“tense and chaotic incident”

Older suspect has history of arrests dating to 2013 including kidnapping, rape; younger is former Antioch High football player

By Antioch Police Department

On Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 8, 2022, Antioch Police officers were patrolling the Sycamore Square shopping center when a 30-year-old male was contacted. As officers continued their investigation, it was discovered that the male was armed, and a brief struggle ensued during which time the loaded firearm was found concealed on his person.

During this tense and chaotic incident, a second male subject attempted to interfere in the arrest and also found himself in police custody. The firearm depicted in the photograph was discovered to be previously reported as stolen to Antioch PD as well from a separate incident.

We are happy to report no one was hurt during this scary encounter, and the male arrested will be spending some time in the county jail. Harrison was arrested for burglary and grand theft.

According to Antioch Police PIO Darryl Saffold the suspects are Angelito Harrison, age 30 and Mason Lenard, age 24 from Antioch.

According to localcrimenews.com Harrison has a history of arrests dating back to 2013, first in Oakland by Alameda County Sheriff’s Deputies the for 207(A) – kidnapping 211 – robbery, 236 – false imprisonment by violence, 261(A)(2) – forcible rape, 266I(A)(2) – pandering by encouraging, 289(A) – rape by foreign object and 496(A) – receiving or concealing stolen property. He was arrested, again in 2021 by Sacramento Sheriff’s Deputies for 4573.8 – possession of drugs or alcohol while in prison or jail.

Harrison was also arrested in August of this year by Alameda County Sheriff’s Deputies for 211 – robbery, 243(D) – battery with serious bodily injury, 3056 – felony parole violation, 496(A) – receiving or concealing stolen property and 245(A)(4) – assault with a deadly weapon likely to produce great bodily harm.

According to MaxPreps, Lenard is a 2017 graduate of Antioch High School where he played football for the JV team during the 2014-15 season. According to localcrimenews.com he was previously arrested in 2017 twice by the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Deputies, first in August for 148(A)(1) – resisting / obstructing / delaying a peace officer, 496D(A) – receiving stolen property – motor vehicle and 594(B)(1) – vandalism of $5,000 or more. He was arrested, again that October on an outstanding warrant.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

Butler, Maxwell win, Lewis leading in county school board races

170,000 ballots to be counted as of Wed., more ballots arriving through Tues., Nov. 15 could affect results

By Allen D. Payton

As of the latest update on the Contra Costa County Elections Division website on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 12:03 a.m., with all precincts reporting, Acalanes School Board Trustee Kristin Connelly appears to be winning the race for County Clerk-Recorder and Pleasant Hill City Councilman Ken Carlson is ahead in the race for District 4 County Supervisor. The district includes Concord, Clayton, Pleasant Hill and portions of Walnut Creek.

County Clerk-Recorder

With 100,938 votes or 53.55% of the vote Connelly has a commanding lead over former Contra Costa College Board Trustee Vicki Gordon who had 87,567 votes or 46.45% of the vote. Carlson is leading BART Board Member Debora Allen by 4,122 votes. He had 26,110 votes or 54.17% to her 22,088 votes or 42.83% of the vote.

According to county elections personnel, after receiving Wednesday’s mail there were an estimated 170,000 unprocessed ballots. The latest figures on the website don’t include all the vote-by-mail ballots submitted on Election Day including at the polls.

As a result, Connelly is not declaring victory, just yet. When reached for comment Thursday afternoon she responded, “I am very excited about how the results are shaping up in my race and look forward to the timely count continuing.”

Carlson Declares Victory in District 4 Supervisor’s Race

In a post on his campaign Facebook page on Wednesday Carlson was more confident in the results declaring victory. He wrote, “It has been a long, hard fought campaign, but WE GOT IT DONE, and I am proud to claim #VICTORY! I am humbled to have had your support, and I am grateful to now have the opportunity to serve all of District 4 as your next Supervisor! Countless groups and individuals made this win possible. I share the credit for this victory with a great many folks in our community. I want to say thank you to my opponent, Debora Allen for helping keep this campaign about the issues that matter to each and every one of us. I am ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work. THANK YOU.”

On Wednesday, Allen conceded on her campaign Facebook page writing, “The results are in, and it is clear I fell short of the votes needed by 4100, to win the District 4 seat on the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors. We came close, but as my dad used to say, close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and ballroom dancing.

To my family, friends, supporters, donors, and colleagues, I extend a big THANK YOU for your support, contributions, love and encouragement. I am forever grateful for your faith in me.

To the voters of Contra Costa, thank you for the 22K votes of support and the great conversations at your doors, in your businesses, and at public events over the last year. I learned a lot about the people of our county.

