Oakland - While Meg Whitman continues her campaign of distortions and lies about Jerry Brown with a new, false radio ad, Brown's Campaign this week launched a new website to document Whitman's biggest lies and flip-flops. The site, www.meg-a-myths.com, went live Tuesday. In addition to a compilation of Whitman's biggest lies, you can read about the many falsehoods in her latest attack on Brown.

"Meg Whitman is either incapable or unwilling to tell the truth - about Jerry Brown, California or herself," said Brown spokesman Sterling Clifford. "If she won't, we will. And we'll put all the documentation of her lies in one convenient place."

 Whitman's lies and distortions began immediately, as she falsely claimed in her first TV ad to have lived in California for 30 years. In fact, after moving to California to take one of the 1.9 million jobs created under Jerry Brown's leadership, Whitman returned to the East Coast where she was born, living in Boston for most of the 1990's.

From details like where she lived to critical issues facing California like worker furloughs (she was for them before she was against them) to immigration (she would let the Arizona law stand, but not in California) or the environment (she claims to support the goals of AB 32, but would repeal the law), there is no issue too large or small for Meg Whitman to lie about.

The top-five Meg-A-Myths include lies about her position on immigration, her residency, voting history, history of assaulting employees, and her relationship to investment bank Goldman Sachs.

Meg-a-Myths on the web. Follow Meg-a-Myths on Twitter.  Like Meg-a-Myths on Facebook.

Oakland - Following the release of the Whitman for Governor ad titled "Make it Happen," Brown spokesman Sterling Clifford made the following statement:

Meg Whitman today released the latest ad in her record setting assault on California's airwaves, full of lies and half-truths as usual.

Just what was the idea eBay had when Whitman showed up? An idea that by Meg's own admission had revenues growing by 70% a month. A business model so good that "even my pin-striped Harvard MBA classmates would have done a double take." A company successful enough to pay Whitman $145,000 in her first 10 months as CEO. Not exactly a start up in someones garage.

In her final three years and CEO of eBay, Whitman oversaw a crash in the company's value, as eBay share prices tumbled nearly 50%.

Whitman claims that at eBay she created 15,000 jobs. Of course she doesn't say that 40% of them were overseas. And she doesn't acknowledge that as a fraction of the 1.9 million jobs created in California when Jerry Brown was Governor.

If Meg Whitman ran California the way she ran eBay, what would it mean for small businesses? Apparently, continually higher fees, and less profit.

Meg Whitman's jobs plan? A California photo album, a tax cut for the wealthiest Californians that would blow an even bigger hole in the deficit, and a rejection of AB32 - California's world-leading climate change law that will protect our environment and help us capture the innovative clean-energy jobs of the future.

Jerry Brown is the only candidate with the knowledge and experience to get California Working again.

Oakland – After dodging their questions for weeks, Meg Whitman finally appeared with conservative radio hosts John and Ken on KFI in Los Angeles, but she continued to flip-flop on key issues for California.
 
“Meg Whitman went on the radio to defend her past flip-flop and ended up back-flipping into more,” said Brown Campaign Manager Steven Glazer. “She gets a perfect 10 for political contortions, gyrations and summersaults. Her lack of truthfulness and her failure to talk straight to voters in English and Spanish is very troubling.”
 
After months of calling California’s landmark climate change law AB32 a “job-killer," Whitman refused to take a firm position on Proposition 23 – which would repeal AB32. “In all likelihood, I will vote no” on 23 Whitman said, seconds after calling for a suspension of AB32. The statement stands in stark contrast to her earlier assurances in the Ventura County Star that she favored an outright repeal. Recent polls show widespread support for protecting the environment.
 
“Political opportunism at its worst,” said Glazer. “Californians deserve leadership and honesty, not poll-driven pandering.”
 
Whitman also offered an emphatic “Yes” when asked if she would lay-off 40,000 state workers, a position quite a bit different than she’s held in the past – saying she favored reducing the state workforce through attrition.
 
Whitman went on the show in large part to defend her campaign taking one position on immigration in English, and another position in Spanish,  and she promptly announced a third position – uninformed.
 
Whitman published an op-ed in Spanish language newspapers claiming she and Brown shared similar positions on immigration. Wednesday she told John and Ken that she didn’t know Brown’s immigration position when she “wrote” the op-ed.
 
