Contra Costa Herald

News Of By and For The People of Contra Costa County, California

County Republicans decry Bauer-Kahan, Assembly Democrats for vote against resolution condemning professor who called for murdering police

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Frazier, Grayson, Wicks vote against resolution, as well

Sacramento, Calif. — While presiding over last Friday’s session of the California State Assembly, Assemblywoman and Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (AD-16), who represents parts of the San Ramon Valley, voted in opposition to House Resolution 22 which would have condemned the comments of a University of California, Davis professor who advocated for the murdering of police officers.

Bauer-Kahan along with 53 of her Democratic colleagues defeated HR22, effectually condoning specific statements such as “it’s easier to shoot cops when their backs are turned,” and “people think cops need to be reformed. They need to be killed.”

Assemblymen Jim Frazier D-Discovery Bay (AD-11), Tim Grayson D-Concord (AD-14) and Buffy Wicks D-Oakland (AD-15) who each represent other parts of Contra Costa County, also voted against the resolution condemning the professor’s statement.

“On the eve of Memorial Day weekend, it is especially disgusting that Assemblywoman Bauer-Kahan would lead the Assembly to effectively condone rhetoric advocating for the murder of police officers,” said Contra Costa Republican Party Chairman, Matt Shupe. “The men and women who serve us as police officers routinely put themselves in harm’s way for our safety and don’t deserve this type of brazen disrespect from our legislative leaders.”

Rep. DeSaulnier to host two “Conversation on Race” Town Halls with Special Guests Rep’s. Bass and Lee

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Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) will host a pair of town halls to engage in a “Conversation on Race” on Tuesday, April 23rd and Saturday, April 27th. These town halls are the latest in a series of discussions on race hosted by Congressman DeSaulnier and are intended to facilitate more understanding, healing, and progress to help us move forward as a nation.

“A Conversation on Race” Town Halls
Tuesday, April 23rd

Special Guest: Congresswoman Karen Bass (CA-37), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and first African American woman Speaker of the California Assembly

6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Diablo Valley College Cafeteria

321 Golf Club Road, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

RSVP: https://desaulnier.house.gov/town-hall-rsvp

Saturday, April 27th

Hosted With: Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13)

12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Black Repertory Group Theater

3201 Adeline Street, Berkeley, CA 94703

RSVP: https://desaulnier.house.gov/town-hall-rsvp

These events are open to the public, press, and photographers.

Please RSVP at https://desaulnier.house.gov/town-hall-rsvp or by calling 925-933-2660. To request ADA accommodations or for more information, please contact Congressman DeSaulnier’s Walnut Creek or Richmond office.

Congressman DeSaulnier launched his first town hall of this series on February 3, 2018 and information on it can be found here.

Glazer calls on state political watchdog agency to levy maximum fine on BART

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State Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda) today sent a letter to the Fair Political Practices Commission requesting the FPPC to levy the maximum possible fine against the Bay Area Rapid Transit district for its illegal use of public funds to campaign for Measure RR on the November 2016 ballot.

“The modest administrative penalty that the FPPC is considering would represent less than a slap on the wrist for BART after the district violated state law by using public funds to campaign for its bond measure,” Glazer said.

“In fact, this penalty is barely a tap on the wrist to BART. It would send a message to government officials in every agency in the state that they are free to break the law and use the public’s funds to wage political campaigns to sway public opinion.”

The commission, which meets Thursday in Sacramento, is considering a $7,500 penalty to punish BART for failing to properly disclose its illegal spending, which financed a video featuring Warriors star Draymond Green and text messages sent to thousands of Bay Area residents.

But the commission’s focus on the lack of disclosure ignores the far more serious offense that occurred when BART spent the money in violation of state law banning public agencies from engaging in political campaigns at public expense.

Glazer said that even if the FPPC believes its jurisdiction over illegal spending is limited, the commission could still levy a larger fine.