To the public employees’ and construction labor unions who provided $300K of funding to oppose me and support Carlson in this general election, congratulations, you won! You just bought yourselves a supervisor. Your nasty disinformation tactics are what continue to win elections for unions and keep you in control of our government.

To Contra Costa Supervisor-elect Ken Carlson for County Supervisor 2022, I wish you all the best as the next Contra Costa Supervisor in District 4. I hope you will find the courage to stand up to all that union money that elected you, especially when voting on their labor contracts, or on construction project labor agreements to shut out all local non-union construction businesses from the work in this county.

Until we run again!”

However, on Thursday Allen posted, “UPDATE 11/10/22: We should have better tallies of votes by 5pm today. Will update then.”

Assuming a fifth of the remaining 170,000 unprocessed ballots are for the District 4 race, Allen would need 62% of them or 21,123 votes of the estimated 34,000 ballots that were remaining to be counted in order to eke out a win.

County Board of Education

In the races for county Board of Education, incumbents Sarah Butler in Area 2 and Mike Maxwell in Area 4 have defeated their challengers by wide margins, and Annette Lewis in Area 5 is leading her closest challenger, Justin Brown by 2,556 votes or by 7.35% a margin that could prove insurmountable.

Butler had 24,621 votes or 50.69% of the vote defeating Lisa Disbrow with 13,450 votes or 27.69%, and Rupy Krishnan with 10,501 or 21.62% of the vote.

The race for Area 4 was closer as Maxwell had 19,127 votes or 43.44% of the vote defeating challengers Cheri Calgano with 13,672 votes or 31.05%, and Anaité Letona with 11,229 votes or 25.5% of the vote.

Finally, in the Area 5 race, Lewis had 15,250 votes or 45.83% to Brown’s 12,694 votes or 36.48% followed by challenger Derek Carson II with 6,582 votes or 19.69% of the vote.

Thursday afternoon Lewis shared, “Waiting to see what tonight’s numbers will show. This morning’s returns by district show roughly 22,000 more ballots turned in my area.”

Next Update Thursday Afternoon

The next update for results in all elections in the county is expected later today, Thursday, Nov. 10 before 5:00 p.m.

Please check this website later for that update.

Ballots still arriving and can through the mail until next Tuesday

Next results update expected later today

By Allen D. Payton

According to county Elections Division personnel, after receiving Wednesday’s mail there were 170,000 unprocessed ballots remaining to be counted in the county. They are also receiving ballots dropped off in other counties and have seven days from the election to receive ballots postmarked by Nov. 8, which is through next Tuesday, Nov. 15

The latest figures on the Elections Division website as of 12:03 a.m. Wednesday morning, Nov. 9 show 229,444 ballots had been cast and counted by then.  They don’t include all the vote-by-mail ballots submitted on Election Day including those dropped off at polling places, according to Elections Division staff.

The remaining total is nearly an additional 57% of ballots that have were counted as of Election Night and a total of 36% of total ballots cast in the election, leaving many close races in the county left to be decided.

The next update for results in all elections in the county is expected later today, Thursday, Nov. 10 before 5:00 p.m.

 

Gibson-Gray, Ogorchock each in close second

By Allen D. Payton

The election results for both Antioch City Council Districts 1 and 4 show tight races with former Councilwoman Joy Motts and incumbent Councilwoman Monica Wilson ahead of their challengers but not by much. In the Area 5 Antioch School Board Area 5 race, incumbent Trustee Mary Rocha is beating newcomer Dominique King by a larger margin.

Council District 1

As of the latest results posted on the Contra Costa Elections Division website Wednesday morning at 12:03 a.m., Motts was still in first place as she’s been since initial returns at 8:35 p.m. last night. Now, she leads former school board Trustee Diane Gibson-Gray by just 37 votes and incumbent Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker is trailing by only 117 votes.

Motts had 914 votes or 35.32% to Gibson-Gray’s 877 or 33.89% followed by Torres-Walker with 797 votes or 30.8% of the vote.

When asked her thoughts Tuesday night, Motts simply replied, “It’s too early.”

Gibson-Gray offered her thoughts responding to a request for comment with, “The race is too close to call. However, with that said, the voters in District 1 clearly saw the need for change.”

Council District 4

Wilson is besting fellow and current District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock by a wider but still narrow margin of 161 votes. Newcomer Shawn Pickett placed third upsetting second-time candidate Sandra White, who was backed by Mayor Pro Tem Mike Barbanica, placed fourth. A surprised and disappointed White said there wouldn’t be a third campaign.

