Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Proponents of efforts to regulate the cannabis industry in Calaveras County have received and spent more money than the rest of the contested battles combined in advance of the Nov. 8 election.
Statements submitted last week by the Yes on D, Calaveras for Cannabis Control and Regulation, Sponsored by Calaveras Naturals Inc. group reported they have raised more than $40,000 in the past month.
Since the beginning of the year, the group has raised $167,022.91. About $61,000 of that was from non-monetary contributions.
In the past month, the campaign has spent more than $65,000. Documents show the group had just under $15,000 in unpaid bills. In total, "Yes on D" efforts have spent just over $180,000 since the start of the calendar year.
The group launched a large scale marketing campaign during the most recent period. The election documents listed extensive expenditures to Power Marketing of Stockton for a variety of services.
The group has allocated more than $41,000 to the marketing group. As of Oct. 22, "Yes on D" had accrued more than $16,000 in unpaid expenses to the agency. Power Marketing spent more than $46,000 on behalf of the campaign to a number of other businesses.
Opposing regulating the cannabis industry in Calaveras County is a "Calaveras Residents Against Commercial Marijuana" group that has raised about 5 percent the funds this year their opponents have. The group had spent just under $4,000 of it as of Oct. 27.
Many of the payments were toward yard signs, meeting fees and for flyers and handouts.
The battle has been highly scrutinized since the ballot initiative was proposed by Barden Stevenot and Merita Callaway earlier in the year. Accusations of theft and vandalism of campaign signage on both sides were pushed to the forefront recently.
Last month, proponents in favor of cannabis regulations filed a complaint that accused their opponents of violating the Political Reform Act on a number of occasions. Allegations were filed to the Fair Political Practices Commission.
On Oct. 21, the FPPC launched an investigation into the claims. Jay Wierenga, communications director for the organization, said the investigation may take some time. He added penalties could reach up to $5,000 per violation.
"We (are) trying to prioritize campaign-related complaints and investigations to try to reach a determination and outcome ahead of the election. So all campaign-related complaints go to the top of the stack as it were, to try to reach a resolution quickly," Wierenga said in a statement. "We know the voters deserve as much information as possible and we're trying to do just that."
"In a broader sense, generally speaking our cases break down like this. About two-thirds of our cases are completed within 180 days and about 90 percent are completed within a year. The ones that take longer are usually the much more complex cases."
District 5 recall
Meanwhile, three candidates in the battle for the District 5 seat on the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors have raised and spent a noteworthy amount of money.
Steve Kearney, whose seat on the board is in jeopardy, raised $3,998 this month. Bringing his yearly total to $4,998. He spent $4,204 throughout the past 30 days. Payments have exceeded $5,200 since the year began. He began the period with a cash balance surplus of over $1,000.
Much of the money he collected this month came in three $1,000 donations. Two were from residents based in the Bay Area. The third came from Brad Sutton Trucking Inc. The owner, Brad Sutton, owns Carson Hill Rock Products and the quarry on the border of Calaveras and Tuolumne counties.
A large portion of the money spent prior to the submission of the final statement was toward handouts and signs made by Strategic Research Inc. based out of Stockton.
Bob Bowerman, a candidate trying to replace Kearney if recalled, raised more than anyone else in the race. He raised $7,050 of his total $8,249 after Sept. 25. He also spent $2,873.74 of his $4,145.81 since the same time.
His campaign has benefitted from those in the cannabis industry. Campaign documents reported Jeremy Carlson, owner of Little Trees Wellness in Arnold, Mark Bolger, a cannabis farmer and Joe Pellegrino, owner of Rocky Mountain Super Soils in Mountain Ranch have donated $6,500 between the three of them.
Bowerman spent a large portion on campaign signs and advertisements in the time between the final campaign statement submission deadline.
Bruce Giudici, another competitor for the seat, raised $648, of his $3,931 total this past month. All of his $3,615 in expenditures were spent after Sept. 28.
A bulk of the donations in support of his candidacy were given by residents from outside of the county. Three $100 donations came from those in the Bay Area, one $100 donation was provided from Stockton and the final $100 was from an Orangevale-based contributor.
Giudici spent $3,345 on campaign merchandise from a company based out of Florida.
No campaign information for Clyde Clapp, a proponent in the Kearney recall efforts, nor David Tunno, former Calaveras County Planning Commissioner and trial consultant, could be located Tuesday.
District 1
Campaign documents reveal a very close battle in the financial sector for the District 1 seat of the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors.
Campaign documents revealed Cliff Edson, the incumbent, has raised $2,260 of his $15,102 since the start of 2016, recently.
A large amount of the money raised during the final period was from two sources: the Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3 from Alameda and McLaughlin Waste Equipment based out of Galt. He spent more than $3,500 for brochures and campaign signs to Strategic Research Inc.
Gary Tofanelli, the challender, raised $5,930 since Sept. 25 and received $16,059 in total contributions since the beginning of the year. He also outspent Edson, devoting $6,692 the past 30 days and $12,035 since 2016 began.
A significant chunk of his monetary donations received the past month came from the Service Employees International Union based out of Stockton. Tofanelli spent just under $4,500 in advertisements and $1,100 in postal stamps the past month.
The election for the District 1 seat began with a third candidate, Sharon Romano, for much of the first half of the year. She was bumped out after neither Edson nor Tofanelli received a majority during the June election. Because of this, a runoff election was scheduled.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Pro-Cannabis Regulation Group Raises $167,000
Author: Jason Cowan
Contact: (209) 532-7151
Photo Credit: Reuters
Website: The Union Democrat
Statements submitted last week by the Yes on D, Calaveras for Cannabis Control and Regulation, Sponsored by Calaveras Naturals Inc. group reported they have raised more than $40,000 in the past month.
