No on O committee receives another $5,000 in a last-minute contribution for a total of $173,000
Committee reports wrong company name
By Allen Payton
According to a required public disclosure financial report, the Sacramento-based No on Measure O committee received a last minute contribution of $5,000 on Monday, November 3 from Tod Spieker, the Property Manager of Spieker Properties, located in Palo Alto.
Spieker owns and manages apartment complexes in Southern California, but not in Antioch.
“The reason I gave that donation was because the California Apartment Association asked me to,” Spieker said in a brief interview, today. “I alott so much money per election cycle to the CAA and they just tell me where to go with it.”
However, the company name on the form was incorrect, as Tod Spieker owns Spieker Company. Spieker said his brother Ned’s company was Spieker Properties, but, he wasn’t aware if it had any real estate interests in Antioch. That company, which was sold in July, 2001, was involved in at least one commercial property in Antioch, specifically Deer Valley Plaza, in the past.
According to his company’s website, Warren E. “Ned” Spieker, Jr. “is the owner of Spieker Senior Development Partners as well as Managing Partner of Spieker Realty Investments. Until the company’s sale in July 2001, Mr. Spieker was Chairman of the Board of Spieker Properties, Inc., a publicly traded (NYSE) real estate investment trust (REIT) with assets in excess of $7.2 billion. Under his leadership, Spieker Properties became one of the largest REITs in the nation and the largest in the West, owning and operating over 42 million square feet of office and industrial space in California and the Pacific Northwest.”
In a brief conversation with David Bower, the committee’s treasurer, when the mistake was pointed out to him, he said he would amend the report, as he was not aware there were two different Spieker companies.
He also stated that the committee had raised $138,000 and also has a loan of $35,000 from the California Apartment Association.
That brings the total contributions and loans to the No on O committee to $173,000.
The election is today. If Measure O passes it will require residential investment property owners pay a business license tax of $125 per year for each multi-family unit or $240 per year for a single family home.
UPDATE: As of 10:25 AM, this morning, the No on Measure O committee had submitted their amended form, showing the correct company name for Tod Spieker.
