Voters question outside influence on Malibu City Council race
A Late Independent Expenditure Report filed with the Malibu City Clerk on Oct. 16 by a Riverside-based political action committee (PAC) indicated that it was making expenditures on behalf of Paul Grisanti for the Malibu City Council race. Widely circulated on social media this week, the report may not tell the full story of monies collected and expenditures actually made for current candidates.
With just a week to go in the race for Malibu City Council, a heated rivalry is growing between incumbents Paul Grisanti and Bruce Silverstein, both seeking reelection.
The out-of-town PAC supporting Grisanti, called Moving California Forward (MCF), has become a source of controversy for many Malibu voters taking issue with “outside interests influencing local politics.”
Another required filing by MCF with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), the Form 460, reveals $224,450 was received by MCF over just the few weeks between Sept. 22 to Oct. 19 in contributions exceeding $100. Of those contributions, more than 90 percent came from real estate interests, including the Building Industry Association of Southern California PAC, the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties Inland Empire PAC, the California Association of Realtors, four real estate development/investment companies and the executive vice president for real estate of a realty investment company.
Both the Form 460 and the Late Independent Expenditure Report indicate that MCF expended $6,338.69 on mailers in support of Grisanti’s campaign. This is MCF’s fourth-highest expenditure in this election cycle for any individual candidate, after Daryl Terrell, a candidate for mayor of Moreno Valley (the second largest city in Riverside County) and current Moreno Valley Planning Commissioner; Alvin Dejohnette, Moreno Valley City Council candidate and current Planning Commissioner for Moreno Valley; and Yxstian Gutierrez, candidate for the Riverside County Board of Supervisors and current mayor of Moreno Valley. Grisanti is the only candidate outside of Riverside County receiving support from MCF.
There has been some confusion on social media as to the actual amount MCF has expended or earmarked for the Grisanti campaign. A phone call to the FPPC on Oct. 29 confirmed that the PAC funds are not specifically earmarkedfor the Grisanti campaign and can be used for any lawful purpose. The Late Independent Expenditure Report shows a total of $95,000 in contributions received by MCF on Oct. 11, but that is a subset of the $224,450 raised by MCF this year and does not represent specific contributions to MCF in support of Grisanti but rather general contributions to MCF. As of Oct. 19, MCF had an ending cash balance of $155,197.23, so it had the funds to make additional expenditures in support of the Grisanti campaign, but the City of Malibu Public Portal for Campaign Disclosure has posted just the one Late Independent Expenditure Report identifying the $6,338.69 spent on behalf of Grisanti. If MCF spent in excess of $1,000 on behalf of Grisanti after the time covered by its Late Independent Expenditure Report (that is, after Oct. 15), it would be required to file another Late Independent Expenditure Report within 24 hours.
No other PAC has filed with the FPPC indicating that it has made expenditures on behalf of any Malibu City Council candidate.
Of course, PACs need not expend on behalf of a candidate to attempt to sway voters — they can also make expenditures attacking another candidate. Another PAC, California Families for Progressive Leadership, previously known as Truth & Dignity Municipal Leadership PAC, is behind a smear campaign against Bruce Silverstein, and is now also targeting Steve Uhring. The group is running ads on social media and may be behind fliers distributed locally. The funding behind California Families for Progressive Leadership includes several individuals outside of Malibu, but by far the largest contributor is a Castro Valley entity identified in FPPC filings as Public Safety For All.
A Google search of Public Safety For All does not identify any organization by that name. It does not show up on the Secretary of State website as a registered PAC. While the attack ads against Silverstein being run by California Families for Progressive Leadership would seem to require California Families for Progressive Leadership to file a Late Independent Expenditure Report, no such filing appears on the City of Malibu Public Portal for Campaign Disclosure.
The Truth & Dignity Municipal PAC and its treasurer, Gary Crummitt of Long Beach, were fined by the FPPC for more than a dozen reporting violations. Crummitt of Crummitt & Associates, a self-described “nonpartisan political reporting firm,” is the current treasurer of California Families for Progressive Leadership. Just who ultimately is pushing the attack ads and in support of whose candidacy remains opaque.
Required FPPC Form 460s reveal candidate Haylynn Conrad self-funded her campaign with a total of $66,200 as of Oct. 23. As of Oct. 19, Conrad’s campaign spent $56,151.87.
Dr. Channing Frykman, also running a self-supported campaign, reported a contribution of $5,000 with expenditures of $2,623.46 as of Oct. 19.
Paul Grisanti received contributions totaling $37,909 and has spent $38,368.36 as of Oct. 19.
Write-in candidate Andy Lyon signed California Form 470. In the form, he states he will not accept more than $2,000 in campaign contributions, so therefore, he is not required to file campaign financial statements noting contributions and expenditures.
The Committee to Re-elect Bruce Silverstein has taken in $19,475.07 in contributions and has spent $5,558.59 as of Oct. 23.
Steve Uhring has received $14,620 in campaign contributions and has spent $3,064.38 as reveal in his latest filing Oct.23.