Wilson has 1,376 votes or 34.71%, to Ogorchock’s 1,215 votes or 30.65% of the vote, followed by Pickett with 703 votes or 17.73% and White with 670 votes or 16.9%.

Reached for comment, Ogorchock said, “It’s not final. I think I have an opportunity to overcome her. Looking at the totality of the votes, it goes to show the support for her has declined since 2020 when she won over 50%. So, we’ll just have to wait and see once the election is certified.”

School Board Area 5

Long-time local elected official Rocha appears to be headed for re-election with 1,325 votes or 57.33% to 986 and 42.67% of the vote for first-time candidate King.

When asked her thoughts on the race Rocha responded Wednesday morning, “They say I won, but I am still on edge with all the ballots that came in the day of the election. I think we are safe and able to balance the board this next year.”

According to the California Secretary of State’s website, “Election results will change throughout the canvass period as vote-by-mail ballots, provisional ballots (including conditional voter registration provisional ballots), and other ballots are tallied.” So, the lead could switch back.

The county elections office has until Dec. 8 to certify the election.

Please check back here and on our Facebook page for additional election updates in these races.

Can’t move Ogorchock from District 4 back into District 3

By Allen D. Payton

The council majority gerrymandered the Antioch City Council districts, earlier this year, and moved District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock into District 4. To clear up any confusion and quell false rumors that a new council majority can redraw the district lines and move her back into District 3, following is the information I’ve been able to obtain on the subject:

According to redistricting consultant Karin Mac Donald of Q2 Data and Research, who is also the Director of California’s Statewide Database & Election Administration Research Center at U.C. Berkeley, and consultant for both the 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission and the City of Antioch’s redistricting process, California prohibits redrawing district lines mid-decade, with few exceptions. Those includes the city increasing in population by at least 25%.

According to a presentation by the Nielsen Merksamer law firm and National Demographics Corporation, as of 2021 mid-decade redistricting is never allowed, “unless in conjunction with judicial proceedings, or jurisdictional boundary changes, and then with qualifications.”

So, since the city’s population is not going to increase by 25% and unless someone sues the city over the gerrymandered redistricting maps created by the current council majority, and a judge rejects the current map and requires the council to redraw the district boundaries, a new council majority cannot redraw them before the next Census in 2030.

Questions were sent via email to Ariana Marmolejo and David Vance of Common Cause asking if the new council can redraw the district lines. Marmolejo referred this reporter to Nick Heidorn of Heidorn Consulting who helped draft the FAIR MAPS Act on the municipal redistricting process, which became state law in 2019.

Emails were sent Sunday evening to both Heidorn and Sean Welch of the Nielsen Merksamer law firm asking what the jurisdictional changes and qualifications are.

UPDATE: Heidorn responded by sharing the two jurisdictional changes, which are an increase in the city’s territory and population, or if the size of the council is increased. But that would require Antioch convert to a charter city from the current general law city form of government.

“The relevant code sections are below. Not in these sections, but redistricting would also be required if the size of the council were increased.

Elections Code 21603:  https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=ELEC&sectionNum=21603.

(a) If the boundaries of a city expand by the addition of new territory, including through annexation of unincorporated territory or consolidation with another city, the council shall add that new territory to the nearest existing council district without changing the boundaries of other council district boundaries.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the council may adopt new boundaries for each council district under the circumstances described in subdivision (a) if both of the following conditions are met:

(1) There are more than four years until the council is next required to redistrict pursuant to Section 21601.

(2) The population of the new territory being annexed or consolidated is greater than 25 percent of the city’s population, as determined by the most recent federal decennial census.

Elections Code 21605: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=ELEC&sectionNum=21605.

(a) After redistricting or districting pursuant to Section 21601 or 21603, a council shall not adopt new council district boundaries until after the next federal decennial census, except under the following circumstances:

(1) A court orders the council to redistrict.

(2) The council is settling a legal claim that its council district boundaries violate the United States Constitution, the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 10301 et seq.), or this article.

(3) The boundaries of the city change by the addition of territory pursuant to Section 21603 or by the subtraction of territory.

(b) This section does not prohibit a council from adopting council districts between federal decennial censuses if the council is adopting council districts for the first time, including when a city adopts council districts for the purpose of transitioning from electing its council members in at-large elections to elections by districts or from districts.”

Please check back later for any additional updates to this report.

