Testimony from ‘cottage industry of exoneration’ aided Chico police
by Dave Waddell | Posted October 29, 2024
The pain of the taser was “searing … like a baseball bat swung hard and squarely into the small of your back. That sensation, which is actually two sharp steel barbs piercing your skin and shooting electricity into your central nervous system, is followed by the harshest, most violent spasm you can imagine coursing through your entire body.” – Journalist Matt Stroud in his book “Thin Blue Lie.”
SACRAMENTO — Three years ago, the New York Times published a deeply reported story on how paid experts help exonerate police in killing cases. This month, that “cottage industry of exoneration,” including one expert who has made a fortune minimizing the dangers of tasers, operated at full gear on the 15th floor of the Robert T. Matsui Federal Courthouse.read more
Incumbent Tandon and challenger Goldstein explain to ChicoSol contrasting views
by Yucheng Tang | Posted October 27, 2024
District 7 extends into Lower Bidwell Park on the northeast, crosses Highway 99, and is severed by District 6 west of the highway.
This is the fourth story in our City Council election series.
District 7 voters have a choice. Candidates Bryce Goldstein and Deepika Tandon both want better streets and more housing projects, but differ on other crucial issues, including homelessness, climate change and wildfire planning.
Goldstein, a transportation planner, has served as a City of Chico commissioner for the past five years, formerly on the Planning Commission and now as a Climate Action commissioner. She says on her website that she wants a community where “everybody can afford to live … where everybody can access fresh groceries without having to own a car, and where our trees, parks, and creeks are protected.”read more
YUBA CITY — Sikh communities want more visibility and want their stories heard.
Not only should the religious stories be told, but also the stories about how Sikh farmers grow peaches and walnuts, how Sikh community members import food from Mexico or export into Canada, and how they contribute to California’s economy. That’s the view of Jasbir Singh Kang, co-founder of the Punjabi American Heritage Society in Sutter County.
The “Sikh Listening Session” held in Yuba City on Oct. 23 was organized by the California Racial Equity Commission and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs (CAPIAA), and gave community members the opportunity to share their stories.read more
"A Better Chico" launches attacks on two liberal candidates
by Leslie Layton | Posted October 22, 2024
photo by Karen Laslo
Candidate Bryce Goldstein is attacked in a recent PAC mailer that exploits the problem of homelessness.
It cost the political action committee (PAC) A Better Chico some $14,000 to taint election season with a bitter mood by sending out four mailers that attack two City Council candidates who are running for the District 3 and 7 seats.
The two women, candidates Monica McDaniel and Bryce Goldstein, were each targeted with two mailers that make misleading and false statements that exploit the issue of homelessness by showing pictures of tent encampments, piles of litter and needles.
District 3 candidate McDaniel, who is running against Dale Bennett, the incumbent councilmember supported by A Better Chico, is frustrated. McDaniel calls the mailers “hate-spewing” and says they’re full of “straight-up lies.”
Jim Parrott, who is listed as the principal officer of the PAC and is a retired Chico police detective, was contacted for comment on the mailers. “I don’t have any comment to make and nothing to say to ChicoSol,” Parrott said and then hung up.
One of the mailers refers to McDaniel as a “Homeless Advocate” and another demands voters reject her “homeless plan” and calls her an “appointed homeless advocate.”
“I’m not a homeless advocate and I never was a homeless advocate,” McDaniel told ChicoSol in an Oct. 21 phone interview. “I never signed up to be a homeless advocate.”
McDaniel says she joined the Police Community Advisory Board as a “parent and educator” and was given the title of liaison to the unhoused population without her consent.
McDaniel also said that neither she nor the Council have a plan for homelessness, which is precisely Chico’s problem. She said she wants a seat on the Council to work with “other council members who are present” in developing a plan.
One mailer claims that Goldstein, a Climate Action commissioner, is part of “the same team that created Chico’s Homeless crisis” — even though there are surveys and studies documenting the complexity of the roots of the crisis.
Goldstein, the District 7 candidate running against incumbent Councilmember Deepika Tandon, responded by posting a video on YouTube and calling the attack ads “multiple, slanderous glossy mailers.” Goldstein said the ads featured “other cities’ homeless encampments.”
The mailers targeting the District 3 and 7 candidates had by the end of last week drawn considerable press attention because of their inflammatory character and prompted letters to the editor of the daily newspaper.
A Better Chico has raised more than $133,000 this year, according to campaign disclosure filings with the City Clerk’s office. It raised a great deal of its money during the first six months of this year, when there were multiple donations of $5,000 or more and a golf event in Lake Almanor that cost the PAC almost $17,000.
Throughout the year it’s received donations from Chico businesses like C.G. Development, from members of the farming community like Bryce Lundberg, and from conservative elected leaders like Mayor Andrew Coolidge or their families and Assemblyman James Gallagher and Supervisor Tod Kimmelshue and their campaign committees.