The $7,500 proposed penalty was based in part on the commission staff’s conclusion that BART’s text message campaign cost little because the list of residents who received the text was already in BART’s files.

But that list was compiled by BART as part of a years-long effort to build a public relations machine to further its interests. The FPPC should base its fine on the cost of that effort – not the cost of writing a mass text message and hitting the “send” button.

Even using its more limited valuation of the public funds BART spent illegally, the FPPC’s own staff acknowledged that the commission could levy a penalty of $33,375. But the commission’s proposed decision calls for a penalty of only a fraction of that amount.

“The people of California depend on the FPPC to be our watchdog over the practices of our politicians,” Glazer said. “But this proposed decision is so toothless that no government official or agency will ever again fear the consequences of spending the public’s money on a political campaign.”

County Elections office updates results, still 36,000 ballots to be counted

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By Paul Burgarino, Community Education and Engagement Specialist, Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder-Elections Department

Results from the November 6, 2018 General Election have been updated on the Contra Costa Elections website as of Friday, Nov. 16 at 2:07 P.M. You can view them here.

A couple of points of interest: voter turnout is now at 62.2 percent for this election. Also, the Contra Costa Elections Division has processed nearly 2.3 million ballot cards to this point.

The Elections Division estimates that there are about 10,000 Vote-By-Mail ballots left to process, along with 25,000 Provisionals and 1,000 Conditional Voter Registrations.

Our next scheduled results update is at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, November 21st.

County Elections Department provides update, still counting 108,000 remaining ballots

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By Paul Burgarino, Community Education and Engagement Specialist, Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder-Elections Department

Results from the November 6th General Election have been updated on the Contra Costa Elections website, as of Friday, Nov. 9th at 5:00 p.m. You can view the Update 1 here. The Contra Costa Elections Division has processed over 1.7 million ballot cards to this point.

Please note that the updated results are still unofficial.

The Elections Division estimates that there are about 82,000 Vote-By-Mail envelopes remaining to be counted, as well as 25,000 Provisionals and 1,000 Conditional Voter Registrations.

Our next scheduled update is at 5:00 pm on Friday, November 16th.

The Elections Department has 28 days to certify the election results. So, close races may not be decided until the beginning of December.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

Payton Perspective: Re-elect Joel Keller to BART Board

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Joel Keller at Antioch BART Station opening 5-25-18. Photo by Allen Payton

Usually, I don’t recommend elected officials serving in the same office for 24 years, such as Joel Keller, who was elected to the BART Board on the same night in November 1994 that I was elected to the Antioch City Council. That’s because elected representatives tend to become complacent or arrogant in office and stop listening to their constituents, and end up doing the bidding of the powerful, special interests who support them and contribute to their re-election campaigns.

However, Joel is different. Having served on the Contra Costa Transportation Authority and three of the four transportation boards in East County, including as Chairman of the Bypass Authority in 1998 when we purchased the right-of-way for the State Route 4 extension (aka The Bypass) from Lone Tree Way to Balfour Road, I’ve learned the difficult lesson that infrastructure projects can take a long time. Too much time for most all of our liking. But, that’s another issue. My point is, it’s taken that time for Joel to get BART extended to Antioch.

Although it’s not full or “real” BART, as we Antioch residents would have preferred, the bottom line is Joel was able to wade through the funding limitations from BART and the federal government, as well as the opposition by other regions in the BART District and directors who represent those regions and make his promise and commitment a reality. Antioch has a BART station. During his next four years, if re-elected, I believe Joel will be able to help deliver further extensions in East County, first to Laurel Road – which will benefit Antioch’s economic development area for job creation and serve the residents of Oakley – then to Brentwood near Sand Creek Road.

Joel has done what he said he would do, and he listens to his constituents. Most recently, Joel heard the complaints about safety on the BART system. In order to ensure the rest of the board members heard the complaints from the people in his district who can’t attend their normal day time meetings in Oakland, had the board hold a night time meeting in Pittsburg. Then, due to the overwhelming response by riders to the opening of the Antioch BART Station, Joel heard the outcry for more parking spaces, and he delivered by getting the other BART Board Members to join him in voting to fund 800 more spaces.

