Wright dominates in fundraising, spending in Antioch Mayor’s race

Harper fined $1,120 for late reports

By Allen Payton

Antioch chiropractor and Chamber of Commerce CEO, Dr. Sean Wright has raised more in total contributions than his two closest rivals combined have raised, in the race for Mayor of Antioch. His latest campaign finance report, known as a 460 form and was due with all other candidates’ reports, on Thursday, September 29, shows $8,290 raised for the reporting period which ended on the 24th. That gave him a slight edge over incumbent Mayor Wade Harper for the period. But Wright has raised a total of $24,390 in cash contributions for the campaign. Add in the $6,888 in non-monetary contributions his campaign has received and his total contributions are $31,278.

Almost all of Wright’s reportable contributions were from within Antioch. His largest contributions include $2,500 from Antioch resident Velma Pierce, $1,600 from Jeff Warrenburg, owner of Paradise Skate in Antioch, $1,500 from Gordon Gravelle, of Suncrest Homes in Antioch, $1,480 from Antioch attorney Matthew Hart, $1,000 each from Antioch business owners Terry Ramus, Clifton Mbanugo, Richard Pagano, Theresa Hart, Jeff Scalier, Mike Borders, Ana Cosovich, as well as from Antioch residents Gloria Martin and Michael Gadams; and $500 each from Nicholas Welzenbach who is the Funeral Director for Higgins Chapel on A Street, Antioch resident Kenneth Grubbs, Sandeep Chahal, owner of Togo’s in Antioch, and Antioch Realtor Rick Fuller, and $400 from Antioch-based consultant Iris Archuleta.

Wright’s non-monetary contributions include web design and hosting by Clifton Mbanugo of Clifton Creative Web for $5,091 and $663 for T-shirt printing by Jeff Warrenburg, both of which are also expenditures.

A little more than half of his $26,255 in expenditures for his campaign were made to or through his Danville-based campaign consultant, Praetorian Public Relations, totaling $14,908. That amount includes paying for slate mailers, door hangers and campaign software. His next largest expenses were $2,128 to FastSigns and $500 to Michael Pohl Photography, both in Antioch.

Wright had an ending cash balance of $5,023.

Harper

Antioch Mayor Wade Harper received a total of $8,150 in monetary contributions during the reporting period and a total of $8,250, this year, for his re-election campaign. However, he formed his campaign committee in 2015 and received $10,075 and spent $9,089.11 last year. That brings his total contributions received for the campaign to $18,325.

Harper’s largest contributions were $4,500 from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 302, $2,500 from U.A. Local 342, which represents workers in the plumbing, pipefitting, refrigeration, and fire sprinkler industries, $2,000 from the Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local #104, and $1,000 each from Antioch attorneys Pegnim & Ivancich, LLP, PG&E Corporation, Antioch Police Officers Association and Diablo Estates, LLC; as well as $500 each from Councilman Tony Tiscareno and the International Association of Heat & Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 16 AFL-CIO. He also transferred $400 from his County Supervisor campaign committee, from the race in June.

Harper spent almost $4,000 during the reporting period, with almost half of that, $1,978.35, at Belleci Design in Pittsburg. He’s spent a total of $13,785.22 during the campaign including $3,293.79 to Lone Tree Golf & Event Center for fundraisers and a meeting, $700 to the NAACP and $500 each to his wife Lisa, Antioch Church Family and Grace Bible Fellowship in Antioch, all for fundraising events, and $1,052 to Velma Wilson of Antioch for campaign and design work.

Although his latest report shows he had an ending cash balance of $4,543.78, Harper had an actual ending cash balance of $4,539.78.

Ogorchock

Mayor Pro Tem Lori Ogorchock raised $2,475 during the reporting period, bringing her total monetary contributions to $7,990 for the campaign, putting her in third place. She has spent $5,200 during the period and a total of $6,438 on her campaign.

Most of her contributions were from within Antioch. The largest contributions she reported were $2,000 from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 302, $1,000 each from Roddy Ranch Golf Management and Republic Services, $750 from Ralph Garrow and his real estate company, where Ogorchock works, and $500 each from former State Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan of Alamo, and Ogorchock’s parents.

Almost all of Ogorchock’s expenditures were in Antioch, with her largest to The Print Club in Antioch totaling $1,773.55, $1,311.11 to FastSigns, $750 to a company in Oregon for an ad in the Antioch High School football program, and $700 for advertising in the Herald. She had an ending cash balance of $1,552.