The PAC has financed mailers and other advertising in support of its slate, Mike O’Brien, Bennett, Tandon and Melissa Lopez-Mora. The slate is also endorsed by the police union, the Chico Police Officers’ Association.
Some of the largest donations during the first part of the year came from Councilmember Tom van Overbeek ($6,125); the police officers’ union, ($5,000); and a property management company AAA Properties ($5,000.) Donations were also made in the names of Fast Cabinet Doors ($7,800) and its owner, Sam MacNeill ($10,040.) More donations came from Oak Ridge Cabinets ($10,200) and Shawn MacNeill of Oak Ridge Cabinets ($1,100).
Shawn MacNeill is one of four of the PAC’s board members.
Campaign finance laws limit direct contributions to candidates to $500, but donations to PACs that aren’t run by the candidates are virtually unlimited. “The laws are all about candidates’ campaigns,” said Charley Turner, a Chico State political science professor, “but none of these limits touch uncoordinated money.”
“All the PAC stuff can be traced to Citizens United; there’s been a huge spike. It’s all non-connected, non-traceable money.”
Turner noted that money has been flowing into Chico council races for the past two decades from parties with vested interests. “People who stand to gain economically through developing lands and building stuff have a vested interest in who’s on the City Council because that’s who’s ultimately going to approve new subdivisions,” he noted.
Turner said attack mailers can be “somewhat effective” in the short term or in a particular election. But too much negativity, he said, is “bad for our collective psyche. They also have this broader effect of souring people on politics.”
Grassroots campaigning helps build Goldstein's campaign fund
by Natalie Hanson | Posted October 21, 2024
photo by Yucheng Tang
Mike O’Brien speaks at a candidates’ forum.
Chico’s City Council races have become clearly divided between grassroots campaigns that rely on small donors and campaigns funded by wealthy outside interests.
Liberal-leaning candidates rely heavily on door-to-door canvassing and fundraising events. But meanwhile, the hefty financial advantage enjoyed by conservative-leaning candidates has helped drive a strong presence for them throughout the city, from campaign signs to advertising. Conservative-leaning and Republican candidates have long held access to some of the bigger wallets in the region, including in the last City Council race which brought about a 6-1 conservative majority.
This race is no different, according to filings with California’s Secretary of State that are made available through the City Clerk’s office. Former police Chief Mike O’Brien, running to replace Councilmember Sean Morgan in District 1, had raised more than $30,000 — more than any other of the candidates — by Sept. 21.
O’Brien and several other conservative candidates have reaped the benefits of deep-pocket donors as compared to candidates who depend heavily on donations that are often less than $100. In District 7, for example, the vast majority of more than 100 donors to candidate Bryce Goldstein gave $100 or less.
The conservatives also enjoy support from the political action committee (PAC) A Better Chico, which easily leads among PACs in fundraising. A Better Chico (see sidebar here) had raised more than $130,000, according to filings, on behalf of the candidates O’Brien, Deepika Tandon, Dale Bennett and Melissa Lopez-Mora, and had spent at least $52,000 by late September. Its money comes in part from agricultural and real estate interests.
Campaign disclosure forms help explain how O’Brien came to lead the conservative pack in fundraising. He received donations from Bill Brouhard, the Guillon-Brouhard builder who backed the Valley’s Edge planned community that was rejected by voters in a referendum. He received donations from local business interests involved in agriculture and construction like Stogan Group and Bill Webb Construction, and beyond Chico, real estate investing. He also received a donation from Dino Corbin of Deer Creek Broadcasting.
O’Brien also received $500 donations from Florida-based Legacy Communities and the Sacramento-based Western Manufactured Housing Communities PAC each. Legacy Communities owns Chico’s Pleasant Valley Mobile Estates that created turmoil earlier this year when it threatened to raise the rent on mobile home tenants by some 30%. A compromise increase was reached and the City Council majority voted against a rent stabilization measure.
While the issue was resolved with a 10% rent increase, District 3 candidate Monica McDaniel suggests that a larger or additional rent increase is likely on the horizon. The park is located in McDaniel’s district.
“The mayor and vice mayor called on behalf of the residents” after the residents turned up in large numbers at City Council meetings, McDaniel said. “They [Legacy] have their sights set on that mobile home park for the future,” she added.
Western Manufactured is a lobbying organization that represents the owners of mobile home parks throughout California, according to its website.
Incumbent District 3 Councilmember Bennett, an asset manager, had raised $23,250 in the race to keep his seat that also includes donations from Legacy Communities and the Western Manufactured Housing PAC.
Bennett received donations from Depa Real Estate broker Steve Depa, the Peace Officers Research Association of California PAC, the Chico Police Officers Association PAC, Gallagher for Assembly 2024 and the Kimmelshue For Supervisor campaign. Bennett had spent almost $9,000 by late September.