I believe Joel has earned one more term on the BART Board, which most likely will be his last, and recommend we re-elect him.

Clayton candidate for Secretary of State, Mark Meuser has best grassroots campaign in California

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By Ryan Hughes (@RyanHughesCA), DollarDollarBill.com (republished with permission)
Oct. 24, 2018

In American political campaigns, cash rules everything. Candidates and elected officials spend countless hours raising money to pay for their commercials, mailers, and door hangers. But candidates differ in how they raise enough money to be competitive.

Dollar Dollar Bill wanted to find out who 2018’s biggest—and smallest—grassroots fundraisers were. Our full methodology is explained below, but the short version is this: we calculated the percentage of each candidate’s donors who gave $200 or less, but excluded any candidate who had not raised at least $100,000.

So whose campaign is raising the most grassroots money in 2018?

Candidate District Total Raised Grassroots ($) Grassroots (%)
Mark Meuser (R) SOS $ 261,187.46 $ 128,800.74 49.31%
Jovanka Beckles (D) AD15 $ 350,499.34 $ 99,997.20 28.53%
William Ostrander (D) AD35 $ 109,049.90 $ 28,446.06 26.09%
Jacalyn Smith (D) AD06 $ 135,137.29 $ 31,991.51 23.67%
Joy Silver (D) SD28 $ 509,409.42 $ 71,888.03 14.11%
Steven Bailey (R) AG $ 501,228.98 $ 56,053.61 11.18%
Buffy Wicks (D) AD15 $ 1,134,729.48 $ 90,251.91 7.95%
John Cox (R) CAGOV $ 12,145,288.73 $ 878,300.09 7.23%
Cottie Petrie-Norris (D) AD74 $ 435,364.07 $ 31,213.18 7.17%
Alexandria Coronado (R) AD65 $ 199,364.08 $ 13,874.00 6.96%

At the top of the list is Mark Meuser, the Republican candidate for Secretary of State. He attributed his grassroots fundraising success to his campaign’s considerable travels throughout the state to speak to political and civic groups—and he has numbers: 825 events, 92,500 miles driven, a 58-county bike tour over 46 days, and air travel on top of all that. “We’ve been very good at handing out campaign contribution envelopes right there when I’m speaking,” said Meuser. During our interview, Meuser was southbound on I-5 to headline an event that night for a Republican congressional candidate.

Joy Silver, the Democratic candidate for Senate District 28, attributed her success in grassroots fundraising to her having been an organizer before she began running for office. “I am a grassroots candidate because I was working as a grassroots organizer,” explained Silver. Following the 2018 election, she helped organize a group to oppose Trump Administration policies. “They wanted me to run, so I became the voice of those people.”

Asked how much time she spends fundraising, Silver paused and joked, “I’m trying to think of what else I do.”
On the other end of the spectrum are candidates who raised almost no money from grassroots sources. California has ten candidates who raised less than one tenth of one percent of their campaign funds from grassroots donors:

Candidate District Total Raised Grassroots ($) Grassroots (%)
Miguel Santiago (D) AD53 $ 1,238,791.76 $ 1,125.00 0.09%
Wendy Carrillo (D) AD51 $ 448,769.86 $ 375.50 0.08%
Blanca Rubio (D) AD48 $ 1,074,290.57 $ 880.50 0.08%
Lorena Gonzalez (D) AD80 $ 1,724,427.89 $ 1,403.00 0.08%
Ken Cooley (D) AD08 $ 625,057.51 $ 450.00 0.07%
Ian Calderon (D) AD57 $ 1,145,958.17 $ 736.00 0.06%
Jim Cooper (D) AD09 $ 2,002,785.01 $ 1,210.00 0.06%
Joel Anderson (R) BOE04 $ 449,001.08 $ 235.00 0.05%
Marie Waldron (R) AD75 $ 544,437.22 $ 189.97 0.03%
Mike Gipson (D) AD64 $ 981,334.48 $ 102.20 0.01%

All of these candidates are incumbent members of the Legislature, and only one of them is seeking higher office: Joel Anderson for Board of Equalization.