Challenger gets over half her contributions with maximum $4,900 boost from Thorpe’s anti-recall committee

Rocha mainly backed by teachers, other unions

By Tamara L Seward & Allen D. Payton

In the race for Antioch School Board Area 5, Trustee Mary Rocha leads in fundraising with $19,159 in contributions over challenger Dominique King whose reports show a total of $11,095.02 raised including loans from herself of $2,759. Those figures are according to their Form 460’s as of close of reporting on Oct. 22 and Form 497 late contribution reports as of Nov. 2. King raised most of her funds inside Antioch. While Rocha spent almost twice as much as King during the reporting period, the challenger shopped local with most of her expenditures made inside the city.

While individuals and other political committees can contribute a maximum of $4,900 political action committees can contribute more. Campaigns must report the details for any amount of $100 more in contributions or expenditures.

Rocha Mainly Backed by Teachers, Other Unions

For her re-election campaign Rocha started with $119.74 from her previous run in 2018 which gave her a total of $19,278.74 to spend. MRocha ASB 2018 460 0701-092422   MRocha ASB 2022 460 0925-102222   MRocha ASB 2022 497 102622   MRocha ASB 2022 497 110222

Several unions contributed to Rocha’s campaign with $6,000 from the Antioch Education Association Political Action Committee, the local teacher’s union PAC, $4,900 from Dignity CA SEIU Local 2015, $1,500 from the I.B.E.W Local Union 302, $1,000 each from Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association Local #104 Political Action Committee and the Operating Engineers Local Union #3 Alameda, Ca. Code: OTH and $500 each from the Laborers International Union of North America Local #324-AFL-CIO and Plumbing Industry Consumer Protection Fund United Association Local #159.

Rocha’s latest Form 460 report includes two mistakes showing the $1,500 from I.B.E.W. listed three times resulting in an overstatement of her contributions received by $3,000. Her grandson, Ruben Rocha serves as her treasurer and son, Louie is assisting on her campaign. Louie said Ruben corrected the report as of Sunday evening, Nov. 6.

In addition, the incumbent received $1,000 each from LE03-Awin Management Inc. of Phoenix, Arizona which is a subsidiary of Republic Services, the garbage company that serves Antioch.

Her only reportable individual contributions from outside Antioch totaling $1,100 were $1,000 from former Antioch Police Chief Allan Cantando of Brentwood and $100 from Deputy D.A. Mary Knox of Walnut Creek.

Rocha received $425 in contributions of $100 or more from Antioch sources including $325 from her son Louie and $100 from former Antioch Councilman Ralph Hernandez. The incumbent also received a total of $1,134.00 in contributions of less than $100.

Rocha’s expenditures which total $11,471.91 were mostly spent outside of Antioch. They include $5,625 to Mesa Outdoor of Danville for Highway 4 digital billboard ads, $4,521.92 paid to JB Services of Martinez for mailers and $485.34 to My Legacy Matters, Inc. of Vallejo for lawn signs.

She only spent $615 inside Antioch with $500 paid to the Antioch Historical Society for a fundraising event and $115 to the Antioch Herald for advertising.

Rocha’s latest Form 460 report shows an ending cash balance of $4,906.83 which was overstated by $3,000 and she had an outstanding debt of $1,875 owed to Mesa Outdoor. With the additional $5,900 in additional contributions reported on two Form 497’s on Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, that leaves her with $5,931.82 to spend during the final week of the campaign.

King Mainly Backed by Thorpe, Antioch Residents

King raised $8,336.02 in contributions with over half from Mayor Lamar Thorpe and the majority from three Antioch politicians. The mayor contributed the maximum of $4,900 from his Stop the #Karen Recall of Mayor Thorpe 2022 campaign committee.  DKing ASB 2022 460 0101-092422   DKing ASB 2022 460 0925-102222   DKing ASB 2022 497 101822

King received the majority of her individual contributions of over $100 from Antioch totaling $1,778.79. They include $515.88 from Daniel Hernandez, $309.43 from Beatriz Hernandez, $300 from David Asfall, $250 from Antioch School Board Area 1 Trustee Antonio Hernandez and $100 each from four individuals including District 1 Antioch City Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker.

Her individual contributions of over $100 from outside of Antioch totaled $1,203.48. The largest was $500 received from political campaign consultant Melody Weintraub of Lafayette, followed by $300 from Larhonda Crosby-Johnson of San Leandro, plus $303.48 from three individuals in Pittsburg, Berkeley and Vallejo.

She also received a total of $353.75 in contributions of less than $100.

King had only spent $5,099.27 as of Oct. 22. She shopped local with the majority of her expenditures over $100 inside Antioch totaling $3,024.13. They include $819.29 at La Plazuela restaurant for a fundraiser, $795.95 with Crystal Clear Logos, $756.79 with FastSigns and $506 paid to Vincent Cecilio for professional services.