Since the beginning of the year, the group has raised $167,022.91. About $61,000 of that was from non-monetary contributions.
In the past month, the campaign has spent more than $65,000. Documents show the group had just under $15,000 in unpaid bills. In total, "Yes on D" efforts have spent just over $180,000 since the start of the calendar year.
The group launched a large scale marketing campaign during the most recent period. The election documents listed extensive expenditures to Power Marketing of Stockton for a variety of services.
The group has allocated more than $41,000 to the marketing group. As of Oct. 22, "Yes on D" had accrued more than $16,000 in unpaid expenses to the agency. Power Marketing spent more than $46,000 on behalf of the campaign to a number of other businesses.
Opposing regulating the cannabis industry in Calaveras County is a "Calaveras Residents Against Commercial Marijuana" group that has raised about 5 percent the funds this year their opponents have. The group had spent just under $4,000 of it as of Oct. 27.
Many of the payments were toward yard signs, meeting fees and for flyers and handouts.
The battle has been highly scrutinized since the ballot initiative was proposed by Barden Stevenot and Merita Callaway earlier in the year. Accusations of theft and vandalism of campaign signage on both sides were pushed to the forefront recently.
Last month, proponents in favor of cannabis regulations filed a complaint that accused their opponents of violating the Political Reform Act on a number of occasions. Allegations were filed to the Fair Political Practices Commission.
On Oct. 21, the FPPC launched an investigation into the claims. Jay Wierenga, communications director for the organization, said the investigation may take some time. He added penalties could reach up to $5,000 per violation.
"We (are) trying to prioritize campaign-related complaints and investigations to try to reach a determination and outcome ahead of the election. So all campaign-related complaints go to the top of the stack as it were, to try to reach a resolution quickly," Wierenga said in a statement. "We know the voters deserve as much information as possible and we're trying to do just that."
"In a broader sense, generally speaking our cases break down like this. About two-thirds of our cases are completed within 180 days and about 90 percent are completed within a year. The ones that take longer are usually the much more complex cases."
District 5 recall
Meanwhile, three candidates in the battle for the District 5 seat on the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors have raised and spent a noteworthy amount of money.
Steve Kearney, whose seat on the board is in jeopardy, raised $3,998 this month. Bringing his yearly total to $4,998. He spent $4,204 throughout the past 30 days. Payments have exceeded $5,200 since the year began. He began the period with a cash balance surplus of over $1,000.
Much of the money he collected this month came in three $1,000 donations. Two were from residents based in the Bay Area. The third came from Brad Sutton Trucking Inc. The owner, Brad Sutton, owns Carson Hill Rock Products and the quarry on the border of Calaveras and Tuolumne counties.
A large portion of the money spent prior to the submission of the final statement was toward handouts and signs made by Strategic Research Inc. based out of Stockton.
Bob Bowerman, a candidate trying to replace Kearney if recalled, raised more than anyone else in the race. He raised $7,050 of his total $8,249 after Sept. 25. He also spent $2,873.74 of his $4,145.81 since the same time.
His campaign has benefitted from those in the cannabis industry. Campaign documents reported Jeremy Carlson, owner of Little Trees Wellness in Arnold, Mark Bolger, a cannabis farmer and Joe Pellegrino, owner of Rocky Mountain Super Soils in Mountain Ranch have donated $6,500 between the three of them.
Bowerman spent a large portion on campaign signs and advertisements in the time between the final campaign statement submission deadline.
Bruce Giudici, another competitor for the seat, raised $648, of his $3,931 total this past month. All of his $3,615 in expenditures were spent after Sept. 28.
A bulk of the donations in support of his candidacy were given by residents from outside of the county. Three $100 donations came from those in the Bay Area, one $100 donation was provided from Stockton and the final $100 was from an Orangevale-based contributor.
Giudici spent $3,345 on campaign merchandise from a company based out of Florida.
No campaign information for Clyde Clapp, a proponent in the Kearney recall efforts, nor David Tunno, former Calaveras County Planning Commissioner and trial consultant, could be located Tuesday.
District 1
Campaign documents reveal a very close battle in the financial sector for the District 1 seat of the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors.
Campaign documents revealed Cliff Edson, the incumbent, has raised $2,260 of his $15,102 since the start of 2016, recently.
A large amount of the money raised during the final period was from two sources: the Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3 from Alameda and McLaughlin Waste Equipment based out of Galt. He spent more than $3,500 for brochures and campaign signs to Strategic Research Inc.
Gary Tofanelli, the challender, raised $5,930 since Sept. 25 and received $16,059 in total contributions since the beginning of the year. He also outspent Edson, devoting $6,692 the past 30 days and $12,035 since 2016 began.
A significant chunk of his monetary donations received the past month came from the Service Employees International Union based out of Stockton. Tofanelli spent just under $4,500 in advertisements and $1,100 in postal stamps the past month.
The election for the District 1 seat began with a third candidate, Sharon Romano, for much of the first half of the year. She was bumped out after neither Edson nor Tofanelli received a majority during the June election. Because of this, a runoff election was scheduled.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Pro-Cannabis Regulation Group Raises $167,000
Author: Jason Cowan
Contact: (209) 532-7151
Photo Credit: Reuters
Website: The Union Democrat
