Outside Influence Dictating Watsonville City business.

Capitola-based nonprofit donates nearly $8,000 to Watsonville petition drive

By Donna Jones

Santa Cruz Sentinel

WATSONVILLE -- A Capitola-based nonprofit spent nearly $8,000 on a drive to put on the ballot measures shifting certain Watsonville City Council powers to voters.

The California Senior Alliance was the only donor listed on a campaign finance report filed by the Let the People of Watsonville Vote to Name Public Places campaign.

A group of Watsonville residents launched the campaign in July, seeking to change the city's process for mayor selection, filling City Council vacancies and naming parks and public buildings.

The aim, the group said, was to increase civic participation in a city where four council seats went uncontested in the last election.

But the group's financial backing, or rather the lack of transparency about its finances, has been questioned. At a Jan. 28 council meeting, Councilman Lowell Hurst said the public has the right to know who is backing the drive, whether it's local residents or an "out-of-town" group with an unknown agenda.

Proponents shot back that the campaign was a grass-roots effort, that they went door to door gathering signatures.

The report, filed Jan. 29 with the city clerk, reveals only how the senior group spent on behalf of the campaign: $380 to publish public notices, and an estimated $600 to print petitions and $7,000 to pay people to gatherer signatures.

Where the nonprofit's money came from to support the effort is not clear. According to filings with the Internal Revenue Service, from 2008 to 2012, annual contributions to the nonprofit exceeded $5,500 only once, in 2010. That year, the group received $39,200 in gifts, grants and membership fees, of which, it spent $27,600 in salary to Vic Marani for his service as executive director.

Under state election law, the nonprofit is not required to list its donors until it spends $10,000 on a political cause.

The nonprofit's chairman, Soquel resident Bob Thomas, referred questions to a Southern California lawyer, who did not return a call.

Marani, who describes his current role with the nonprofit as an unpaid consultant, said it was natural for the organization to offer support to the Watsonville campaign leaders, many of whom, including Marani's close friend, Rhea DeHart, are seniors.

"For years, (the California Senior Alliance) has been highly committed to helping seniors," he said.

Proponent Carlos Rico said he circulated petitions because he believes in the proposed changes. He doesn't know anything about the nonprofit's contributions and he's not particularly interested.

"Money can't vote," he said. "People vote."

But Councilman Daniel Dodge said money influences elections, and that's why there are campaign finance reporting requirements. If the nonprofit's contributions meet legal standards, they don't follow the spirit of the law, he said.

"It allows for third-party influence that's anonymous," Dodge said.

Follow Sentinel reporter Donna Jones at Twitter.com/DonnaJonesscs