 “Whitman and her campaign team – which is staffed at a presidential level – monitors every statement put out by our candidate,” Glazer said. “To claim to be that uninformed at this point in the race is preposterous.”
 
Glazer called on Whitman to drop her misleading ads and tell Californians what she believes once and for all.
 
“There are too many serious challenges facing our state to waste time sorting through Meg Whitman’s discarded beliefs,” said Glazer. “Californians need answers, not more consultant-driven pabulum. Jerry Brown has a record of accomplishment, a consistent philosophy of frugality and honesty, and he’ll tell the truth even if Whitman never does.”

Oakland - Attorney General Jerry Brown 's Gubernatorial Campaign Committee today filed its first post-primary finance report with the California Secretary of State, showing more than $2.6 million raised in the six weeks covered by the filing period.

"Our fundraising demonstrates that we will have the resources to get our message out to voters about the experience, independence and authenticity of Jerry Brown. Meg Whitman is trying to use massive amounts of money and advertising to cover up her history of not voting and not caring about public affairs," said Brown campaign manager Steven Glazer."This campaign will offer a stark contrast between an artificial candidate with hollow promises and a proven problem solver who has the experience and know how to get California working again."

For this period, which covered May 23 to June 30 of 2010, Brown showed $2,685,732 in monetary donations, expenses of $130,799. The campaign has brought in $24.3 million through the end of June, with expenses of $377,333 in 2010.

While July is not included in the current filing, Brown has taken in an additional $1.1 million in the last four weeks.

LOS ANGELES- Pointing to growing pension fund liabilities across the state, Jerry Brown today called for a series of reforms to stabilize California’s public employee retirement system and protect taxpayers, retirees and current employees.

“State government has to honor commitments that have been made, but we have a responsibility to taxpayers and to retirees themselves to make certain that we can withstand sudden meltdowns in the markets without overburdening an already strained state budget,” Brown said. “We have to be realistic about what the state can afford, and put an end to abuses of the system that cost millions.”

Brown outlined eight proposals to shore up California’s pension system, reducing the cost to taxpayers and the state budget in the future.

Brown highlighted the practice known as pension spiking – driving up pay in the final year before retirement to increase pension payouts – as “dishonest in the extreme” and called for calculating benefits based on the last three years of work, not just the last year, a system that was in place when Brown was governor.

“In some cases, managers and employees have secured pensions beyond their original base salary,” said Brown. “It is wrong, the people doing it know it’s wrong, and we have to put an end to it.”

To further reduce profiteering and fraud, Brown called for an end to the use of placement agents, who have cost the pensions system hundreds of millions, and led to charges of bribery against former CalPERS board members.

In 1981, his final year as governor, Brown called for the creation of a two-tier pension system. “It was the right thing to do and if implemented, would have saved the state millions,” said Brown. “It is still the right thing to do today.”

Pointing out that “we can’t apply cuts retroactively,” Brown also proposed an end to the retroactive application of new benefit agreements.

Brown identified excessively rosy projections as a problem in benefit calculations as well, and called for tighter oversight of the retirement system. Under Brown’s plan, pension board members would be required to undergo specialized training. The Director of Finance would oversee the board’s revenue projections to ensure numbers that more closely match state projections. 

Brown would end the practice of “pension holidays,” when local governments stop making scheduled contributions because of unexpected market gains. 

“Unpredictability is destructive,” Brown said. “We need consistency, and local governments need to know what pension costs will be from one year to the next.”

Finally, Brown asked public employees and their unions to accept the reality of larger employee contributions. 

“Several unions have agreed to larger employee contributions for their members,” Brown said. “Taxpayers are living with cuts and making sacrifices to deal with the reality of California’s budget crisis, state workers are going to have to do the same.”

“Pension reform can be hard to talk about,” Brown added. “In the long run, reform now means fewer demands for layoffs and less draconian measures in the future. It’s in the best interest of all Californians to fix this system now.”

Oakland - Fake ad. Fake plans. Fake candidate.
 
Fake Ad
 
Meg Whitman is fond of quoting Jerry Brown, but what's the second sentence she left out of her latest televised lie?

"There is a tremendous skepticism out there. People are looking for someone they can trust who really knows what needs to be done and can communicate that he's about to do it," Brown continued in the 1996 CNN interview.
 