At the very bottom of grassroots fundraising this cycle is Mike Gipson, a Democratic Assemblymember from South Los Angeles, who raised 0.01% of his campaign contributions from grassroots sources. Of the nearly $1 million he raised, only $102.20 came from grassroots sources.

How much have your local candidates raised in grassroots contributions? All candidates for the 2018 General Election who raised at least $100,000:

Candidate District Total Raised Grassroots ($) Grassroots (%)
Mark Meuser (R) SOS $ 261,187.46 $ 128,800.74 49.31%
Jovanka Beckles (D) AD15 $ 350,499.34 $ 99,997.20 28.53%
William Ostrander (D) AD35 $ 109,049.90 $ 28,446.06 26.09%
Jacalyn Smith (D) AD06 $ 135,137.29 $ 31,991.51 23.67%
Joy Silver (D) SD28 $ 509,409.42 $ 71,888.03 14.11%
Steven Bailey (R) AG $ 501,228.98 $ 56,053.61 11.18%
Buffy Wicks (D) AD15 $ 1,134,729.48 $ 90,251.91 7.95%
John Cox (R) CAGOV $ 12,145,288.73 $ 878,300.09 7.23%
Cottie Petrie-Norris (D) AD74 $ 435,364.07 $ 31,213.18 7.17%
Alexandria Coronado (R) AD65 $ 199,364.08 $ 13,874.00 6.96%
Mike Mc Guire (D) SD02 $ 1,541,581.86 $ 102,039.18 6.62%
Sunday Gover (D) AD77 $ 471,297.26 $ 30,756.22 6.53%
Tasha Boerner Horvath (D) AD76 $ 412,747.96 $ 24,435.96 5.92%
Tepring Michelle Piquado (D) AD54 $ 168,735.08 $ 9,959.58 5.90%
Alan Geraci (D) AD75 $ 142,171.37 $ 7,736.44 5.44%
Gavin Newsom (D) CAGOV $ 41,931,831.24 $ 2,160,446.32 5.15%
Janet Nguyen (R) SD34 $ 1,947,105.29 $ 96,779.01 4.97%
Mark Stone (D) AD29 $ 468,134.57 $ 20,875.94 4.46%
Konstantinos Roditis (R) CON $ 117,214.99 $ 5,114.99 4.36%
Michael Eng (D) SD22 $ 2,449,071.73 $ 101,798.46 4.16%
Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D) AD16 $ 958,349.83 $ 39,094.37 4.08%
Xavier Becerra (D) AG $ 6,798,507.78 $ 266,470.77 3.92%
Jesse Gabriel (D) AD45 $ 947,466.05 $ 36,115.36 3.81%
Frank Scotto (R) AD66 $ 725,034.58 $ 27,107.00 3.74%
Marshall Tuck (D) SPI $ 4,276,700.13 $ 126,421.19 2.96%
Brian Jones (R) SD38 $ 926,033.24 $ 24,481.00 2.64%
Richard Pan (D) SD06 $ 1,331,028.76 $ 33,510.67 2.52%
James Gallagher (R) AD03 $ 1,126,179.33 $ 28,326.88 2.52%
Malia Cohen (D) BOE02 $ 909,361.61 $ 22,467.00 2.47%
Kevin Kiley (R) AD06 $ 676,588.65 $ 16,004.98 2.37%
Maria Elena Durazo (D) SD24 $ 1,206,722.95 $ 28,406.00 2.35%
Fiona Ma (D) TREAS $ 3,454,286.07 $ 77,226.71 2.24%
Ash Kalra (D) AD27 $ 482,134.00 $ 10,114.00 2.10%
Robert Rivas (D) AD30 $ 702,549.27 $ 14,390.00 2.05%
Josh Lowenthal (D) AD72 $ 1,340,146.42 $ 26,857.17 2.00%
Catharine Baker (R) AD16 $ 2,043,507.26 $ 38,367.27 1.88%
Al Muratsuchi (D) AD66 $ 1,354,823.00 $ 25,039.53 1.85%
Melissa Hurtado (D) SD14 $ 653,284.33 $ 11,939.18 1.83%
S. Monique Limon (D) AD37 $ 876,953.00 $ 15,135.49 1.73%
