Latest news with #Arreola
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How much money is being raised by Coachella Valley Unified's school board candidates
Campaign contributions totaling more than $150,000 have poured into the Coachella Valley Unified School District trustee race as six candidates, including three incumbents, compete for three school seats in the special election on March 4. In California, local school board candidates can receive unlimited campaign contributions, even if an individual contribution exceeds $5,500 — the limit for state, county and city elections. However, they are still required to follow disclosure and reporting rules. Here's how much the CVUSD school board candidates reported raising in their latest filings as of Feb. 15, following up on The Desert Sun's initial reporting in November: Incumbent trustee Trinidad 'Trini' Arredondo has brought in $40,536, while his challenger Agustín Arreola has raised $25,181.86. Coachella Valley Teachers Association gave Arredondo another $10,000, bringing its total contributions to $19,000 — making the political action committee his largest donor. Dr. Raul Ruiz for Congress donated $3,300 to Arredondo's campaign, followed by $100 from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of the Pacific. He also received $72 in unitemized donations under $100. Eduardo Garcia for Assembly 2024 gave Arreola an additional $1,500, raising the political action committee's total contributions to $8,500. Jesus Gonzalez of Thermal, a former legislative staffer for Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia and son of incumbent candidate Jesus Gonzalez, contributed $2,000 to Arreola's campaign. Arreola most recently received $2,000 on Feb. 14 from Ricky Contreras, director of sales and government relations at The KYA Group in Anaheim, which specializes in public works facility modernization and has previously upgraded facilities at CVUSD. Incumbent candidate Jesus Gonzalez raised $28,997.21, while Altrena Santillanes reported $18,300. Gonzalez, a licensed contractor with Coachella Builders, Inc., self-funded his campaign twice, contributing a total of $1,405. The 87-400 A56 Statutory Trust in Cheyenne, Wyo., donated $2,000 on Nov. 12 to Gonzalez's campaign. The trust previously held a closed session with the City of Coachella in September for a real property negotiation over a 9,730-square-foot domestic water easement. He also received $3,646.49 in nonmonetary contributions in the form of mailers from the Community Education PAC for a Better Imperial & Coachella Valley in October. His campaign also returned a $5,000 contribution on Nov. 1 from the Family Protection Alliance, citing Senate Bill 1439, which restricts local officials from voting on matters involving major donors, and "out of an abundance of caution." FPA is a Christian ministry supporting the social conservative movement. Though Santillanes' campaign contribution filings have not appeared on Riverside County's Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure, she provided The Desert Sun with a copy of her filings through Nov 5. In an email, Santillanes said she filed her committee's contributions and donations with the FPPC and is unsure why they are not visible but would look into the issue. The Coachella Valley Teachers Association for Quality Education contributed $14,000 to her campaign, followed by $3,000 from Raul Ruiz for Congress and $1,000 from the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. Incumbent candidate Jocelyn Vargas raised $17,658.23, while her opponent Adrian Rodriguez has raised $21,399. Vargas received $1,500 from Eduardo Garcia for Assembly 2024, bringing its total contributions to $6,500. She also received $1,000 from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of the Pacific and $135 in unitemized contributions of less than $100. Thee Coachella Valley Teachers Association contributed $5,000 on Dec. 10 to Rodriguez, bringing the political action committee's total contribution to his campaign to $14,000. He also received $3,299 from Dr. Raul Ruiz for Congress, as well as $500 in contributions each from Teresa Gutierrez of Mecca, Robert Rodriguez of Mecca and S-A-S Farms in La Quinta. Jennifer Cortez covers education in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella Valley Unified election fundraising
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lander makes questionable claim in sidestepping politically charged Israel divestment question
At a candidate forum earlier this month, Brad Lander sidestepped a politically explosive question about whether he would as mayor push to have the city's pension funds divest from Israeli government bonds in protest of the country's war in Gaza. 'We don't have any Israeli bonds because that's just, that's a category of investments that we don't currently, that we don't have,' he replied at the Feb. 5 mayoral candidate forum hosted by the New York Progressive Action Network, avoiding taking a stance on the hot-button issue. But a Daily News review of city pension fund disclosures confirms Lander's remarks were incorrect. The city's five funds — which control more than $270 billion in assets that bankroll pensions for retired municipal workers — hold nearly $1.7 billion in Israeli government bonds, in addition to millions of dollars in Shekel, Israel's currency, and Israeli companies like weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems, The News' review found. A spokesman for Lander, who in his current job as city comptroller manages the five pension funds, acknowledged those Israeli investments are active. But the spokesman, Miguel Arreola, didn't fully walk back Lander's Feb. 5 comments. Even though Lander didn't make such a distinction at the forum, Arreola said the pension funds technically aren't 'invested directly' in Israeli government bonds. Rather, Arreola said the pension funds' Israeli bonds are held via third party investment trusts, like Vanguard. Arreola still wouldn't say, though, where Lander stands on the underlying issue of having the pension funds divest from Israeli government holdings, whether they are invested directly or via trusts. Lander's foremost duty as comptroller is ensuring the fiscal health of the pension funds, so they can keep covering the monthly payments municipal retirees are entitled to, his office said. Arreola also wouldn't say why Lander's office was quoted last June as telling the Chief Leader, a labor newspaper, that 'none of the five systems are invested in Israeli bonds' after a group of city government workers called on him to spearhead a push for Israeli divestment. The flap over Lander's forum comments underscore the fraught nature of the progressive movement pushing for divesting from Israel amid its war in Gaza, which has left nearly 50,000 Palestinians dead, including thousands of children. Israel launched the war — currently in a ceasefire set to expire this weekend — in response to the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack, in which Hamas militants killed more than 1,200 Israelis and took hundreds more hostage. Investment decisions by the five pension funds are made jointly by a number of trustees that include Lander. Lander hasn't used his power as comptroller to introduce proposals for the pension funds to pull out of Israeli holdings, as many progressive activists are calling on him to do. Days after his comments at the forum, NYPAN, which has made calling for divesting from Israeli holdings a key plank in its agenda, endorsed Lander for mayor, saying in a statement his 'bold vision for our city is exactly what's needed.' Arthur Schwartz, NYPAN's political director, said the group isn't reconsidering its Lander endorsement because of the forum flub, but told The News his members will press him further on the issue. 'Though he misspoke, he was conscientious enough to follow-up and check, which we appreciate. Next time we meet with him, now that he is aware of those investments, we will ask him to explain how he will leverage those investments to stop many of the horrible things the Netanyahu Government is doing, especially in the West Bank, and potentially in support of Trump's proposed forced exile of 2 million people from Gaza,' Schwartz said. The conflict has set off intense debate in New York City, including in the 2025 mayoral race, in which many candidates, including Lander, have called for a permanent ceasefire in the war. Mayor Adams is one of the only candidates who hasn't joined those calls. While progressive groups like NYPAN have also urged Lander to pull all city government pension money out of Israel in protest of the war, he alone wouldn't be able to make such a move on his own due to the nature of the funds' operations. Rather, a majority of trustees at each of the five funds would need to vote in support of such a move. The trustees include a variety of stakeholders. For instance, among the trustees overseeing the NYC Employees' Retirement System, the city's largest pension fund, are a mayoral representative, the comptroller, the public advocate, the five borough presidents and key labor leaders like the DC 37 head.