It was true then and it's true now.
 
This ad is another example of Meg Whitman taking statements out of context. Her shameless advertising continues to reflect on her desire to fool voters rather than speak the truth.
 
Fake Plans
 
What does Meg Whitman have to offer? A pamphlet with more pictures than real proposals. A plan to cut taxes on the wealthiest Californians that will personally save Whitman tens of millions but cost the state billions, and an "immigration plan" she flip-flops on every day. No wonder people don't trust politicians.
 
Fake Candidate
 
After failing to vote for 28 years and not so much as expressing a public opinion for most of her adult life, Whitman is suddenly the candidate with all the answers. In reality, she's a marketing creation propped up by legions of political consultants, policy ghostwriters and image-makers.
 
A Candidate with Real Ideas and a Record of Accomplishment
 
What does Jerry Brown offer? A record of success - 1.9 million new jobs for Californians and $16 billion in tax relief as Governor, new residents and lower crime in Oakland as Mayor.
 
As Governor, Brown implemented the "Cogeneration Plan," which led to thousands of megawatts of new energy from cogeneration. Brown's leadership also made California a leader in alternative energy and energy conservation.
 
Brown's "Investment in Economic Strength" plan led to the first industry-UC jointly funded research program for the development of micro-electronics technology that kept California on the cutting edge of the electronics industry.
 
The "Investment in People" plan expanded vocational training programs, combining the power of government and industry to retrain unemployed Californians.
 
As Mayor, Brown implemented the "10K Plan" to bring 10,000 residents and 6,000 housing units to downtown Oakland.
 
Jerry Brown has a plan to create 500,000 new jobs in the green economy. He'll fix the budget process. Jerry Brown will get California working again.
 
Californians deserve better than a fake ad, fake plans, and a fake candidate.

Oakland– After a month of lying about Jerry Brown, Meg Whitman has decided to start lying about herself too. In a new ad, Whitman claims she wants to improve California's schools - and improve opportunities for Latino students.

What she doesn't say is that she opposes bilingual education, she favors removing undocumented students from California's colleges and universities and she would deny services to children of undocumented workers - including education.

"Meg Whitman seems to believe no one listened to the first round of positions she took," said Brown spokesman Sterling Clifford. "The real Meg Whitman will kick kids out of school, fire teachers and withold resources from schools that need them most."

Whitman's ad continues by touting her "plan" for education, but it doesn't include the truth about her proposals. Whitman has consistently misled the public about the amount of funding that reaches the classroom, the way charter schools are founded, and her plans to withdraw funding and fire staff at schools in strugging communities.

"Jerry Brown has actually founded two charter schools, and understands the difficulties educators face," Clifford said. "Meg Whitman doesn't even seem to know how many charters are available."

Oakland– It's been 35 days since the start of the General Election, where has Meg Whitman been? Not answering questions from the voters or the press, not anywhere really.

While Attorney General Jerry Brown has done 26 public appearances or media interviews, Meg Whitman has done nine. While Brown has taken the tough questions about the race and the future of California, Whitman refuses to talk. While Brown has accepted 10 debate invitations from nonpartisan groups around the state,Whitman will agree to only one in October.

Maybe she doesn't want to answer questions about the six-figure settlement eBay shareholders were on the hook for when Whitman assaulted an employee.

Maybe she doesn't want to explain why her campaign continues to run TV commercials that factcheck.org says are lies.

Or perhaps she just can't explain why she wants to give the wealthiest Californians a $9 billion-dollar tax cut at a time when California is struggling to pay its bills.

Whatever the reason, its time for Meg Whitman to come out from behind her expensive, dishonest TV campaign and answer five simple questions:

• Why does she continue to run ads that are proven false, deceptive, and misleading by journalists and independent analysts?
• Why did a verbal disagreement turn into a $200,000 settlement for an eBay subordinate?
• Does she think that eBay shareholders have a right to view her secret settlement?
• Does she think that eBay stock dropping by 54% in her last three full years at eBay justified her $120 million in compensation in her last year at the company?
• How can she oppose providing services to undocumented workers and their children and still oppose Proposition 187, which tried to do exactly that?

View a summary of the press events since June 8th

Oakland– Republican Meg Whitman released the latest in her "Lie About Jerry Brown" TV campaign today, repeating claims that have been proven false by journalists and non-partisans like factcheck.org.