Andreas Borgeas (R) SD08 $ 894,384.98 $ 15,412.19 1.72%
Edwin Chau (D) AD49 $ 596,739.75 $ 9,950.00 1.67%
Bob Archuleta (D) SD32 $ 518,724.83 $ 8,602.00 1.66%
Kevin Mullin (D) AD22 $ 844,571.10 $ 13,634.00 1.61%
Susan Rubio (D) SD22 $ 837,248.66 $ 13,356.00 1.60%
Betty Yee (D) CON $ 2,194,307.05 $ 34,581.43 1.58%
Melissa Melendez (R) AD67 $ 401,288.04 $ 6,075.00 1.51%
Jordan Cunningham (R) AD35 $ 1,020,896.61 $ 15,126.66 1.48%
Laura Friedman (D) AD43 $ 748,804.12 $ 11,013.08 1.47%
Bob Wieckowski (D) SD10 $ 946,622.22 $ 13,881.14 1.47%
Shannon Grove (R) SD16 $ 1,512,205.91 $ 21,661.76 1.43%
Kansen Chu (D) AD25 $ 449,819.16 $ 6,436.31 1.43%
Christy Smith (D) AD38 $ 1,275,279.76 $ 18,227.72 1.43%
James Wood (D) AD02 $ 1,103,126.85 $ 15,259.91 1.38%
Devon Mathis (R) AD26 $ 441,166.09 $ 6,049.92 1.37%
Connie Leyva (D) SD20 $ 1,301,747.12 $ 17,835.00 1.37%
Tyler Diep (R) AD72 $ 907,191.79 $ 12,187.00 1.34%
Henry Nickel (R) AD40 $ 282,813.12 $ 3,787.68 1.34%
Bill Quirk (D) AD20 $ 643,019.42 $ 8,534.00 1.33%
Steven Choi (R) AD68 $ 245,853.00 $ 3,203.00 1.30%
Ben Allen (D) SD26 $ 1,690,309.04 $ 21,782.00 1.29%
Thomas Umberg (D) SD34 $ 1,085,928.14 $ 13,193.17 1.21%
David Chiu (D) AD17 $ 1,395,785.39 $ 16,769.01 1.20%
Patrick O’Donnell (D) AD70 $ 1,030,713.79 $ 12,294.00 1.19%
Susan Eggman (D) AD13 $ 1,023,635.71 $ 12,056.19 1.18%
Evan Low (D) AD28 $ 2,040,144.24 $ 24,026.25 1.18%
Edward Hernandez (D) LG $ 3,672,188.78 $ 42,041.00 1.14%
Todd Gloria (D) AD78 $ 866,625.10 $ 9,730.00 1.12%
Sharon Quirk-Silva (D) AD65 $ 1,676,466.92 $ 18,797.97 1.12%
Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D) AD04 $ 788,054.20 $ 8,676.69 1.10%
Vincent Fong (R) AD34 $ 1,071,066.11 $ 11,237.98 1.05%
Marc Berman (D) AD24 $ 715,198.24 $ 7,456.20 1.04%
Sydney Kamlager (D) AD54 $ 571,669.75 $ 5,880.00 1.03%
Joaquin Arambula (D) AD31 $ 898,302.70 $ 8,899.31 0.99%
Justin Mendes (R) AD32 $ 653,832.91 $ 6,085.00 0.93%
Jacqui Irwin (D) AD44 $ 1,233,253.50 $ 11,356.00 0.92%
Cristina Garcia (D) AD58 $ 807,374.70 $ 7,318.69 0.91%
Mohammad-Ali Mazarei (R) AD61 $ 114,356.04 $ 1,035.54 0.91%
Eloise Gomez Reyes (D) AD47 $ 681,258.32 $ 6,144.70 0.90%
Bill Essayli (R) AD60 $ 629,253.31 $ 5,626.17 0.89%
Shirley Weber (D) AD79 $ 719,040.24 $ 6,394.00 0.89%
Randy Voepel (R) AD71 $ 162,010.00 $ 1,400.00 0.86%
Jim Frazier (D) AD11 $ 1,071,153.60 $ 9,248.99 0.86%
Adrin Nazarian (D) AD46 $ 827,127.82 $ 7,127.99 0.86%
Alex Padilla (D) SOS $ 1,769,469.14 $ 14,767.13 0.83%
Tim Grayson (D) AD14 $ 1,089,670.33 $ 8,911.04 0.82%
Eleni Kounalakis (D) LG $ 6,948,261.57 $ 54,581.58 0.79%
James Ramos (D) AD40 $ 1,561,945.06 $ 11,711.32 0.75%
Andy Vidak (R) SD14 $ 1,786,180.52 $ 12,895.00 0.72%
Ted Gaines (R) BOE01 $ 840,303.33 $ 6,015.00 0.72%