Murillo

In February, businessman Gil Murillo submitted a form 470 declaring he would receive and spend less than $2,000 in his campaign. He has since surpassed that threshold by just a bit and was required to submit a form 460 report. Murillo’s monetary contributions total $2,018.86 all from himself, and he had expenditures of $1,918.86. His largest expenditures were for literature at a printer in Pittsburg, his filing fee to the City, and advertising in the Herald and on Facebook.

Large Contribution Filing & Fines

As of August 10th, candidates are required to report any contribution of $1,000 or more within 24 hours on Form 497. Those reports and each candidate’s 460’s can be seen, below. However, Harper did not report his “late contributions” of $1,000 or more within the 24-hour period.

When asked why that occurred and if he or his treasurer, which is his wife Lisa, were unaware of the filing requirement, Harper responded, “When you miss turning in those forms on time you have to pay a fine.  Our campaign did not turn in the forms on time and paid the fine. I accept responsibility for my campaign. No further comments.”

When asked if he was fined by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) or the city clerk and for how much, Harper did not respond.

When asked who fined Harper and for how much, Antioch City Clerk Arne Simonsen said on Tuesday, he was the one who fined Harper, but was out of town at a conference and couldn’t remember the exact amount of the fine.

“The fines are based on $10 per day per report,” he added.

That’s according to the FPPC Filing Schedule, which reads “Statements filed after the deadline are subject to a $10 per day late fine.” 110816-fppc-filing-schedule

Harper was fined $1,120 for the violations of his five major contributions which were received after August 10th. According to Deputy City Clerk Christina Garcia in an email on Wednesday, “below is the breakdown of fines Mayor Wade Harper paid for his late FPPC Form 497 Report filings:

There is a $10 per day per contribution fine as noted below:

Date Rcvd       Amount            Contributor                             Days late (as of 9/30/16)  __Fine amount

9/24/16           $1,000             Antioch Police Officer Association                5                      $50.00

9/22/16           $1,000             Diablo Estates, LLC                                               7                      $70.00

9/1/16              $2,000             IBEW 302 Community Candidate PAC        28                    $280.00

9/2/16              $2,000             Sheet Metal Workers Local 104 PAC            27                    $270.00

8/12/16            $1,500             U.A. Local 342 PAC Fund                                  45                    $450.00

Total as of September 30, 2016                  $1,120.00”

According to the FPPC Filing Schedule, a 497 form must be filed within 24 hours with the following instructions: “File if a contribution of $1,000 or more in the aggregate is received from a single source.” A question arose if a candidate is required to file a 497 form for each and every additional contribution from a single source who has already contributed at least $1,000.

An email was sent to the FPPC on Wednesday with the following questions: “Does a candidate or campaign have to file a 497 for any amount received from a source over and above $1,000 that has already been received by that source, if the new contribution is received after the August 10th 24-hour reporting period begins? For example, a candidate receives $1,000 and already reported it on a 497 or received it before August 10th. Then if that candidate receives even one cent more after August 10th do they need to file another 497?”

Jay Wierenga, Communications Director for the Fair Political Practices Commission, in an email response on Thursday, wrote, “The 497s are filed in increments of $1,000 during the 90 days so the example (given in the email) below doesn’t trigger a filing.”

The next filing period ends on October 22 and the second pre-election campaign finance reports are due on the 27th. The election is November 8th.

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the attachments to this post:

murillo-470-cy2015-rcvd-2-1-16
murillo-470-cy2015-rcvd-2-1-16

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110816-fppc-filing-schedule

ogorchock-460-0101-063016
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murillo-460-92416
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harper-460-0101-063015
harper-460-0101-063015

harper-460-0701-123115
harper-460-0701-123115

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harper-460-0101-063016


4 Comments to “Wright dominates in fundraising, spending in Antioch Mayor’s race”

  1. Eric A. says:

    What is the point of a Union getting in bed with 2 Candidates for Mayor? We can only have one.

  2. Concerned Antioch Resident says:

    Contributions show to whom the candidate is beholden– just sayin’.

  3. Julio says:

    Unions quite frequently will give to an entire field of candidates or just the most likely 3 or 4. It butters their bread to give say $500 to each candidate. So to two perhaps equally as likely to get in to office why not? Unions aren’t picky they just want their money in the end. Endorsement by a union isn’t always a good thing either and may do a candidate no good at all. I know people who won’t vote for anyone backed by a union.

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