Current 4th District Councilmember Patrick O’Donnell and Signal Hill Vice Mayor Ed Wilson have each kicked off their respective campaigns for the 70th District Assembly seats with the announcement of formal fundraisers and a raffle.
Wilson–who squeaked by to win his fifth term on the Signal Hill City Council just two months ago–quietly held the first fundraiser of the race on May 23, hosting a 20-guest-only fundraiser at the Grand Havana Room in the affluent Beverly Hills. Sponsorship packages ran from $500 to $4,100 and the event was organized by Justice Bowens, a self-described on his Twitter profile as an “entrepreneur, advocate, personal CFO, marketer, motivator, oracle of ideas, and excellent communicator.” Numbers for the event have not yet been released, however, Wilson has also launched an opportunity drawing for a 2013 Mercedes Benz through his website, the winner of which will be announced on Labor Day.
O’Donnell, on the other hand, will keep his campaign kick-off local, hosting a Mayor Bob Foster-headlined fundraiser on June 13 at the offices of Keesal, Young and Logan. Sponsorships mimicked Wilson’s–$500 to $4,100–with individuals paying $99 to attend.
O’Donnell’s official bid for the Assembly is not without its controversy. Not only will Long Beach taxpayers have to front the cost of a special election should O’Donnell win the seat in the 70th–same as Signal Hill taxpayers will have to do for Ed Wilson should he win–but his running alone displays a contradiction to previous promises he made saying that if elected to City Council, he would not try for the Assembly seat at all.
In an interview last year with the Long Beach Business Journal, O’Donnell was explicit about his commitment to serving his four-year, third term as councilmember of the 4th if elected. When asked if he would not run for the assembly–“No matter what?” the Journal emphasized–he responded, “Correct. If you run for four, you serve four.”
Additionally, his bid for that third term was also surrounded by wavering decisions. He had initially sought the assembly seat he is currently vying for back in 2011, but opted out after incumbent Bonnie Lowenthal decided to keep her hat in the ring after a failed bid for the Senate. He then announced he would run as a write-in for a third term for the 4th, something Daryl Supernaw–the grassroots candidate who forced O’Donnell into a run-off–claimed was antithetical to his previous statements.
In an open letter, Supernaw said:
Last June, [O’Donnell] and I began talking about his run for Assembly and my run for city council. In conversations over the months, he both encouraged and guided me through the process of starting a campaign. I made it clear all along that my running for council was contingent on his running for Assembly, and he confirmed his commitment every time I asked. This was a critical issue to me, so I gave him and entire month to change his mind. He formally announced for Assembly in late August [of 2011], and I made my announcement for city council in late September [of that same year]. In every conversation since that time, I received nothing but encouragement from Patrick about my campaign.
Supernaw eventually used O’Donnell’s switch to advertise his campaign one which “wouldn’t seek higher office” and beat O’Donnell by a mere 13 votes, forcing the two into a run-off. O’Donnell eventually won the Council seat, garnering 56.1 percent of the vote in the run-off.
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