The challenger also spent a total of $1,874 outside of Antioch including $1,059 at Copyworld Inc. in Berkeley and $715 on slate mailers.

King ended the period with $5,995.75 cash on hand and $2,759 in outstanding debt for the loans, giving her campaign a net $3,236.75 left to spend during the remainder of the campaign, unless she doesn’t repay herself. If not, whatever amount King doesn’t repay becomes a contribution.

The election is Tuesday.

Gibson-Gray self-funds campaign; Motts raises most and spends more money within Antioch than the others

Incumbent councilwoman reports filled with mistakes, show she spent more than she raised, but missing over $11,000 in contributions; less than $1,000 raised within and almost all of her funds spent outside Antioch

By Tamara L Seward & Allen D. Payton

According to their latest campaign finance reports, known as Forms 460 and 497, as of October 28, 2022, of the three candidates for the Antioch City Council in District 1, incumbent Tamisha Torres-Walker was in the lead having raised about $25,200. But her mistake-riddled reports show only about $13,500 of that amount. Challenger Diane Gibson-Gray had raised $20,800 followed by fellow challenger Joy Motts with about $19,500 with almost half of it received from within Antioch.

By law financial reports must be filed by candidates running for any office, local, state and federal. Known as Form 460’s these reports show the details of who contributed, how much and how much they paid for expenses for any amount $100 or more. Plus, a Form 497 is required to report any large contribution within 24 hours of receipt. The reports can be enlightening and revealing. Several unions and special interest groups from out of the area contributed to the candidates, some over $1,000 and three in the maximum amount of $4,900 with the incumbent winning the crown.

Torres-Walker’s latest Form 460 only shows she had raised $8,626 and had spent $12,374 leaving her campaign almost $3,300 in debt. But she and her treasurer made several mistakes by not including about $2,500 from a previous committee and $8,900 in large contributions, which if included would have shown her campaign had a little over $8,000 cash on hand, rather than in debt.

Gibson-Gray Self Funds Campaign

Former Antioch School Board President Diane Gibson-Gray said she would self-fund her campaign and did just that by loaning it $20,000 and only raising an additional $800 from four Antioch residents for a total of $20,800. That included $500 from Gloria Martin and three $100 contributions.  Diane Gibson-Gray ACCD1 2022 460 0701-092422   Diane Gibson-Gray ACCD1 2022 460 0925-102222

Her campaign, which began in August, only spent $6,775.69 as of Oct. 22 leaving her with 14,024.31 cash on hand to spend over the final two weeks.

Gibson-Gray spent a little over half of that amount, $3,969.49 on printing with VistaPrint in Waltham, Massachusetts, plus $900 for advertising with East County Today but only $110 with the Antioch Herald (what’s up with that? We’re not charging enough!); and $524.40 with Belleci Signs & Apparel in Pittsburg for signs. She, like Motts, re-used signs from her previous campaigns. Gibson-Gray also spent $400 with Meta, the name for Facebook’s parent company for advertising.

Motts Backed by Unions, Antioch Police Officers, Antioch Residents

Former Councilwoman Joy Motts, who announced her campaign last fall, reported receiving a total of $17,354.98 for her campaign through Oct. 22 of which about $1,500 was in-kind contributions. But a Form 497 filed on Oct. 28 shows she received an additional $2,200 bringing her total to $19,554.98. Of that amount at least $9,194 was from within Antioch. So, Motts wins the prize for raising the most local money of all city council candidates, this year. Joy Motts ACCD1 2022 460 0101-063022   Joy Motts ACCD1 2022 460 0701-092422   Joy Motts ACCD1 2022 460 0925-102222   Joy Motts ACCD1 2022 497 102822

Her contributions from four unions and two political action committees totaled $7,800. Those include $2,500 from the Antioch Police Officers Association PAC, $1,500 each from IBEW Local 302 and the California Real Estate PAC, $1,000 from Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 104, $500 each from Operating Engineers and Laborers International Union of N.A Local 324, and $300 from Brick & Allied Craftworkers Local No.3 PAC.

In addition, Motts received $2,000 contributions each from Antioch resident and business owner Michael Gabrielson and San Ramon resident Betty Cho who is listed as a Senior Director for Kaiser, $500 each from Antioch residents Jennifer Hughes and Earlene Lanter, and $400 each from former Antioch Mayor Don Freitas and Antioch resident L.M. Terranova.

She also received in-kind contributions of $799 from Jennifer Hughes for office administration and $695 from Selina Button of Antioch for fundraiser drawing prizes.

