Hmm...

Hmm...

Don't you hate it when you have the slate mailer IDs from your sketchy identical mailers but the CalAccess ID lookup website isn't loading?

Update: I called Gould & Orellana about this mailer since their address is on it (though off by one number). They told me they don't have any responsibility for the content of mailers. I asked how she felt about their info being on deceptive mailers, and the employee became irate

Further update: on the CalAccess website the only contact info listed is the phone number for Gould & Orellana. I called again to ask about this, and they took my email address and said "someone will get back to you."

I doubt it.

Here's the CalAccess info. I'd encourage everyone to call Gould & Orellana and ask who these groups are.

After digging in further I found the names of some consultants associated with these mailers. Specifically, I decided to give Renee Nahum a call. She received about $20k from the Concerned Women group. She confirmed she is connected to both groups.

She claimed that they were informing voters, but claimed it was not deceptive to obfuscate the group's identity under their accountant. She admitted these orgs have no members, and are simply paper orgs for slate mailers. She also said "most voter information is advertising."

She also claimed they were helping candidates who can't afford their own mailers, a weird claim given who is actually endorsed on these mailers, which are generally big money candidates and campaigns.

I asked why these groups didn't have officers or mission statements or websites or contact info. She just kept repeating "they're slate mailer groups," and eventually said "most slate mailer groups are set up by consultants."

Gould & Orellana and Renee Nahum & Associates are both beneficiaries of a system where big money funds groups to obfuscate the source of information. These groups don't exist. They're fake orgs promoting fake progressives on fake mailers. All of this should be illegal.

Anyway if you enjoyed this adventure in political dark money, please support and donate to @nithyavraman, @davidkim2020, @GodfreyPlata, @KonstantineinCA, and @fatima4assembly - all great, non-bullshit candidates running in LA races.

Update: after doing a stab in the dark twitter search, it turns out our misleading mailer queen Renee Nahum has ties to a few city councilmembers you might recognize.

The LA Democratic Party, in which Renee Nahum has held numerous official positions, is denouncing misleading mailers. @LAdemocrats will you hold your own officers to the same standards? https://twitter.com/LAdemocrats/status/1314660789110755328?s=19

My letter to the LA Democratic party regarding Renee Nahum, who profits from sending misleading mailers from fake groups like "Council of Concerned Women Voters" and "Feel The Bern Progressive Voter Guide".

One more update: Renee Nahum, misleading mailer queen, is listed on David Ryu's website as an endorser. @davideryu's stance on ethics and money in politics apparently doesn't include opposing fake mailers from fake organizations paid for by candidates to mislead voters.

David Ryu is proud to be endorsed by someone who sends out misleading election mail for a living

Oh wow, she's not just connected to Mitch O'Farrell - misleading mailer queen Renee Nahum RAN MITCH O'FARRELL'S CITY COUNCIL CAMPAIGN.

LA Democrats will scream to high heaven about how Trump is damaging our democracy. That's true, but well-connected figures in local politics making money off of misleading voter scams is also damaging to democracy.

In addition to Feel the Bern Progressive Voter Guide and the Council of Concerned Women Voters, Renee Nahum is also responsible for Our Voice Latino Voter Guide and Coalition for Senior Citizen Security. Going down a CA SOS form 401 rabbit hole.

@SFGate covering this issue - glad to see this getting more attention. These bought-and-paid-for mailers are a form of deceptive bullshit that need to be called out. https://twitter.com/chrisarvinsf/status/1315069301137629184?s=19

I've been gathering data on the 94 Slate Mailer Orgs listed by the CA SOS. 27 of them (28.7%) are affiliated with Gould & Orellana. 24 of those 27 are not affiliated with an identifiable organization. 88.8% of the Slate Orgs G&O represent are fake/paper organizations.

76% of Slate Mailer Organizations have no affiliation with a real/identifiable org. Of these, Gould & Orellana represent 1/3. A single company in Long Beach acts as the money people for fully a third of the misleading slate mailers in California.

Who are some of their clients?

Demetrius Harris, who runs:
-African Americans Vote
-California Senior Voter Guide
-Millennials for Effective Government (with Ingrid Orellana of Gould & Orellana)

Fres Huebscher, who runs:
-California Republican Voter Guide
-Independent Voter Guide
-John F. Kennedy Alliance

His consultancy is The Politican Scientists

Matthew Jason, who runs:
-Your Ballot Guide
-Your Community Voter Guide
-Latino Family Voter Guide

His consultancy is Candid Research Solutions

Paul Arney, who runs:
-Citizens Economic Council
-California Families Vote Green
-Californian's Vote Green

Affiliated with The Campaign School, former political director for Assembly District 36

Renee Nahum, who runs:
-Feel the Bern Progressive Voter Guide
-Council of Concerned Women Voters
-Our Voice Latino Voter Guide
-Coalition for Senior Citizen Security

Her consultancy is Renee Nahum & Associates

Rick Taylor, who runs:
-California Early Voter Guide
-Los Angeles Voter Guide Committee
-Californians for a Sustainable Future

His consultancy is Dakota Communications

These six consultants and one accounting firm are responsible for 19 of these paper-org fake voter guides. These people are making thousands and thousands of dollars from campaigns for the purpose of misleading voters.

There's a simple fix for this: require that these mailers disclose the exact amount paid to them by each candidate or ballot prop campaign. Require full transparency so the public knows what's going on. It will kill the sketchy part of this world overnight @AlexPadilla4CA