Let’s Talk About PACs, Part 2
We want to preface this with a clear statement:
As much as we love Chico, it has some real problems. While it is our choice to focus on what’s going well while we seek solutions, no one who lives here is denying there are reasons for concern.
Chico absorbed 20,000 people into our community in literally days in 2018, a resettlement process that is ongoing even now.
Like so much of the rest of the state and the country, we have a crisis with homelessness. And like so much of the rest of the country, we remain in the midst of an opioid epidemic.
And then came the pandemic. Businesses are struggling, many are unemployed, and as cases continue to rise, the it's hard to see the end. It's been a rough couple of years for what has often been a tightly-knit community and too many of us are struggling.
We also want to acknowledge that of course, there is crime in our community, and as long as there is crime, even at reduced numbers, we can do better.
There is a lot of work to be done and it will take all of us in the coming years to turn some of these things around. It won't be fast, no matter who is on the city council - it can't be. These are huge problems and they are going to take time and resources to solve.
That said, we are extremely concerned about the attempt to buy our upcoming election.
𝐍𝐨𝐰, 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐬
For its founders and major funders, “Safe Chico” was never about safety. They have claimed for months to be non-partisan, and that they are supported by Democrats, Independents, etc. but make no mistake, far-right Republicans, many from out of the area, are trying to buy our local election.
$215,000 in cash has come in, an outrageous amount for a small local election, and that doesn’t include in-kind donations, i.e. non-cash donations such as catering for their fundraisers. For a local PAC to raise this kind of money is unprecedented – they are spending record amounts on this election. (You can read these filings yourself here: https://public.netfile.com/pub2/?AID=chco Search by name and simply type in “Safe.”)
Following that money tells the real story.
Over $30,000 has come in from people that don’t even live in Chico - some from as far away as Florida and New Jersey. That amount alone is only a little less than the highest-spending PAC poured into the last election.
James Gallagher, 3rd District Republican Assemblyman, dumped in another $10,000.
$77,000 has come in from developers/real estate/property management and contractors.
The Dautermans (Thomas Manufacturing, Tea Party) have poured in $7700 recently and have more to spend. They have spent over $180,000 on right-wing candidates and initiatives, including $31,000 for the initiative to change local elections to June, and over $90,000 to support John Cox for Governor.
𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲?
They are spending heavily for attack mailers on the progressive candidates, and spent thousands on attack ads (radio, printed, and other media) prior to June 30th, ads intended to demonize the homeless and current councilmembers. They have gone negative from the start - posting ugly pics, name-calling, ugly memes, and misrepresenting facts.
They are paying for a “walk program” of the precincts - and spending heavily on Kami and Sean, only a bit less on Coolidge, and have spent thousands on mailers for all of them.
𝐓𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟𝐟, 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧.
They have spent on consultants and services in Sacramento, San Diego, Hilmar, Laguna Niguel and beyond.
Thousands have been spent on Sacramento Valley Solutions, a shady consulting group in Yuba City favored by James Gallagher.
They have spent thousands on text messaging from RumbleUp, a Republican texting service in DC.
Their T-Shirts are printed in Pennsylvania.
Their printing and mailings are done in Sacramento. as well as other locations, just not Chico.
In fact, pretty much the only money they’ve spent locally has been for events, and even that is a pittance; for instance, WeDo Designs donated $8800 in services to them, and they paid them for an additional $1740 services.
𝐒𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬.
All this in a local election that is supposedly non-partisan, and in the face of CPD reporting that overall as well as most categories of crime are actually down, despite the city having grown by nearly 20,000 people. And that’s not per capita - literally, there have been fewer crimes overall in the city.
For the organizers, this is 100% about fooling the electorate via the trump playbook, not about “safety.” Don’t be fooled - and don’t allow them to take over our town.
Join us:
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