Jim Nielsen (R) SD04 $ 997,447.79 $ 7,115.00 0.71%
Tony Vazquez (D) BOE03 $ 358,674.35 $ 2,501.11 0.70%
Pat Bates (R) SD36 $ 1,540,644.65 $ 10,658.45 0.69%
Dante Acosta (R) AD38 $ 914,428.76 $ 6,162.00 0.67%
Luz Rivas (D) AD39 $ 334,456.14 $ 2,108.03 0.63%
Chad Mayes (R) AD42 $ 1,213,756.31 $ 7,576.30 0.62%
Rob Bonta (D) AD18 $ 2,628,260.37 $ 15,647.88 0.60%
Brian Dahle (R) AD01 $ 1,437,744.65 $ 8,493.84 0.59%
Eduardo Garcia (D) AD56 $ 747,383.28 $ 4,298.00 0.58%
Heath Flora (R) AD12 $ 490,837.33 $ 2,772.25 0.56%
Ricardo Lara (D) IC $ 2,065,769.09 $ 11,560.35 0.56%
Sabrina Cervantes (D) AD60 $ 1,748,736.69 $ 9,754.70 0.56%
Jose Medina (D) AD61 $ 615,600.64 $ 3,386.32 0.55%
Marc Levine (D) AD10 $ 1,755,336.86 $ 9,509.85 0.54%
Jeffrey Stone (R) SD28 $ 537,258.00 $ 2,769.00 0.52%
Holly Mitchell (D) SD30 $ 1,279,003.18 $ 6,305.96 0.49%
Jim Patterson (R) AD23 $ 784,863.17 $ 3,800.00 0.48%
Robert Poythress (R) SD12 $ 1,812,471.53 $ 8,620.00 0.48%
Frank Bigelow (R) AD05 $ 1,413,518.61 $ 6,460.00 0.46%
Bill Brough (R) AD73 $ 623,975.43 $ 2,823.00 0.45%
Tony Thurmond (D) SPI $ 702,140.37 $ 3,097.22 0.44%
Anna Caballero (D) SD12 $ 2,114,695.50 $ 9,109.16 0.43%
Phillip Chen (R) AD55 $ 669,264.64 $ 2,697.24 0.40%
Kevin Mc Carty (D) AD07 $ 737,720.29 $ 2,896.98 0.39%
Jay Obernolte (R) AD33 $ 503,331.01 $ 1,962.72 0.39%
Phil Ting (D) AD19 $ 1,753,400.32 $ 6,723.66 0.38%
Matthew Harper (R) AD74 $ 264,870.98 $ 999.00 0.38%
Richard Bloom (D) AD50 $ 579,022.28 $ 2,130.00 0.37%
Thomas Lackey (R) AD36 $ 629,275.51 $ 2,225.59 0.35%
Adam Gray (D) AD21 $ 1,352,561.49 $ 4,321.34 0.32%
Brian Maienschein (R) AD77 $ 1,768,749.36 $ 4,794.00 0.27%
Steve Poizner (N) IC $ 2,051,395.50 $ 5,052.18 0.25%
Robert Hertzberg (D) SD18 $ 2,023,911.11 $ 4,933.66 0.24%
Freddie Rodriguez (D) AD52 $ 890,116.53 $ 1,668.81 0.19%
Reggie Jones-Sawyer Sr. (D) AD59 $ 486,944.48 $ 800.00 0.16%
Autumn Burke (D) AD62 $ 1,218,879.76 $ 1,726.19 0.14%
Chris Holden (D) AD41 $ 931,964.47 $ 1,295.36 0.14%
Rudy Salas Jr. (D) AD32 $ 1,390,765.38 $ 1,897.00 0.14%
Tom Daly (D) AD69 $ 1,513,510.53 $ 1,993.00 0.13%
Ben Hueso (D) SD40 $ 1,114,985.56 $ 1,350.00 0.12%
Anthony Rendon (D) AD63 $ 2,901,621.03 $ 3,230.41 0.11%
Miguel Santiago (D) AD53 $ 1,238,791.76 $ 1,125.00 0.09%
Wendy Carrillo (D) AD51 $ 448,769.86 $ 375.50 0.08%
Blanca Rubio (D) AD48 $ 1,074,290.57 $ 880.50 0.08%
Lorena Gonzalez (D) AD80 $ 1,724,427.89 $ 1,403.00 0.08%
Ken Cooley (D) AD08 $ 625,057.51 $ 450.00 0.07%
Ian Calderon (D) AD57 $ 1,145,958.17 $ 736.00 0.06%
Jim Cooper (D) AD09 $ 2,002,785.01 $ 1,210.00 0.06%
Joel Anderson (R) BOE04 $ 449,001.08 $ 235.00 0.05%
Marie Waldron (R) AD75 $ 544,437.22 $ 189.97 0.03%
Mike Gipson (D) AD64 $ 981,334.48 $ 102.20 0.01%

