| Questionable And Flawed New City Ordinance Proposed by Noguez and Approved By Escareno, Hernandez and Gomez Limits Campaign Contributions October 25, 2004 By Editor, WatchOurCity.com Huntington Park, CA - A City Council majority voted to approve a city ordinance limiting campaign contributions to $1,000 per person or group. The new city ordinance goes even further in requiring disclosure of campaign contributions of $25 or more. In comparison, State contribution guidelines limit anonymous contributions to a maximum of $99. Federal anonymous contribution limit is $199. The new city ordinance all but guarantees that no future candidate will benefit from such historically unprecedented campaign contributions that directly benefited John Noguez, Ofelia Hernandez and Mario Gomez in their 2003 campaign. Voting to approve the new campaign limit ordinance were Mayor Noguez and council members Escareño, Gomez and Hernandez. Councilman Ric Loya abstained from the vote and at a meeting prior to the last meeting "Loya spoke strongly against the flawed concept being proposed". Council members Ric Loya and Ed Escareno are up for reelection on March 2005. The 2003 election slate of Noguez, Gomez and Hernandez received historically significant and unprecedented campaign contributions totaling $129,000. The amount includes an equally highly unprecedented $62,000 of “Non-Monetary” contributions received a day before elections on March 3, 2003, public records reveal. According to a report in the Wave Newspaper, “Noguez, who proposed the campaign contribution limit, said the aim is to prevent a company or group from trying to influence a candidate or an election with large donation”. WatchOurCity.com highlights an example of just one company that was possibly looking to “trying to influence a candidate or an election” during the 2003 campaign. This company made the very first official donations of $1,000 each to kickoff the campaigns of Ofelia Hernandez and Mario Gomez on December 2002. Additionally, this same company made contributions a day before elections on March 3, 2003 giving $5,000 each to Ofelia Hernandez and Mario Gomez in "Non-monetary" contributions. The total combined contribution to Ofelia and Mario was $12,000, according to public records on file with the city clerk’s office. The company also gave an $800 monetary donation to Noguez’ campaign committee. What could this one company possibly expect to receive in return from Ofelia Hernandez and Mario Gomez for its $12,000 contribution? The company? M.A.N. Properties registered to John R. Noguez, according the Los Angeles County Registrar/Recorders office (see WatchOurCity.com report on M.A.N. Properties, dated August 23, 2004). Did John Noguez benefit from his political contributions? Mario Gomez and Ofelia Hernandez consistently vote for his proposals as reflected on the council meeting minutes since they have been in office. A similar relationship existed in the city of South Gate when Albert Robles lead a cabal of loyal council members that built a seeming concentration of unchecked power and was accused of major corruption allegations. Did other campaign donors benefit from giving to Noguez, Hernandez, and Gomez? Consider the following seeming Pay-for-Play relationships: City Attorney: On 5-01-03 Francisco Leal’s lobbying firm, Legislative Advocacy Group donated $1,000 to Ofelia Hernandez’s campaign. On the same day, Leal’s law firm of Leal & Olivas donates an additional $2,000 to Ofelia Hernandez. On 12-02-03, seven months later, Francisco Leal's $3,000 investment in the form of campaign contributions to council member Ofelia Hernandez seems to have paid handsome dividends as council members Ofelia Hernandez, Mario Gomez and then-Mayor Ed Escareño voted to select Francisco Leal as new city attorney. Reportedly, Council member John Noguez left council chambers right before the vote for city attorney was taken and no explanation was given for Noguez’s sudden absence. Council member Loya cast the lone dissenting vote. “I was surprised when the mayor proposed hiring Leal without going out for bids,” said Loya (Wave Community Newspaper, 12-11-03). Leal's City Attorney contract is for $25,000 per month. His lobbying firm recently was also awarded the city's lobbying contract, seemingly without bids and for $3,000 per month, not counting travel expenses, according to the contract, a public document. On 12-19-03, a few days after he becomes city attorney, Francisco Leal’s lobbying firm donates $500 to John Noguez. And on the same day, Leal’s law firm donated an additional $500 to John Noguez’s campaign, for a total of $1,000 as reported on Noguez’s California Form 460 filed with the city clerk's office in Huntington Park. Evidently, John Noguez could guarantee the minimum three council votes for Leal without Noguez himself actually being there to vote, lest someone bring up conflict of interest issues. The timing of Leal's campaign donation to Noguez was questionable and seems to be in gratitude for the votes. Francisco Leal is reportedly a close friend of John Noguez and Ed Escareño. Consider the Dial-a-ride Transportation Contract: Oldtimers Foundation and Fiesta Taxi were awarded a nearly $4,000,000 transportation service contract. George Cole of Oldtimers donates $500 to Noguez on 12/12/03. Victor Caballero donates $1,000 each to Mario Gomez and Ofelia Hernandez on 2-18-03. On February 2, 2004, city council votes to approve their contract despite city staff recommendations and an independent consultant’s report, indicating that Oldtimers and Fiesta Taxi were rated last and second to last out of four bidders. The low bidder was $22,000 less expensive, according to statements made by the city manager to the Wave Newspaper. Victor Caballero and George Cole are reportedly close friends of John Noguez and Ed Escareño. Robert Rodriguez of Oldtimers (reportedly no longer employed with Oldtimers) is also a close friend of councilman Ed Escareño and on December 2003, accompanied Escareño along with city attorney Francisco Leal to Huntington Park’s sister city Playas