Doud Campaign Donors – A Disconnect from Voters?

The Beachcomber analyzed campaign donations made to the individuals running for the office of city auditor. Our findings follow:

The Doud Campaign

During the period Jan. 1 to April 23, 2022 Laura Doud’s campaign for city auditor received a total of 78 individual monetary contributions totaling $25,800 – 43 (55%) of whom live in Long Beach and 35 (45%) who live in towns and cities as far away as Kingston, Washington and Bentonville, Arkansas.

Those donors living outside of LB accounted for $10,200 (40%) of the total donated.

According to California Forms 460 filed on April 27, Doud loaned her campaign $10,000 and personally donated $100.

On May 5, 2022, an Independent Expenditures Committee, entitled the Committee to Support Laura Doud for Long Beach City Auditor 2022, was formed.

Four days later, on May 9, the committee received two contributions totaling $27,500 from two individuals: Brian “Bino” McMann and Michael Gagan.

Bino McMann, a Huntington Beach resident, contributed $25,000 to the Committee to Support Laura Doud.

McMann, who had already contributed the maximum of $600 directly to Doud’s campaign, stated in the campaign declaration forms that he is a “salesman” for Quickel Paving, a Laguna Hills-based company that has done street paving work for local municipalities.

According to the individual donor filings, several individuals linked to Quickel Paving contributed a total of $1,900 to Doud’s campaign.

These individuals include Dan Quickel, Corey Crawford, Catherine Gonzalez Jarvis, Brian Magallon, and Christina McMann, all of whom live in Orange County.

Research indicates that none of the individual donors connected to Quickel Paving have a past history of contributing politically to Long Beach races.

In the current 2022 Long Beach elections, Laura Doud is – thus far – the only candidate to whom they have made a donation.

Michael Gagan of the Los Angeles-based lobbying firm Kindel Gagan, made a $2,500 contribution to the newly formed independent expenditures committee.

Gagan was the subject of a whistleblower’s complaint that alleged Doud had misappropriated public funds to Gagan’s firm.

As reported by the Beachcomber, Doud made a total of 181 recurring monthly payments to Gagan totaling $1,036,200 over a span of 16 years.

The city attorney’s investigation into the whistleblower complaint found that Doud had ignored city financial policies as well as her own internal control policies to pay Gagan for services that were unclear and sparsely documented.

The investigation – titled “Allegations Raised in Complaint Dated Sept. 7, 2021” – was conducted by RSM US LLP on behalf of the city attorney and released to the public on March 2.

The investigation also identified documents that were not released to the public.

On March 8 the Beachcomber filed a Public Records Request (PRA) to obtain those records, which included – among others – binders of files from Doud’s criminal attorney that included a letter from the attorney to Police Chief Robert Luna outlining the binders' contents, email threads that include communications about the whistleblower between Doud and Gagan and emails forwarded by Doud to the whistleblower.

The RSM Investigation also reported that all of Doud’s city business conducted via email with Gagan was accomplished through Doud’s private email account.

On March 28 the city – as required by law – notified the Beachcomber that “responsive records exist.”

Since that time numerous written follow up requests to the city asking for the records to be produced – as required by the same law – have been stonewalled.

There is no public information available that indicates Doud either voluntarily turned over the emails from her private server or that any agency has subpoenaed them.

Beachcomber stories related to the Doud scandal can be read here:

Conduct Unbecoming: The Laura Doud Scandal;
https://beachcomber.news/content/conduct-unbecoming-laura-doud-scandal

Doud Investigation – A Velvet Covered Hammer
https://beachcomber.news/content/doud-investigation-velvet-covered-hammer

What We Know/Don’t Know About Doud Investigation
https://beachcomber.news/content/what-we-knowdont-know-about-doud-investigaton

Pattern, Practices of Auditor Laura Doud
https://beachcomber.news/content/pattern-practices-auditor-laura-doud

Q&A About City Auditor Doud
https://beachcomber.news/content/qa-about-city-auditor-doud

New Deposits Made to Doud Committee

On May 12 the newly formed independent committee reported two additional donations: $5,000 from the Virgil Spongberg Trust and $10,000 from Roland Spongberg, whose occupation was reported as CEO of the WKS Restaurant Group. (Note: The contribution form misspelled "Spongberg" without the letter "g.")

Beachcomber research indicates that Virgil Spongberg was Long Beach vice mayor and a councilmember in the 1950s and was president of the Long Beach Stake of the Church of Latter Day Saints, to which Doud belongs.

Roland Spongberg previously contributed the $600 maximum donor limit directly to Doud’s campaign.

The two payments totaling $15,000 to the Committee to Support Laura Doud are the only contributions made by the Virgil Spongberg Trust and Roland Spongberg in the 2022 Long Beach elections.

According to Roland Spongberg’s LinkedIn page, "WKS operates 380 restaurants in 19 states with 10,000+ employees and is the largest franchisee of Denny’s, El Pollo Loco, and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, as well as the largest Wendy's franchisee in California. Blaze Pizza completes the WKS restaurant portfolio."

On May 13 Beachcomber sources reported that large signs supporting Doud began appearing outside WKS Restaurant franchises located across Long Beach.

The Miles Campaign

During the period Jan. 1, to April 23, 2022 the Dan Miles campaign for city auditor received a total of 25 individual monetary contributions totaling $11,675 from 25 donors, 22 (88%) of whom live in Long Beach and 3 (2%) who live outside of Long Beach, including: Kathleen Miles ($500) from Chicago, IL, Steven Miles ($600) from Santa Monica and Monica Vogelbacker ($300) from Laguna Woods.

One of the donors making the maximum donation allowed by law ($600) was the Long Beach Reform Coalition (LBRC) PAC ID#1409361.

The LBRC is an umbrella advocacy organization for seven Long Beach neighborhood organizations and political groups.

Donors living outside of Long Beach accounted for $1,400 (12%) of the total $11,675 donated.

According to California Forms 460 filed on May 6, Miles loaned his campaign $15,000 (the legal limit) and personally donated $5,000.

The law does not limit the amount a candidate can donate to his or her own campaign.

Stephen Downing is a resident of Long Beach and a retired LAPD deputy chief of police. stephen.beachcomber@gmail.com