"Meg Whitman has refused to tell the truth about Jerry Brown from the very beginning," said Brown Campaign Manager Steven Glazer. "From lies about assaulting an employee at eBay to false claims about how long she's lived in California to false statements about Jerry Brown, Whitman seems incapable of telling the truth."

Whitman's latest ad repeats the false claims that Jerry Brown raised taxes, that California lost jobs or that state employees gained excessive benefits. Whitman's ad offers no specifics and no support for those claims.

In fact, under Jerry Brown Californians saw their tax burden reduced by more than $16 Billion. He indexed the personal income tax, eliminated the business inventory tax and offered energy tax credits, as well as other tax-saving measures.

Under Brown, California created more than 1.9 million new jobs - including the job Meg Whitman moved to California to take in 1981.

And as Governor, Brown proposed limitations on pension benefits, and vetoed pay increases for state employees when he believed the state couldn't afford them.

"Meg Whitman should stop telling the same, sad lies and have a real conversation with Jerry Brown about the future of California," Glazer said. "The people of California deserve better."

Read the truth below or click here for PDF.

July 12, 2010 - Meg Whitman TV Ad: “Their Governor” - :30

Script:

Male Announcer:    Meg Whitman says she’ll run California like her company. 

Female Announcer:    Seen this attack on Meg Whitman?  Who are these people? They’re the unions and special interests behind Jerry Brown.  They want Jerry Brown because he won’t rock the boat in Sacramento.  He’ll be the same as he ever was.  High taxes.  Lost jobs.  Big pensions for state employees. The special interests have chosen their governor, how ‘bout you? 

CLAIM: “He’ll be the same as he ever was.”

TRUTH: IN HER LAST ATTACK AD, MEG WHITMAN ACCUSED JERRY BROWN OF CONSTANTLY REINVENTING HIMSELF.  Whitman’s last attack ad against Jerry Brown used Bill Clinton attacking Brown: “You know he reinvents himself every year or two.” But now she’s claiming he’ll be the same.  Meg Whitman can’t even be consistent in her attacks against Brown. [Meg Whitman TV Ad, “The Real Story,” 6/22/10]

TRUTH: JERRY BROWN HAS THE SAME SET OF PRINCIPLES AND BELIEFS HE’S ALWAYS HAD:

• BROWN HAS ALWAYS BEEN A FISCAL CONSERVATIVE. When first entering public office on the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees, Jerry Brown “swore to protest ‘every attempt to spend the taxpayers' money for any purpose not directly related to educating those students who want an education.’ ”  Chronicling Jerry Brown’s career, the American Conservative called him “much more of a fiscal conservative than Governor Reagan.”  [Rapoport, California Dreaming: The Political Odyssey of Pat & Jerry Brown, 1982; American Conservative, 11/09]

• BROWN HAS ALWAYS BEEN A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA. Brown embraced and implemented Proposition 13 after it was passed by voters, and he has vowed not to raise taxes as governor unless they are approved by the voters of California. “In the final analysis, after he promised me he would do everything he could to make 13 work, which is what he had been doing for the five months since 13 passed, and when I knew Younger did not have a commitment to 13, I had to vote for Brown.  The most important guy when it comes to implementing 13 is the one who holds the office of Governor of California.” [Howard Jarvis, I’m Mad As Hell, 1985]

• BROWN HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN ADVOCATE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS. “An early proponent of solar and other alternative energy and a champion of the environment, he has worked aggressively as attorney general to implement California's law to reduce global warming.” [Los Angeles Times, 6/9/10]

• BROWN HAS ALWAYS PRACTICED PERSONAL FRUGALITY IN GOVERNMENT SERVICE. “The irony is that Brown was known at the time as a frugal governor. He declined to live in the governor's mansion and drove a shabby blue Plymouth.” Since becoming Attorney General in 2006, Brown has returned over $231 million to the State treasury.  Brown achieved these budget savings by freezing new hiring, eliminating nearly 800 positions, folding ten divisions into four, and Brown decreased in-state travel by 47%, out-of-state travel by 72%, and overtime by 29%. [Sacramento Bee, 4/24/10; California Department of Justice]

CLAIM: “High taxes.”