Methodology
All data for this analysis comes from campaign reports filed through the last Form 460 reporting date, September 22, 2018.

We summed each candidate’s contributions less than $100 (reported as a lump sum on Form 460, Schedule A, Line 2). Then we added to that total each candidate’s contributions this cycle that were $200 or less, but excluded any contributor who donated multiple times for a sum exceeding $200. That figure is “Grassroots ($)”, above.
Then we summed up the total number of contributions and the net of loans made to a campaign (loans received less loans repaid). That figure is “Total Raised”, above.

We removed any candidate who had not raised at least $100,000 as a means to control for data skewing by candidates who are not viable. We then calculated the portion of a candidate’s funds that are grassroots, i.e., from contributors giving $200 or less. We used a percentage in our rankings instead of total grassroots dollars in order to compare districts that are geographically and economically diverse.

To note, it is not possible to calculate the average contribution for California candidates from publicly available information. As noted above, all contributions less than $100 are reported as a lump sum without reporting the number of people contributing under $100. For example, if a candidate reports $1,000 worth of contributions under $100, that may have come from 11 people contributing $90.91 or 1,000 people contributing $1. Without knowing how many people actually contributed, calculating an average contribution amount is not possible.

NOTE: The publisher of the Herald is the campaign manager for Mark Meuser for Secretary of State.