Of individual contributions of $100 or more, Motts received $5,200 in cash and the $1,494 in-kind from Antioch residents and a total of $2,600 from outside the city including $600 from two Oakley residents. She also received $2,004.56 in contributions of less than $100 for which no details are required to be reported.

Motts spent a total of $13,262.20 on her campaign and wins the Shop Local prize for spending about one-third of that in Antioch. Her largest expenditures were $3,388.14 paid to Antioch’s Print Club, $2,753.44 with Pacific Printing in San Francisco, $1,400 with StackAdapt in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for printing, $895.50 to Cedric Cheng Design in Concord, $635 with Memories Man of Fremont for the campaign website, $570 paid to Carla Baker Marymee of Antioch, also for the website and $226.49 at Lowe’s in Antioch.

Motts’ Oct. 22 report showed an ending cash balance of $4,092.78 with no outstanding balances. Adding the $2,200 reported on Oct. 28 gave her about $6,300 remaining to spend on her campaign for the final week and a half.

Torres-Walker’s Reports Missing Over $11,000 in Contributions, Include Multiple Mistakes

Over the past two years Torres-Walker has reported her campaign finances under three different committees, made multiple mistakes and some corrections, making her Form 460 reports difficult to decipher. Her Tamisha Walker for Antioch City Council District 1 2020 committee report shows she ended 2021 with $557.25 cash on hand. That committee was terminated on June 16, 2022.  Tamisha Walker ACCD1 2020 460 0101-063021   Tamisha Walker ACCD1 2020 460 0701-123121 #1   Tamisha Walker ACCD1 2020 460 0701-123121 #2    Tamisha Walker ACCD1 2020 410 082522 Termination 061622   Tamisha Walker ACCD1 2020 497 082022

A Form 410 filed on August 25 shows she also terminated her first 2022 campaign committee on June 16. Yet, Torres-Walker’s Form 460 report for that committee shows she received $1,150 on June 30.  Tamisha Walker ACCD1 2022 460 0101-063022  Tamisha Walker ACCD1 2022 410 082522 Termination 061622    Tamisha Walker ACCD1 2022 497 080122   Tamisha Walker ACCD1 2022 497 080722   Tamisha Walker ACCD1 2022 497 093022

As of Oct. 22, Torres-Walker received $20,294.63 with the majority of contributors from outside Antioch and includes $1,300 in loans from herself. She listed her new position as the Executive Director of the Social Good Fund in Richmond. But her latest reports do not include $11,367.20 in contributions and cash on hand from her previous 2022 committee.  Reelect Tamisha Torres-Walker ACCD1 2022 460 0701-092422    Reelect Tamisha Torres-Walker ACCD1 2022 460 0925-102222  Reelect Tamisha Torres-Walker for ACC D1 497 092422

Plus, her most recent Form 497 report (required within 24 hours of receiving large contributions) showing $4,900 from Contra Costa United Working Families (CCUWF) in Pleasanton was received two days after the reporting period ended. That brings her total contributions and loans to $25,194.63 for the campaign.  Reelect Tamisha Torres-Walker for ACC D1 497 102422

Torres-Walker only shows $351 contributed by Antioch residents of $100 or more. Even assuming all the contributions of less than $100 are also from individuals in Antioch the most Torres-Walker could have received from within the city is a maximum of $983.77.

Her latest Form 460 shows she ended the reporting period with a negative $3,279.57 balance. But adding in the unreported contributions and cash on hand from her previous committee, and assuming no other expenditures went unreported, Torres-Walker actually had $8,087.63 to spend. Add to that the $4,900 contributions and that gave Torres-Walker a total of $12,987.63 to spend for the remaining two weeks until Election Day.

Support from Unions and Out-of-Town Left-Wing Groups, Individuals

Of Torres-Walker’s almost $19,000 in contributions almost all of it came from various contributors outside of Antioch who live in places such as Lafayette, Pleasanton Stockton, Oakland, Atherton and Santa Cruz. She wins the prize for the contribution from furthest away with $100 from a woman in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

Several special interest groups from out of the area also contributed large amounts to Torres-Walker’s re-election. She received the maximum of $4,900 from Lift Up Contra Costa PAC of Oakland. As previously reported the group also spent $22,202 on an independent expenditure effort to support Torres-Walker’s campaign.

However, she shows two contributions from them for that same amount on her Form 497 reports which, if true, would be a violation of state campaign finance law. For the purposes of this report only one contribution has been included in the calculations, as it is expected that the duplicate reporting was a mistake. See questions below about the matter.