de Rosarito in Baja California, Mexico, where Escareño reportedly carries on a romantic relationship there with a local school teacher. Victor Caballero’s friends in city council appointed him to the newly created Arts and Culture commission (The City, always finding new ways to spend more money on friends). The commission pays its members $100 per month. Mr. Caballero lives in the city of South Gate; Fiesta Taxi is headquartered in the city of Gardena. But his friends are here and evidently take care of him, a campaign donor, depriving actual city residents and taxpayers of any volunteer civic participation. Another Arts and Culture commission member appointed by his friends in city council, also not a resident of the city but running a successful business here, is Vicente Ortiz who reportedly lives in the city of Downey. The success of a privately held business group that reportedly he co-founded actually depends on heavy subsidies from his good friends in city council. The group? Meta 2000. Mr. Ortiz's friends in city council recently approved to pay $30,000 in cash form public funds to Meta 2000. Who in city council made the proposal to give away $30,000 in easy money from public funds to a private business group? John Noguez, according to council meeting minutes. Incidentally, Mr. Ortiz is also the owner of Tacos Don Chente, a local eatery with excellent south of the border cuisine, and meeting place for Meta 2000 members. On February 9, 2004, a few short days after Victor Caballero and George Cole’s friends in city council approved their multi-million dollar transportation contract they attended a Rosario- Marin-for-U.S. Senate fund raiser at the home of City Attorney Francisco Leal, according to an invitation flyer to the event. Co-hosting the event were George Cole, Victor Caballero and Vicente Ortiz (see report). According to www.opensecrets.org, a website that tracks contributions to federal campaigns, the host and co-hosts gave several thousand dollars to Rosario Marin's campaign that evening. Rosario is the ex-US Treasurer, ex-mayor of Huntington Park and appeared in campaign mailers pictured with Noguez, Hernandez and Gomez. Also present that evening and donating $1,000 was John Noguez. Campaign contribution statements submitted to the city clerk's office by Mayor John Noguez strongly suggest that Noguez was linked to the massive infusion of “non-monetary” funds on the last day of elections. In one day, just six contributors alone donated close to $62,000, with more than $50,000 of that amount contributed by the Moreno brothers Ricardo, Cuatemoc and Antonio, owners of Tacos Mexico. John Noguez has publicly stated that the owners of Tacos Mexico are his family, even confirming this in an email to WatchOurCity. com where he states, “the owners of Tacos Mexico are also my family”. What could these contributors and others possibly expect in return from Mayor Noguez, Ofelia Hernandez and Mario Gomez who represent a majority vote in city council? Another proposed ordinance voted by council on October 18, 2004, was the historic building preservation ordinance that was spearheaded by Mayor Noguez. Potentially some of his campaign contributors will stand to gain from this ordinance involving real estate values of historic structures in Huntington Park. Apparently Noguez knows a thing or two about historic preservation as an L.A. County Deputy Property Assessor in charge of assessing Downtown L.A. historic core properties. Owners of historic structures in Downtown L.A. have made campaign donations to John Noguez: they include Forest City Development and prominent Downtown L.A. historic building developer Tom Gilmore and Ken Alslan, Executive Director of Downtown L.A.'s historic core Business Improvement District consortium. Forest City has already benefited from a $40,000 cash payment in public funds approved by Huntington Park's city council on May 3, 2004 for assistance with a proposed development project in this city. Also, Historic Consultants, Inc. from San Diego donated $300 to John Noguez on 6-15-02, according to Noguez's campaign statement. Curiously, some other historic Downtown property owners have also made monetary contributions to John Noguez, totaling approximately $3,500, and includes board members of the Downtown L.A.'s historic core Business Improvement District who are property stakeholders there. It is puzzling that there is no public record evidence that they have any interest in Huntington Park real estate. Where these L.A. property owners and campaign contributors do seem to have an interest in donating to John Noguez’ campaign is that John Noguez coincidentally works for the L.A. County Assessor's office and is reportedly in charge of assessing the Downtown L.A. Historic core area where their properties are located. Not only did Noguez benefit from large contribution sums made to his campaign, he was a large contributor himself and thus knows a thing or two about “trying to influence a candidate or an election with large donations”. Ofelia Hernandez, Mario Gomez and Ed Escareño have been loyal supporters of Noguez with critical votes such as this campaign contribution limit vote. They were also loyal supporters of Noguez when he proposed a new property tax that actually increases property taxes, despite city council’s claims that it will reduce taxes with Measure L. A rare instance when Noguez' council allies stood on principle to oppose a Noguez proposal, was when he floated the idea of a reduction in council salaries. It is noteworthy that no potential candidates for the upcoming council elections on March of 2005 have voiced any opposition to the new campaign limit ordinance. Nor has any government agency questioned the legality, legitimacy and motives of imposing such a seemingly self serving and undemocratic new ordinance. Will this new ordinance, which places limits on campaign contributions, be repealed in time before Mayor John Noguez and council members Ofelia Hernandez and Mario Gomez are up for reelection in 2007? |
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