Update on Wal-Mart Spending in Rosemead

Direct political expenditure reports were due in California's Secretary of State's office at the end of last month.  View Wal-Mart's spending here:

http://cal-access.ss.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1013468&view=contributions

Note that during the summer of 2005, while volunteers like David Perea were pounding the pavement, gathering signatures one at a time, Wal-Mart funneled $40,000 through their front group, so-called Rosemead PRIDE, to finance an extensive disinformation campaign.  That's about $3 for every household with a registered voter in the city of Rosemead.

Wal-Mart's paid consultant, Mike Lewis, also joined in the "Big Lie" campaign.  He told the media he "knew for a fact" that we were paying our signature gatherers $5/signature.  The honorable Gary Taylor continues repeating this falsehood.  Sorry, guys; the fact is that scores of Rosemead residents are so fed up with the past 30 years of rudderless "leadership" in city hall that they were perfectly willing to do all that signature gathering for free.

Anyone who says otherwise is knowingly telling a lie, with reckless disregard for the truth, and with malicious intent.  In other words, slander.

Oh, yes, and keep in mind that the $40,000 figure above does not include "consulting" fees paid to Mike Lewis, nor does it include "marketing" or "public relations" expenditures, paid either to Mike Lewis or spent directly by Wal-Mart, nor does it include any "informational" material mailed by Wal-Mart over the period of time.  Also not included are any expenditures made since January 1, 2006.