Plus, Torres-Walker received an additional $4,900 on October 24, 2022, two days after the close of the latest reporting period, from Pleasanton-based Contra Costa United Working Families. Like District 4 incumbent Councilwoman Monica Wilson, she also received $1,000 from Bay Rising Action Committee sponsored by Empowered Politics in Oakland. According to their website, “Bay Rising Action is a grassroots political network that champions strong leaders representing our racial, economic, and environmental justice movements and builds the political power of working-class, immigrant, Black, Latinx, and Asian communities.”

According to the Center for Empowered Politics website, “In 2017, Chinese Progressive Association Action Fund and San Francisco Rising Action Fund merged to form the Center for Empowered Politics.” According to Influence Watch, “The Chinese Progressive Association is a left-wing community organizing group focusing on the Chinese-American communities that grew out of radical-left and pro-People’s Republic of China cadres. ^[7] CPA has faced accusations of aligning with the People’s Republic of China government and has received favorable coverage from the Chinese Communist Party-affiliated news outlet China Daily.” ^[8] [9]

Of the contributions Torres-Walker’s campaign received from individuals, almost all of it was from outside Antioch, as well, and even held a fundraiser in Stockton during the summer, sponsored by a Vallejo-based company. Her largest contributions include $4,900 from Elizabeth Simons of Atherton and $1,500 each from Patty Quillin of Santa Cruz and Quinn Delaney of Oakland, 1,000 from political campaign consultant Melody Weintraub of Lafayette and $250 from El Cerrito-based Sun Flower Alliance, an anti-fossil fuel organization whose representative spoke at council meetings in favor of the oil and gas drilling ban in Antioch.

As previously reported, according to Influence Watch, Elizabeth “Liz” Simons “is the daughter of billionaire retired hedge fund manager and Democratic political donor James Simons and the wife of Mark Heising, chair of the Environmental Defense Fund.

Simons has promoted a number of left-of-center education policies and is the chair of the Heising-Simons Foundation, an organization she formed with her husband in 2007 that supports a variety of left-of-center environmentalist, education, and social policy causes.”

According to the Heising-Simons Foundation website, Liz Simons currently serves on the boards of the left-of-center Smart Justice California and the Learning Policy Institute. According to Influence Watch, the “Learning Policy Institute (LPI) is an education research and policy advocacy group that focuses on diversity and equity outcomes. IDuring the push to reopen in-person schooling following the COVID-19 pandemic, LPI was a vocal proponent of mask mandates, contact tracing, and vaccination of children aged 12 and older.”

Quillin is the wife of billionaire NetFlix CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings. According to a People magazine report, in 2020 they donated $30 million to COVID-19 vaccine development and global immunization programs. According to Influence Watch, “During the 2016 Clinton presidential campaign, Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, raised over $100,000 on behalf of former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. ^[1] In 2020, Hastings and Quillin spent over $5.3 million in support of federal Democratic candidates and committees, including $1.4 million in support of President Joe Biden. ^[2] The couple also spent over $4.5 million to support left-of-center ballot initiatives in California and over $2 million on high-profile local elections in 2020 alone.”

According to the organization’s website, Delany is “the Founder and Board Chair of Akonadi Foundation, which supports the development of powerful social change movements to eliminate structural racism and create a racially just society.”

Torres-Walker was asked via text on August 10 how she knows Simons and Quillin, why they would contribute that much to her re-election campaign and what interests do they have in Antioch. But as of this writing she had not responded.

Spends Most of Her Campaign Cash Outside Antioch

Torres-Walker’s expenditures for her campaign are reported totaling $12,374. Of that amount $4,532.53 was paid to Careful Design of Pittsburg for campaign literature, and $3,500 to Critical Impact Consulting in San Pablo. But on a Form 460 report dated 01/01/20-06/30/21 it shows $1,500 was paid to Ratha Lai the Founder and Executive Director of Critical Impact Consulting, with an address in Antioch. Asked if he lives in the city, Lai responded, “I am not an Antioch resident, and my company is listed in San Pablo. I am no longer affiliated with Tamisha’s campaign since June 2021.”

She also spent $468 with NationBuilder in Los Angeles for her campaign website, and last year contributed $500 to D.A. Diana Becton’s re-election campaign. But that was returned in November, following Torres-Walker’s incident with police at her home in early October for which she was arrested. The charges were later dropped.

She did send some money in Antioch paying $500 to Antioch-based Bay Biz for video production and $232.17 at Lowe’s.

