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BY SARA TABIN
Daily Post Staff Writer
Money from Realtors and unions is flowing in the Mountain View City Council election.
The National Association of Realtors set up an independent expenditure committee on Wednesday (Oct. 7) and is spending $29,070 to support Councilwoman Lisa Matichak. The committee has already spent $13,787 on polling and $14,599 on a mailer and online ads. Unions are also playing a role in the race in which nine candidates are vying for four seats.
Former state legislator and councilwoman Sally Lieber received $1,000 each from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 332, and the Plumbers Steamfitters & Refrigeration Fitters, Local 393 Political Action Fund. She also got $250 from the Santa Clara and San Benito Counties Building and Construction Trades Council PAC, and $500 from the Teamsters Local Union 350 PAC.
She has raised a total of $14,368.
Mayor Margaret Abe-Koga got $1,000 from Plumbers, Steamfitters, Refrigeration Fitters, Local 393 and $500 from the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council. She also received $250 from Josh Becker’s Senate campaign and $1,000 from Evan Low’s campaign for state Assembly. She has raised a total of $27,140.
In addition to committee set up by the Realtors to help her, Matichak also got a direct donation from the California Real Estate Political Action Committee for $2,000.
In addition, she received $1,000 each from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 332, and the Plumbers, Steamfitters and Refrigeration Fitters, Local 393. She got $300 from the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council Small Contributor Committee and $500 from the Santa Clara and San Benito Counties Building and Construction Trades Council PAC. She has raised a total of $27,543.
Santa Clara Valley Water District board member Gary Kremen gave her $600 and county Supervisor Joe Simitian donated $250.
Pat Showalter, a former council member who was defeated two years ago in her re-election bid and is running again, received $1,000 each from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Plumbers, Steamfitters and Refrigeration Fitters, Local 393. She got $2,500 from the Mountain View firefighters’ union.
Simitian gave Showalter $250. Palo Alto Planning Commissioner and council candidate Cari Templeton donated $100 to Showalter.
She has a total of $22,573,
Lenny Siegel, a former councilman who was defeated in his re-election bid two years ago and is running again, has raised $17,361. He got many small donations from residents involved in tech including $100 from Mark Sandler, who works at Google, and $200 from Stephen Chessin, who works at Oracle. He also received donations from retired residents including Janis Carey and Bonnie Laster.
Paul Roales has raised $14,415 with many small donations from people in different cities and states including Boulder, Colo., Ann Arbor, Mich., and Sedona, Ariz.
Alex Nunez has raised $20,724. Palo Alto YIMBY leader Kelsey Banes gave him $200. Like Siegel, Nunez got small donations from local techies and retirees. Miguel Sanchez who works at Apple gave $400 and Deb Henigson at Google gave him $250.
John Lashlee has $12,241, with many donations from techies including $2,176 from Alexander Kindel who works at Google. He got $2,499 from Sarah Georg. Georg, who lives in the Sahara Mobile Village, spoke in favor of rent protections for mobile home residents in January. She said she had encouraged much of her family to move to the village with her but was afraid of being priced out.
Jose Gutierrez, the Mountain View Whisman school board member running for council, didn’t receive more than $2,000 during the filing period, so he wasn’t required to file a form that listed his donors.