District 5 candidate Melissa Lopez-Mora raised $8,624, but had only spent about $1,600 campaigning by the time of her late September disclosure filing. The total includes $500 donations from Gallagher for Assembly 2024, Mayor Andrew Coolidge, Councilmember Thomas van Overbeek and the Peace Officers Research Association PAC.
And by late September, incumbent Councilmember Deepika Tandon’s contributions totaled $18,145 for her race to hold District 7. The donations came from Legacy, the Manufactured Housing PAC, various construction and real estate interests and some Chico business owners, as well as conservative-leaning colleagues on the Council and the Kimmelshue for Supervisor campaign. She had spent about $13,811 on the campaign, outspending opponent Goldstein.
Running grassroots
Goldstein had more than $20,000 in contributions by late September and had spent more than $13,000 on campaigning, focusing on issues like public infrastructure, addressing climate change, affordable housing and walkable neighborhoods.
Most of her donors contributed less than $100, but she did receive a few larger donations, including $500 from the Democratic Action Club of Chico.
In District 3, McDaniel had raised $16,811 and had spent more than $6,000 campaigning, with $500 donations coming from the Democratic club’s David Welch, the Stand Up for Chico PAC, former mayor Ann Schwab and Solano County District Supervisor Erin Hannigan. Audrey Denney, a former candidate for the congressional seat in District 1, donated $100.
City Council District 5 candidate Katie Hawley had more than $10,000 in contributions, including $500 from the Stand Up for Chico PAC and $300 from candidate Goldstein. She’s spent nearly $3,000 of it campaigning against opponent Lopez-Mora, and promotes her campaign as “grassroots” with many donations under $100.
District 1 challenger Mike Johnson has raised about $5,000 but had spent less than $2,000 of that amount. Johnson’s campaign has placed far fewer campaign signs around the city than has O’Brien’s. But he’s benefited from contributions from Chicoans who largely contributed less than $100 at a time, as well as $500 from Stand Up For Chico.
Goldstein told ChicoSol via email that she found it easy to raise funds, saying it feels good to be supported.
“I attribute the number of donors in part to my longstanding involvement in community causes like Butte Environmental Council, KZFR, and housing advocacy,” Goldstein said. “We’ve raised funds largely by hosting house party meet-and-greets, throwing fundraisers featuring live music, and calling on our neighbors and networks to spread the word. I hate having to ask for money, especially for politics, but we need it to get our message out there. Through grassroots support I’ve been able to out-raise my opponent,” she added.
Editor Leslie Layton contributed reporting to this story. Natalie Hanson is a contributing editor to ChicoSol.
Candidates Katie Hawley (left) and Melissa Lopez-Mora at the Chamber of Commerce forum.
This is the third in ChicoSol’s City Council election series. Read our District 3 story here and our District 1 story here.
Renter rights. Pedestrian safety. The unhoused. These are the issues people living in District 5 care most about.
Kaylee Hudson, 29, a Chico State MBA student, worries most about pedestrian safety in the district. She came to Chico only five months ago, but has already been hit by a car while crossing the street downtown during the daytime. Hudson said the driver didn’t stop after hitting her.
Bryce Ingersoll, a Chico State undergraduate, told ChicoSol that he cares most about renter protection. There are many old buildings in District 5, Ingersoll said, and one place he rented had mold infestations growing in the walls. He, like many renters, didn’t want to deal with the landlords, leaving those problems unsolved.
“I hope there is a system where we can complain about the mold to the government and the government can require landlords to do what they are supposed to do,” Ingersoll said.
Ingersoll, Hudson, and a few other residents mentioned that they also worry about homelessness. Hudson said that many of her friends are unwilling to hang out in the Plaza because of so many homeless people there, “which creates a weird vibe.”
“I want a council member who can take common people’s ideas seriously, rather than someone who only listens to where money is,” Ingersoll said.
District 5 is in the southwest corner of Chico, where Chico State University brings diversity, energy – and a lot of renters. The candidates running for the District 5 seat are Katie Hawley, who earlier this year received her Master’s in political science at Chico State, and Melissa Lopez-Mora, a senior business student at Chico State.
Hawley grew up in a car-dependent suburb in San Diego. She told ChicoSol that, “Coming to Chico and being able to go to the farmers market and walk to school and bike across town, I felt like I had something that had been missing from the rest of my life and that was community.”
Lopez-Mora was born and raised in Chico. She was absent from the League of Women Voters’ forum that the other candidates attended. Her absence prevented Hawley from participating because of League rules. Later, Hawley expressed her disappointment on her Instagram account: “I wished that my opponent was there so District 5 could’ve had some visibility.”