Contra Costa secures voting on Election Day

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By Paul Burgarino, Community Education and Engagement Specialist, Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder-Elections Department

Current law allows voters who are issued a Vote-By-Mail ballot to turn it in and vote at the polls on Election Day. Besides being a waste of taxpayer dollars, it has resulted in the possibility of a voter casting more than one ballot without immediate detection.

With many recent reports of voters across the state receiving multiple ballots, the Contra Costa Elections Division has reviewed and updated its processes at polling places to ensure election integrity and prevent double voting.

“We encourage all voters who have been sent a Vote-By-Mail ballot to vote and return that ballot either through the mail, using one of our 23 drop boxes, or at any polling place on Election Day,” said Joe Canciamilla, Contra Costa Clerk-Recorder-Registrar of Voters. “Requesting a second ballot on Election Day contributes to lines, delays, unnecessary costs as well as security concerns.”

Here how it works: Vote-By-Mail voters who show up at their home polling place to vote need to bring the ballot return envelope addressed to them as well as all six cards that comprise the ballot. Upon confirmation that the voter is in the right location and verification of the envelope and ballot cards, the voter signs a declaration and is offered a non-provisional ballot.

If a Vote-By-Mail voter is in the wrong location or cannot provide all of those items, the voter is issued a provisional ballot. A provisional ballot is the same as a “regular” ballot. The difference is that the Elections Division verifies that the voter has not already voted before the ballot is counted. In June 2018, 90 percent of the provisional ballots were counted after this review.

If a voter who previously requested to be mailed a ballot prefers to vote at the polls on Election Day in the future, we encourage them to cancel their permanent vote by mail status by calling our office or re-registering.

For more information, contact the Elections Division at 925-335-7800 or go to www.cocovote.us.

Registration opportunity remains at early voting sites in Contra Costa County beginning today

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Antioch, Richmond and Walnut Creek locations

The voter registration deadline has passed, but you can still register and vote in one transaction. Several convenient locations will be available leading up to and during Election Day for you to register to vote and cast your ballot.

Contra Costa Elections Division offers Conditional Voter Registration as a safety net for those who were unable to complete or update their voter registration before the deadline.

“We want to make sure that everybody who is eligible to register to vote has ample opportunity to cast their ballot,” said Joe Canciamilla, Contra Costa Registrar of Voters.

The Conditional Registration steps include going to an eligible county location, filling out a form that includes your name, address, date of birth and either the last four digits of your Social Security Number or your driver’s license number, and casting your ballot.

Conditionally voted ballots are processed once our office completes the verification of the voter registrations and confirms no ballot has already been voted.

This service will be available starting today at the Elections Office during normal business hours and on Election Day from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm.

Conditional Voter Registration will also be available at the following Regional Early Voting locations on November 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th:

Regional Early Voting will be available from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm on the weekdays and 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Saturday, November 3rd. These locations are available to all Contra Costa voters looking to cast their ballot ahead of time and avoid the Election Day rush. Any Contra Costa voter can vote at any one of the Regional Early Voting locations.

For more information, call 925-335-7800.

Rep. DeSaulnier to host Town Hall Meeting in Richmond Oct. 23

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Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D, CA-11) will host a town hall meeting at Lovonya DeJean Middle School in Richmond on Tuesday, October 23, 2018 at 6:30 p.m.

This will be Congressman DeSaulnier’s 74th town hall and mobile district office hour since coming to Congress in January 2015. During the town hall, Congressman DeSaulnier will provide a legislative update on what is happening in Washington, take questions from constituents, and discuss the services his office can provide.

Richmond Town Hall
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Lovonya DeJean Middle School
Multipurpose Room
3400 Macdonald Avenue
Richmond, CA 94805
Doors Open at 6:00 p.m.

This event is open to the public, press, and photographers.
Please RSVP by visiting https://desaulnier.house.gov/town-hall-rsvp or calling 925-933-2660. To request ADA accommodations, translation services, or for more information, contact Congressman DeSaulnier’s office in either Richmond or Walnut Creek.