TRUTH: GOV. BROWN REDUCED THE TAX BURDEN ON CALIFORNIANS. During Brown’s tenure as governor, taxes per $100 of personal income decreased 4.8%.  In 1974, taxes per $100 of personal income were $6.89, and by the time Brown left office in 1983 these taxes were down to $6.56.  [Governor’s Budget Summary, 2009-10, Schedule 2]

TRUTH: TAX RELIEF UNDER BROWN TOTALED NEARLY $16 BILLION.

[California Department of Finance, as cited in Economic Report of Governor 1981]

TRUTH: BROWN CUT PERSONAL INCOME TAXES BY MORE THAN $5 BILLION. Brown signed legislation in 1978 indexing personal income tax brackets to adjust for inflation.  Indexing abolished the automatic tax increase that comes when a cost-of-living raise puts a worker in a higher tax bracket.  Californians saved $5.058 BILLION in just four years from income tax indexing.  [AB 3802; California Department of Finance, Financial Research as cited in Economic Report of the Governor 1981]

TRUTH: BROWN ELIMINATED BUSINESS INVENTORY TAX. Brown eliminated the business inventory tax, saving businesses $2.654 BILLION over three years.  Brown signed legislation exempting all businesses from property taxes on their inventory.  Prior to this bill, businesses paid property taxes on 50% of their inventory value.  [AB 66, Statutes and Amendments to the Code, 1979; Time, 6/9/80; California Department of Finance, as cited in Economic Report of the Governor 1981]

TRUTH: BROWN CUT CAPITAL GAINS TAXES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES. Brown cut capital gains taxes for businesses with fewer than 500 employees.  Capital gains taxes decreased on the sale or exchange of stock and capital assets for small businesses.  This bill assisted small businesses reinvesting in growth.  [SB 690; Los Angeles Times, 9/17/81] 

CLAIM: “Lost jobs.”

TRUTH: 1.9 MILLION NEW JOBS WERE CREATED IN CALIFORNIA WHEN JERRY BROWN WAS GOVERNOR – INCLUDING MEG WHITMAN’S JOB AT BAIN & CO. Under Governor Jerry Brown, California created more than 1.95 million new jobs.  Job growth in California during his tenure as governor was greater than the nation.  In 1981, Meg Whitman moved to California to take a job at Bain & Co., in San Francisco. [California Employment Development Department, accessed 4/6/10; San Gabriel Valley Tribune, 5/15/10]

CLAIM: “Big pensions for state employees.”

TRUTH: BROWN PROPOSED LIMITING PENSIONS. In his last proposed budget in 1982, Jerry Brown proposed capping state employee pensions at 70% of final compensation. The “retirement program would have as its goal, the provision of retirement benefits at 70 percent of final compensation with reduced contribution rates on the part of the State and State employees.” [Governor’s Budget 1982-83, 1/10/82]

TRUTH: GOV. DEUKMEJIAN SIGNED PENSION “SPIKING” BILL. Deukmejian allowed pension benefits to be based on the single highest year of compensation – not the average of the three highest years, as it was when Brown was governor.  Thirty-eight Republicans voted for the bill.  According to the conservative Pacific Research Institute, pension spiking costs the state an estimated $100 million per year.  [SB 2465, Journals of the Assembly and Senate, 1990; PRI, accessed 4/30/10]

TRUTH: BROWN VETOED PAY RAISES FOR FUTURE PENSION SAVINGS.  As governor, Jerry Brown avoided raising taxes by fighting salary increases California could not afford.  Brown vetoed two state employee pay raises which would have saved the state $434.6 million in 1978, not to mention future pension savings, but the Legislature voted to override both vetoes. Twenty-eight Republicans voted to override Brown’s 7% pay raise veto, and at least 28 Republicans voted to override the 14.5% pay raise veto. There were no salary increases for public employees during Brown’s last two years as governor.  [SB 91 (1979); SB 190 (1979); SB 2465 (1990); Governor’s Budget 2009-10 Budget Summary]

TRUTH: GOV. DEUKMEJIAN AND GOV. WILSON INCREASED SALARIES. In 1985 the Sacramento Bee wrote: “State employees have received increased wages and benefits in each of the three years of the Deukmejian administration, while there were no increases in the last two years of the Jerry Brown administration.”  In 1995, Wilson agreed to a $300 million pay raise for state employees.  [Sacramento Bee, 7/3/85; San Francisco Chronicle, 9/13/97]

TRUTH: STATE WORKFORCE BALLOONED UNDER SUBSEQUENT GOVERNORS. Brown decreased the number of state employees per 1,000 residents by 4.2%.   After Brown left office, California governors allowed the number of state employees to increase dramatically – attributing to the commensurate pension burden.  Starting Wilson’s term as governor, state employee growth rate began to exceed California’s population growth.  [Governor’s Budget 2009-10 Budget Summary, Schedule 6]

CLAIM: “The special interests have chosen their governor, how ‘bout you?”