“I want a council member who can take common people’s ideas seriously” — Bryce Ingersoll
ChicoSol interviewed and photographed Hawley on Sept. 11. She puts climate resilience, affordable housing, and safe streets as her policy priorities. Lopez-Mora didn’t respond to the interview request delivered through emails and social media. On her website, she says she will work to ensure safe, affordable neighborhoods, improve Chico’s streets and public services, and support smart growth, small businesses, and student life. But she doesn’t mention any further measures or policies.
Hawley: Climate resilience connects with issues
The top issue on Hawley’s mind is climate resilience, because “it’s encompassing different issues. It has to do with housing, it has to do with streets, it has to do with the well being of our residents.”
She took housing issues as an example. “We are facing extreme heat Chico has never seen. The people that don’t have AC and the people that are living in the most exposed areas are likely to be District 5 residents as well. We are where a lot of the pockets of poverty are, like North Avenue; we have some public housing there.”
She says she has canvassed publicly subsidized housing apartment complexes and has seen many apartments that have black mold infestations and AC units that don’t work.
Her solution to build climate resilience would be to collaborate with organizations that alleviate the effects of extreme weather for residents, actively pursue opportunities for community-owned energy systems to increase energy equity and decrease dependence on PG&E, as well as diversify energy sources.
Hawley loves trees and feels strongly about maintaining the City’s tree canopy: “It sounds a little corny, but trees are a giant savings account for cities in any municipality.” She said trees can help relieve the burden of the stormwater system. “They also keep the city cool in times of extreme heat. They keep the city a little bit warmer in winter because they attract condensation.”
So, protecting trees on City property and planting more trees that are adaptable to a warming climate are part of her approach to climate resilience.
Hawley also relates street safety directly to climate resilience. If Chico wants to be less dependent on fossil fuels and make residents less dependent on car travel, street safety has to be prioritized. She said during the Green City Coalition forum: “We see a much higher rate of walker and biker collisions with cars in the areas that should be most friendly for walkers and bikers.”
She said the district has some of the most rundown streets and sidewalks in the entire city, while Measure H sales tax revenue was allocated to other areas, like California Park, first. “We’re creating more revenue, taxes, and property taxes. But all that money is going somewhere else,” Hawley said. “We see people using wheelchairs and other mobility devices or pushing strollers in the middle of the road right next to cars because the sidewalk dead ends.
“The way that we design our streets is that people should have the right to also walk, bike or use a mobility device safely to get to the resources that they need without having to rely on a car.”
On her website, Hawley suggests that the sidewalks that are dead end, potholes that throw people off bikes or damage cars, and inadequate crosswalks be prioritized in the annual budget. She also says that quick-build protected bike lanes can be built to diversify the modes of transit that can be taken safely and efficiently.
Hawley is also passionate about creating more affordable housing, and one of her approaches is to “relax or remove unnecessary development requirements, such as parking minimums based on square footage,” she wrote on her website.
Hawley believes that homelessness is an issue that can be alleviated and has been by other cities. She says that the City can address the needs of people without a roof by providing temporary City-managed shelters, and social services that pave a path toward reliable housing.
Another key to this issue, she said, is “Having people from those nonprofits and organizations in the room when we’re making decisions that affect homelessness.”
“Chico has organizations like Safe Space and the Jesus Center that deal with homelessness in very different ways and complement each other,” she said. “People across the political spectrum can be convinced to make meaningful and lasting partnerships with organizations that do have the capacity and experience of being service providers to unhoused people.”
Hawley doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with encampment clearing if the City has a managed shelter option for those people. But clearing encampments without offering options does not solve the problem at all. “The unhoused people go from one encampment to another encampment, and they’re more dispersed. There are smaller numbers of people everywhere on the sidewalks.”
Lopez-Mora: “… so much stake in this community”
Lopez-Mora spoke briefly on homelessness at the Sept. 17 Chamber forum.
“The county, the state hasn’t come up with a solid solution for this. And it’s going to be a process of working together to find the best way forward. But we cannot be going backwards. We need to help people that need help and our solutions need to make sense. Ultimately, we’ve been spending so much money on this problem that the City has no more money to spend. So we need to use the resources that we have and find a way forward.”
She also shared her thoughts about how to deal with shelter-resistant unhoused people: “This is a really difficult topic. I feel like, again, the biggest problems are the fact that people are refusing help because of drugs and mental health. We need to work with other agencies to talk about the reasons why people wouldn’t want to get help because we don’t know why.”
In her closing statement, she spoke not on her views, but rather her connection with her community: “I was raised a block outside of District 5. I went to church in District 5. I went to high school in District 5. I met my amazing husband and we got married in District 5. I am now a college student in District 5 … I have so much stake in this community, and this is where I want to raise my family. I want to be part of making Chico the best place that I can be.”
Yucheng Tang is a California Local News Fellow reporting for ChicoSol.
