Campaign Finance Reform
Did you know there are no limits to campaign contributions for Redondo Beach elected officials. Here are some comparisons of local cities:
Hermosa Beach – $250
Manhattan Beach – $250
Torrance – $1,000
Rancho Palos Verdes – $500
El Segundo – $250
Redondo Beach – NO LIMITS
Plus, Redondo officials can accept unlimited donations from large land owners, City contractors such as Athens Services, and leaseholders in King Harbor that we negotiate price and terms with for City property. I have never taken donations from any of these. As the Council Member representing the waterfront, they have certainly tried to donate to my campaigns over the years.
In contrast, Mayor Aspel accepted donations from AES, Athens Services, Marina Cove Ltd. (King Harbor Marina), Shorewood Realtors and many others. Mayor Aspel even took a total of $6,500 from the Pournamdari brothers, Mohammed and Hamid. Mohammed owns the land behind the AES site that is zoned for industrial uses. $3,000 of these donations arrived 3 weeks AFTER Mayor Aspel was elected. Think about that! Weeks after he was elected to be Mayor, the landowner of the property behind the AES power plant donated $3,000 to his campaign. Mayor Aspel claims there was no quid-pro-quo, but a year later the start of a rezoning of his land for a hotel was brought forward to the Council. Once myself and other elected officials saw this clear conflict, the agenda item was pulled and we never heard about it again. Hmmm?
Redondo Beach needs real campaign finance reform, not toothless changes that only give the appearance of change. There should be limits to contributions, who can contribute, when those contributions can be made and how much one can loan themselves to run for office.
