Newport council hopeful Fred Ameri leads foes in campaign funds, while PACs weigh in on the race
While most Newport Beach City Council hopefuls have raised five-figure sums in their bids for office, some have gone higher, and local political action committees have spent more than $100,000 opposing and supporting candidates.
Newport voters will decide Tuesday who should fill three available seats. Council members Keith Curry and Ed Selich are termed out, while Councilman Tony Petros is exiting following his first term.
One candidate, Fred Ameri, has accumulated six figures, with the majority of the other hopefuls netting five figures with less than a week to go until Election Day.
However, six political action committees registered with the city appear to have spent the bulk of the money in the campaign on mailers and polling.
Ameri, a former city planning commissioner and retired business executive who is running in Newport Coast’s District 7, has accumulated $269,449 in his war chest since Jan. 1. That number includes $250,000 in loans to himself, according to campaign contribution reports submitted to the city.
Ameri’s campaign donors include the Lincoln Club of Orange County’s state political action committee; Zion Enterprises, a Laguna Niguel-based property investment firm; and Ware Disposal, a trash and recycling service.
Ameri said he has chosen to supply the majority of his campaign funds in an effort to be an independent unbeholden to special interests.
“I chose to spend $250,000, even more if needed, to get on that council and do something for my city and redirect it from going in a dangerous direction,” he said.
Will O’Neill, a lawyer and city Finance Committee member running in District 7, has raised the most money in the form of individual and business contributions. The bulk of O’Neill’s $60,769 has come from attorneys, law firms and judges.
He also has received contributions from Morning in Nevada, a PAC based in the Silver State, and Ware Disposal.
“Fundraising success is a sign of community support, and I am honored at the outpouring of donations,” O’Neill said.
The latest filings cover Sept. 25 to Oct. 22. However, some candidates have submitted more-updated records.
Individuals and companies are prohibited by the city from contributing more than $1,100 to a single election campaign. However, PAC spending in support or opposition to candidates is not regulated by the city. Candidates seeking elected office are prohibited from controlling how the money is spent.
Several political action committees also have spent money on O’Neill’s behalf.
The Newport Beach Police Employees Assn. PAC has spent $17,908 on mailers in support of O’Neill, and Newport Beach resident Howard F. Ahmanson’s PAC has shelled out $7,563.
Jeff Herdman, a retired educator running for the District 5 seat representing Balboa and Harbor islands and Fashion Island, has raised $73,008, including a $20,000 loan to himself.
Several Balboa Island residents, as well as longtime activists Jean Watt and Nancy Skinner, have donated to Herdman’s campaign.
Phil Greer, a lawyer running in District 7, has banked $6,105 in independent donations. Greer loaned himself $30,000 toward his campaign.
The Line in the Sand PAC, created by local residents who have opposed large-scale development in the city, has spent nearly $10,000 supporting Herdman and Greer.
Ahmanson’s PAC has spent $30,701 on campaign literature and polling in opposition to Herdman and $10,877 opposing Greer.
Brad Avery, a city harbor commissioner vying for the District 2 seat representing the Newport Heights and Newport Crest areas, raked in the most individual donations, $16,150, during the most recent reporting period. He has raised a total of $56,200.
His donors include a homebuilder, an architectural firm and the Newport Mooring Assn.
Avery’s District 2 opponent, Shelley Henderson, has garnered $1,604 in donations. She loaned her campaign $500 in March but has paid all but $100 of it back.
District 5 candidate Lee Lowrey has raised $53,298 in individual donations. The Lincoln Club of Orange; SCT Energy, an energy-efficiency consultant; and Ware Disposal are among the businessman’s donors.
The Newport Beach Police Employees Assn. PAC has spent more than $32,000 on mailers for Lowrey and Avery. Ahmanson’s PAC has spent $11,632 supporting Lowrey.
The Newport Beach Firefighters Assn. PAC has spent nearly $17,000 on mailers supporting O’Neill, Avery and Lowrey.
Mike Glenn, a businessman running in District 5, has raised $30,168, including $3,850 in loans from himself and a restaurant owner. Several local bars and restaurants and their employees have donated to Glenn’s campaign.
“The vast majority of people who have donated money to my campaign have been people that I have helped through my activism,” Glenn said. “The money I’ve raised is very quantifiable; there’s no mystery. That’s what separates me from a lot of other people.”
A Merced County PAC known as the California Homeowners Assn. has spent $11,684 on mailers opposing Greer and Herdman.
The Peninsula Small Business PAC has spent more than $18,000 opposing Glenn and Ameri and more than $37,000 opposing Herdman and Greer.
It is unclear who created the Peninsula PAC. Lysa Ray, campaign treasurer for Avery, O’Neill and Lowrey, is listed on disclosure documents as the committee’s treasurer.
Balboa Peninsula restaurant Woody’s Wharf is among the donors to the Peninsula PAC.
Four of Woody’s owners also donated a total of $4,400 to Glenn.
Other donors to the PAC include Rockefeller Limited Partnership, a global equity fund that contributed $10,000, and Seacliff Investments, a property investment firm that gave $5,000. Chino Hills Mall LLC donated $15,000.
Glenn said that while PACs have a right to choose how they spend their money, he questions what benefits their donors will receive after Election Day.
“If you look at the people who are actually contributing, most of them are not even from Newport Beach,” he said. “When you ask them what they are going to gain, the answer is a question mark. That’s possibly one of the most dangerous answers you can get.”
Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
