. Frykman contributed $5,000 and spent $3,873.46, leaving a balance of $1,126.64.
Silverstein who was successful in winning a second term, received $19,112.33 in contributions from a majority of Malibu residents. His campaign spent $19,374.79. His final expenditure report shows money spent on Facebook ads, mailers, and other media.
Uhring, also successful in his bid for reelection reported receiving $9,120 in campaign contributions and a nearly 40 percent self-loan to his campaign that only spent $4,632.48.
Grisanti received cash contributions totaling $39,323.26 and spent the bulk of those funds, plus a little more, ending with a negative cash balance registered on the 460 form as -$6,765.23.
Last minute write-in candidate Andy Lyon did not accept campaign donations.