Dollars pour in by hundreds of thousands for Costa Mesa council election
With Election Day drawing ever closer, the battle for three available seats on the Costa Mesa City Council has attracted hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions and independent expenditures, financial records show.
Those big bucks are pouring into a race with big implications. The results of Tuesday’s election will shape the balance of power on the five-member council for years to come.
Dollar-wise, Mayor Steve Mensinger is blowing the rest of the field out of the water. Mensinger has raked in more than $150,000 in contributions this year for his campaign for a second four-year term on the council.
During the latest contribution reporting period, Sept. 25 to Oct. 22, Mensinger pulled in $41,456 in donations.
“The amount of money is indicative of the passion in the campaign,” Mensinger said Thursday, “and those that gave to my campaign respect the fact that I represent taxpayers, not unions.”
His biggest donors in the latest filing period included Newport Beach-based 3030 & 3080 Airway LLC, which gave $5,000, and Legacy Partners Capital in San Mateo, which gave $2,500.
Candidate Allan Mansoor, a former councilman and state Assembly member, has pulled in $65,492 for his campaign, including $20,605 in the most recent filing period.
That includes $3,000 from the Lincoln Club of Orange County’s state political action committee and $2,500 from David Fischer, chief executive officer of The Suburban Collection, an automotive group.
“I think the people that actually live here are concerned about the unfunded pension liabilities and the fact other cities have gone bankrupt,” Mansoor said Thursday. “They don’t want that to happen to Costa Mesa, so they’re supporting fiscally responsible candidates.”
Attorney and business owner John Stephens collected $11,606 in contributions in the latest filing period, swelling his total to $56,705.
“We’ve raised all the money we need to get our message out,” the Mesa Verde resident said Wednesday. “It’s basically within my expectations.”
The California State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police and Annette Scherrer-Cosner of Traditional Escrow Inc. in Yorba Linda both donated $1,000 to Stephens’ campaign.
The four other council candidates are well behind the top three in total fundraising.
Eastside resident Lee Ramos, a city senior and pension commissioner, has notched $32,396 this year, including $12,190 in the latest filing period.
Mesa Verde resident Jay Humphrey, a former councilman and retired pharmaceutical distribution executive, reported $4,185 in contributions in the most recent period and has collected a total of $22,320, including a $5,000 loan.
Councilwoman Sandy Genis has raised $12,354 for her reelection bid, including $1,425 in loans.
A good chunk of her money, about $4,850, came in the latest filing period.
Genis said Thursday that her campaign is based primarily on “sweat equity,” not cash.
“Basically how it’s always worked out is I have what I need when I need it,” she said. “I don’t necessarily have it in advance or have a lot of extra.”
State Streets resident Al Melone is not actively campaigning and doesn’t have financial records listed on the city website.
PACs playing a role
Political action committees, or PACs, have combined to spend tens of thousands of dollars supporting or opposing Costa Mesa council candidates ahead of Tuesday’s election.
Their spending, reported as “independent expenditures,” is separate from candidates’ campaign accounts.
One such group is the Costa Mesa Firefighters Assn. Local 1465 PAC, which records show has spent almost $30,000 on things such as mailers, shirts and yard signs to support the association’s endorsed candidates, Genis, Humphrey and Stephens.
Firefighters also have pounded the pavement to meet with voters.
Throughout the campaign, the association and some elected officials and candidates have butted heads over the pay, pensions and benefits of local firefighters, who are in contract negotiations with the city.
Mensinger and Mansoor have criticized the association’s involvement and spending in the election.
“I have a lot of supporters who are contributing because they see the fire unions spending thousands of dollars to elect people who are ignoring the unfunded pension collapse that will leave taxpayers on the hook,” Mansoor said.
Association President Rob Gagne said the group’s activity “is about the safety of the public and the safety of our firefighters.”
Firefighters, Gagne said, have to work extensive overtime because their department is understaffed and calls for service have increased in recent years.
The Orange County Professional Firefighters Assn. Local 3631 PAC also has waded into the race, sending out mailers supporting Humphrey and Stephens and opposing Mansoor and Mensinger.
Stephens said Costa Mesa’s firefighters are vested stakeholders in the community, as opposed to out-of-town developers who also are spending money in the election.
“An out-of-town developer comes into Costa Mesa for one reason and one reason only: to make money,” Stephens said.
Moving Orange County Forward — a big-money PAC with major backing from the building industry and business interests such as Disney Worldwide Services — has spent more than $42,000 on mailings and other campaign literature supporting Mansoor and Mensinger, according to records from the Orange County registrar of voters office.
Records show that another PAC, the California Homeowners Assn., has spent tens of thousands of dollars to support Mansoor and Mensinger and oppose Humphrey and Stephens. The committee’s spending records misspell the latter’s last name as “Stevens.”
Another group, the Alliance of Costa Mesa Taxpayers, has spent $5,303 on mailings in support of Genis, Humphrey and Stephens, according to financial records.
Twitter: @LukeMMoney