Most Questions for Torres-Walker, Treasurer Go Unanswered

Questions were emailed to Torres-Walker Friday afternoon asking if the $2,467.20 was transferred from the previous campaign committee to the new one and the treasurer merely forget to include that amount. The reports don’t show any accrued expenses so, they were asked how the campaign could have spent more than brought it and were one or more contributions not included in the latest report.

The following information and questions were also emailed to Torres-Walker who forwarded them to her campaign treasurer, Chala Bonner.

“It appears you’re either missing a 460 report for your Tamisha Walker for Antioch City Council District 1 2022 campaign committee for 07/01 – 09/24/22 or you failed to report three large contributions on your Form 460 report for your new Reelect Tamisha Torres-Walker committee. Did you submit a 460 for that previous committee for that time period and the city clerk’s office just forgot to upload it?

Plus, you have two different Form 497 reports showing $4,900 each from Lift Up Contra Costa PAC. Is that the same contribution and you changed the report to reflect it was received by your new committee, instead? Or did both committees receive those same amounts?”

Torres-Walker was also asked if she was operating both committees. When reached Friday evening about 6:00 PM, Bonner said the first committee was closed down and they’re only operating the new campaign committee and that she was responding to the emailed questions. However, as of 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Bonner had not responded.

An additional email was sent to Torres-Walker Friday night pointing out an additional $1,000 contribution reported on a 497 form on July 1, 2022, but not included in her Form 460 report for that time period. She was asked if there are any other contributions and expenditures that are missing from her campaign finance reports and asked to have her treasurer provide the correct information and updated 460 report(s) right away.

Torres-Walker was then asked if the information was being intentionally withheld from the public and her challengers, is it a lack of oversight or just incompetence. She was also asked, if her treasurer is an accountant, a bookkeeper or just a friend helping the councilwoman or has she paid Bonner and that expenditure is also missing from one or more of the Form 460 reports. No payments to Bonner for serving as the campaign treasurer have been reported.

Finally, Torres-Walker was asked, if she can’t handle such small dollar finance in her campaign how can the public trust her to handle the millions of dollars of taxpayer money she votes on as a council member. As of publication time at 4:35 p.m., neither she nor Bonner responded.

Please check back later for any updates to this report.

Last seen in Antioch on January 26, 2022

According to the Oakley Police Department and the Amador County Sheriff’s Office, on November 3, 2022, at approximately 3:00 p.m., the Amador County Sheriff’s Office received an anonymous tip from a local resident of the Plymouth, California area who had discovered something suspicious that was thought to be human remains. Amador County Sheriff’s Office detectives and crime scene investigators responded to the scene and initiated a search of the area where they ultimately located the remains described in the tip. The remains were determined as those of missing Oakley woman Alexis Gabe. She went missing on January 26, 2022, was last seen in Antioch, California and is suspected of being murdered by her late ex-boyfriend, Marshall Curtis Jones of Antioch. He was later shot and killed by police in Washington state. (See related articles here and here)

Plymouth is located in the west end of Amador County. The tip was made through the Amador County Secret Witness Program. Amador County Sheriff’s detectives and crime scene investigators documented the evidence found and collected the remains.

Due to the time of day and diminishing daylight, it was determined it would be best to keep watch over the area and initiate a more thorough investigation this morning. Members of the Oakley Police Department and the Antioch Police Department responded to the Plymouth area early Friday morning to assist with the investigation with the assistance of cadaver dogs. More evidence was identified and collected from the scene.

The specific location is an area just off of Jackson Road in Plymouth. The area where Alexis’ remains were found has been searched further and no other remains have been located.

The collaborative investigation did confirm the partial remains were human. A forensic odontologist responded to the Amador County Sheriff’s Office facility to examine the remains. The forensic odontologist positively identified the remains as those of Alexis Gabe. All evidence collected by the Amador County Sheriff’s Office was turned over to Oakley Police Department detectives and Coroner jurisdiction has been turned over to the Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office to determine manner and cause of death.

According to the Oakley Police Department, the Gabe family has been notified and they are requesting respect and privacy during this time of mourning.

Jackson Road is an area we identified early on as an area where Jones travelled to in the hours and days after Alexis was reported as missing.

Due to the nature of the condition of Alexis’ remains, and the lack of her full body, we believe the remainder of her remains are scattered in various areas.

Due to the condition of Alexis’ remains we realize there may never be a full recovery of her. The City of Oakley has determined there will be no extensions of reward funds for any future remains that may be found.

A press conference will be scheduled for early next week and we will provide details for the date and time as soon as possible. Any questions regarding this case should be directed to the Antioch and Oakley Police Departments.  The Amador County Sheriff’s Office would like to extend their condolences to the Gabe family in this difficult time.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.