Mayor & Councilwoman Failed to File Campaign Finance Documents; Fines Possible

Election 2020:

Mayor Patz, Councilwoman Medina Fail to File Campaign Finance Accountability Forms

City/State Could Levy Fines

Mayor Christian Patz and Councilwoman Ally Medina, re-elected to their respective City Council seats on Tuesday, failed to file several periods of required campaign finance election forms with the City of Emeryville the Tattler has learned.  The required form, issued by the State of California’s Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), Form 460, delineates campaign contributions critical for electoral campaign accountability.

A quick perusal of the City’s website shows Ally Medina missing her last two filings of the last five required and Christian Patz missing his last three filings.  Council member John Bauters, who also ran for re-election on Tuesday, is shown to have filed every Form 460 required of him on time. 

The missing forms, called the Recipient Committee Campaign Statement Form 460 are filed under the California Political Reform Act and are considered public records, available for public inspection.  There are no provisions for extending deadlines according to the FPPC, the body tasked by the State with overarching enforcement.  

If a candidate’s election committee fails to file a Form 460 campaign statement, the FPPC may levy a fine of up to $5000 per violation according to the FPPC website.  Additionally, the State provides that the City of Emeryville may fine candidates $10 per day for every late filing.  As of today, Councilwoman Medina is late some 131 days and could be fined $1310 while Mayor Patz, at 313 days late, could be facing a $3,130 fine from the City of Emeryville.

The City is required by the FPPC to keep guidelines that dictate how election fines for delinquent local candidates are to be levied but none could be found on the City’s website.   Failure to provide the required guidelines could result in penalties issued against municipalities the FPPC website noted. 

The Tattler has made a Public Records Request with the City of Emeryville for information regarding these election violations and we will report as we are made aware.

What Happened To Election Accountability?
Screen Shot From the City's Website
Only Council member Bauters has fulfilled his required FPPC election obligations.

Follow the Money: Emeryville City Council Candidates

Follow the Money; third in a series

The Tattler introduces a new feature for the 2014 election season: Follow the Money. 

This election cycle is shaping up to be very expensive and very far-flung with lots of money from out-of-town interests pouring into the city.  We plan on digging out and exposing this money from people and organizations we don’t know that are trying to change our town to their liking.  These unfamiliar individuals and interest groups may effect our November elections with all their spending in Emeryville but the Tattler is going to make sure that while they assert their influence, we’re going to expose who they are. 

Click on the 'Follow the Money' label at the bottom of this story or use the search bar to review the entire Follow the Money series.

Emeryville Money & Sacramento Money Infused in Council Elections

Scott Donahue's Campaign Mostly Emeryville Based, 

John Bauters' Mostly Out of State & Sacramento Based

The Emeryville City Council candidates have filed their "460's", the State of California Form 460 detailing political campaign expenditures and contributions and the results show where their money comes from, revealing the extent of how grassroots and local their respective campaigns are (or aren't).  The Tattler has broken down the numbers of the set of 460's by dollar amounts and percentages.  We will post successive 460 filings from the candidates as they become available.  This opening salvo doesn't include candidate Ken Bukowski because he did not file a 460 form with the State.

An analysis of the numbers brings into focus major differences between the candidate's campaigns.  An overview shows a stark contrast between Scott Donahue, who's contributions reveal a mostly Emeryville sourced campaign versus John Bauters who's contributions are mostly from out of state with a sizable amount from Sacramento in both contributions and contributors. Dianne Martinez, who's running together with Mr Donahue as a slate, was in between the two extremes with 25% of her contributions coming from Emeryville versus Mr Bauters only receiving 7% from Emeryville.
At more than $16,000 raised so far, John Bauters' campaign has by far the most money of any candidate.  

Adding to the local neighborhood nature of Mr Donahue's campaign is the fact that all but one of his California non-Emeryville contributors are central close-in Bay Area, hailing from either Oakland or Berkeley.

The numbers revealed by the 460 forms give a snapshot of where the candidates come from.  Scott Donahue is a long time Emeryville resident, 37 years, while Dianne Martinez has lived in Emeryville since 2010 having moved here from Los Angeles.  John Bauters on the other hand moved to Emeryville only two years ago from out of state.  His large amount of Sacramento based contributions revealed in his 460 form probably are a result of his job as a registered lobbyist in that city and the political networks he has built there. 

Here are the results:

Scott Donahue 

Total Funds Raised This Period = $10,561

Total Contributors = 28

Amount of Emeryville Contributions = $5,410 (51%)

Number of Emeryville Contributors = 12 (42%) 

Amount of In State Contributions (not in Emeryville) = $4550  (43%)

Number of In State Contributors (not in Emeryville) = 10  (35%)*

Amount of Out of State Contributions = $600 (5%)

Number of Out of State Contributors = 6 (21%)

Unitemized Contributions (all within Emeryville) = $1,632

*Nine of the 10 in State (but outside of Emeryville) contributions that were received by Mr Donahue were from either Berkeley or Oakland. 

Dianne Martinez 

Total Funds Raised This Period = $9,800

Total Contributions Received = 51

Amount of Emeryville Contributions = $2,500 (25%)

Number of Emeryville Contributors = 14 (27%) 

Amount of In State Contributions (not in Emeryville) = $7,050 (72%)

Number of In State Contributors (not in Emeryville) = 34 (66%)

Amount of Out of State Contributions = $250 (2%)

Number of Out of State Contributors = 3 (5%)

The Martinez / Donahue Slate

Total Funds Raised This Period = $20,361

Total Contributions Received = 79

Amount of Emeryville Contributions = $7,910 (38%)

Number of Emeryville Contributors = 26 (32%) 

Amount of In State Contributions (not in Emeryville) = $11,600 (57%)

Number of In State Contributors (not in Emeryville) = 44 (55%)

Amount of Out of State Contributions = $850 (4%)

Number of Out of State Contributors = 9 (10%)

John Bauters

Total Funds Raised This Period = $16,686

Total Number of Contributors = 79

Emeryville Contributions = 8 contributors totaling $1,234.00

Amount of Out of State Contributions = 21 contributors totaling $8,525.00

Number of In State Contributors (not in Emeryville) = 50 contributors totaling $6,667.00 

Breakdown of Mr Bauters' support by percentage: 

Contributors: 

- In Emeryville = 10%

- Outside of Emeryville, but in CA = 63%

- Out of State = 26% 

- Sacramento = 32%

Contributions:

- In Emeryville = 7%

- Outside of Emeryville, but in CA = 39%

- Out of State = 51%

- Sacramento = 16%

Mr Bauters' Sacramento Contributions:

- 26 contributors (32% of contributors) totaling $2,715.00 (16% of contributions)