As a deep-pocketed oil-funded coalition continues to spend money on ads in support of Long Beach Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez in her run for the upcoming 33rd state Senate District race, her stance on issues related to the group’s interests continue to be called into question.
In late February, state campaign records showed that the Coalition to Restore California’s Middle Class—an independent expenditures coalition funded by the likes of Chevron, Valero and Tesoro—spent more than $1 million in support of her campaign, including paying for television and billboard ads.
On March 11, the coalition reported spending roughly $41,255 on “streaming program ads” and $21,250 on “consulting,” state records show.
Neither Gonzalez nor her campaign staff has responded to multiple requests for comment.
In an endorsement statement in early March, she denied soliciting any contributions from the coalition. “I will not accept oil company contributions nor will I be influenced by special interests,” Gonzalez stated.
It’s against the law for independent committees to coordinate with a candidate’s campaign.
However, some community members believe the coalition is hoping for something in return, specifically a vote from Gonzalez in their favor on a Senate bill proposing a tax on the extraction of oil and gas.
“We feel that big oil corporations don’t spend more than a million dollars out of the kindness of their hearts,” said Carlos Ovalle, executive director of the community group People of Long Beach, which has been critical of Gonzalez’s campaign. “For them it’s an investment, and as with any investment they expect to see a return.”
When Sacramento political insider Scott Lay first reported on the expenditures, he said Senate Bill 246, the oil and gas severance tax, could be a possible reason for the coalition’s spending.
He pointed to the Port of Long Beach’s major crude oil terminals and the Long Beach tidelands, where gas and oil companies operate within the district.
At the Beer & Politics public forum hosted a few days after the expenditures were revealed, candidates were asked by those in attendance about their position on the bill, proposed by Sen. Bob Wieckowski.
Gonzalez, the presumed front-runner, was not in attendance. She cancelled a couple of days prior to the forum, according to organizers, despite campaign staff confirming in the weeks before.
Ovalle and other community members—as well as the Post and at least one other media outlet—have reached out to Gonzalez since then to confirm her stance on the bill but she has not responded.
Ovalle said the group—which recently endorsed Bell Councilman Ali Saleh for the Senate seat—has tried to ask Gonzalez via social media but that she has blocked them.
Some of Gonzalez’s fellow candidates have also called out her absences during two public forums held in Long Beach. On March 20, Gonzalez tweeted she has attended seven candidate forums, but her campaign has not elaborated on the dates or locations when asked by the Post.
Ovalle believes the investment by the coalition is to make sure SB 246 fails.
“They’d rather spend a million dollars to get her in the Legislature than to pay $900 million in taxes,” Ovalle said.
However, the interest, and independent expenditures and contributions, in support of Gonzalez isn’t only coming from big oil.
Gonzalez has received donations, endorsements and independent expenditures from various labor unions.
One of Gonzalez’s endorsers, the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, contributed $727,500 over the years through its PAC to an independent committee, which in 2016 contributed $6,500 to the Coalition to Restore California’s Middle Class.
The Trade Council also has affiliated local unions like iron workers, laborers, painters and plumbers—some of which have also endorsed and donated thousands to Gonzalez.
The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor AFL-CIO Council on Political Education has also spent $176,845 in support of Gonzalez through independent expenditures.
“All it really indicates is that these are interests in her district, and they know that she’s likely to win,” Cal State Los Angeles political science professor Taylor Dark said. “So, it makes sense to give her some money, or make an endorsement, or make an independent expenditure, in the hope that when they lobby later, it just might make a bit of a difference, or open a door.”
Dark speculated that the biggest influence on Gonzalez would be jobs in her district.
“Jobs in the port are typically good jobs—she might want to protect them for that reason,” he said.
One of Gonzalez’ key campaign issues is creating living wage jobs. On her campaign website, she said she supports “efforts to strengthen the Port of Long Beach, a major economic driver for our region.”
Several of the labor unions that support Gonzalez also rely on the Port and related industries—like oil and gas companies—for jobs. Some of these companies may also be affected by SB 246.
In a Feb. 21 column on the Bakersfield Californian, Robert Gutierrez, president and CEO of the California Taxpayers Association, called Senate Bill 246 by Sen. Bob Wieckowski unnecessary.
“Increasing taxes on oil and gas production would be especially damaging to Kern County residents, as past economic studies have shown a severance tax would jeopardize the jobs of those who work in and around the oil and gas industries,” Gutierrez said.
The tax would also lead to higher gasoline prices throughout the state, he added.
Campaign ads by the Coalition to Restore California’s Middle Class on the Post and other media outlets include a photo of a blue collar button-down shirt with a patch saying “Lena” stitched inside. Other videos paid for by the coalition show minority couples promoting refinery jobs and “blue collar workers.”
A 2013 report on independent expenditures by United States Common Sense, a nonprofit policy group founded at Stanford University, found that independent expenditures “have been a growing factor in California politics since Proposition 34 limited direct contributions to candidates.”
According to the report, the the expenditures can help interests like unions or corporations influence policy outcomes at the ballot box or through elected officials “to favor the interest, either out of gratitude for the past, desire to curry more money in the future, or fear of political retribution.”
An interest can sway whether a bill ever comes to vote, its composition (watered down regulation), even the selection of topics considered by legislators, the report revealed.
District 33 includes cities and communities of Cudahy, Bell, Bell Gardens, Lynwood, Maywood, Signal Hill, Paramount, South Gate, Vernon, Walnut Park, Huntington Park, and most of Long Beach with portions of the cities of Lakewood and Los Angeles.
The special election is scheduled to take place Tuesday, March 26.