TRUTH: JERRY BROWN HAS DEDICATED HIS LIFE’S WORK TO THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA – MEG WHITMAN FAILED TO EVEN VOTE FOR MOST OF HER ADULT LIFE. [Editorial, San Jose Mercury News, 5/15/10; Associated Press, 9/29/09]

LOS ANGELES

– Southern California Latino leaders today joined together to announce their support for Jerry Brown’s campaign for Governor and decry Republican Meg Whitman’s anti-Latino positions and deceptive campaign tactics.

"As Governor, Mayor, and Attorney General, Jerry Brown has time and again proven his commitment to California’s Latino and immigrant communities," said United States Representative Xavier Becerra (D-31st CD). "He marched with Cesar Chavez and the farm workers for safe working conditions, demonstrated a commitment to diversity in hiring, and fought for decades for California’s working families."

As Governor, Jerry Brown enacted laws to protect workers, and signed into law the Agricultural Relations Act, giving farm workers the right to organize. Brown also made Cruz Reynoso the first Latino ever to serve in the Court of Appeals, and went on to appoint him to the California Supreme Court. Governor Brown had the most diverse gubernatorial administration in the country, including naming Mario Obledo Secretary of Health and Welfare – the first Latino in a modern-day California cabinet.

In 1980, Governor Brown signed a groundbreaking law (SB 1874) that requires employers to provide information to workers on toxic substances produced or handled in their workplace, including pesticides and fertilizers. This was a key part of Governor Brown’s effort to create a safer environment for workers.

As Attorney General, Jerry Brown took legal action against a number of companies that exploit and abuse their workers and violate California’s labor laws. In March 2010, based on investigations in 2009, the Attorney General’s office filed suit against a farm labor contractor for paying less than minimum wage and not paying overtime, as well as committing "potentially deadly" worker safety violations by neglecting to provide rest breaks, potable drinking water or shade to field workers.

Jerry Brown also understands the important role our immigrants play in our economy and our society. He supports comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform, a reduction in the red tape for legal immigrants, securing educational and economic opportunities for our AB 540 students, and the Dream Act.

Meg Whitman, on the other hand, has notorious immigrant basher Pete Wilson leading her campaign, does not support comprehensive immigration reform, does not support any earned path to legalization, and wants to repeal AB 540, and kick undocumented kids out of our state and community colleges. It’s no wonder the Sacramento Bee called her a demagogue and fear monger on immigrants."

"For Latinos, the choice is clear," said Assembly Member Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles). "Jerry Brown marched with Cesar Chavez and the farm workers, made landmark Latino appointments, and supports a sensible, bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform package. He values diversity and he respects immigrants."

"Meg Whitman marches with Pete Wilson, and failed to hired a single Latino executive out of 366 hires at eBay’s Silicon Valley offices from 2000-2005. Clearly, Meg Whitman did not respect the Latino community at eBay, does not respect the Latino community during her campaign, and will not respect our community as Governor," added de León.

Attorney General Brown expressed his appreciation for the key support of California’s Latino leaders, remarking "We are up against a republican willing to spend more money than has ever been spent on a California election, and we’ll have to win with hard work. I’m pleased so many of California’s Latino leaders have chosen to stand with my campaign and tell voters the truth."

Participants at today’s event included Becerra, Cedillo, de León, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, LAUSD School Board President Monica Garcia, Los Angeles Community College District Board Member Miguel Santana, State Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter), State Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), Hector De La Torre (D-Southgate), Jose Solorio (D-Anaheim), Tony Mendoza (D-Norwalk) , Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina), Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti (CD-13), Los Angeles City Council Member Ed Reyes (CD 1), Los Angeles City Council Member Jose Huizar (CD-14) and others.