Government / Politics

Only one Hollister council candidate has raised substantial campaign funds

Dolores Morales has received contributions from unions, out-of-county residents, local and state leaders.
(From left top) Dolores Morales, Lauretta Avina, Silas Quintero. (From left bottom) Scott McPhahil and Matthew Rojas. Photos courtesy of the candidates.
(From left top) Dolores Morales, Lauretta Avina, Silas Quintero. (From left bottom) Scott McPhahil and Matthew Rojas. Photos courtesy of the candidates.

With 18 days left until election day, campaign mailers and door hangers are now part of the weekly mail for Hollister residents. As the five Hollister City Council candidates for District 3 vie for votes, only one candidate has received campaign contributions. 

Dolores Morales reported receiving $9,753 through Sept. 18. In addition, Million More Voters, a separate election committee supporting Morales, reported a $5,000 contribution from Operating Engineers Local Union 3 of Alameda, as well as $1,000 from William Lee, executive director of Martha’s Kitchen. 

Nine unions contributed $250 each to Morales’ campaign totaling $2,250.

  • Santa Clara & San Benito Counties Building & Construction Trades Council
  • Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local No. 3
  • Local Operating Engineer
  • Monterrey-Santa Cruz Building & Construction Trades Council
  • Plumbers, Steamfitters & Refrigeration Fitters UA Local Union 393
  • Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 104
  • IBEW 332
  • IBEW Education
  • Northern California Carpenters Regional Council

She also received contributions from individuals from San Jose, Morgan Hill, La Cañada, Los Altos, Sunnyvale, San Francisco, Sacramento, Vacaville, Salinas and Gilroy.

Other notable contributors include Hollister Councilman Rick Perez ($150), William Lee and his wife ($250 each), Hollister treasurer Anietra Gomez ($250), former Hollister Mayor Victor Gomez ($250) and California Controller Betty Yee ($245).

Morales also reported $99 cash contributions from Michael, Larry, Georgeann, James and Ashleigh Anderson with Anderson Homes. 

Candidates Silas Quintero and Lauretta Avina reported no contributions. Matthew Rojas and Scott McPhail have not filed campaign contributions statements.

Candidates who raise less than $2,000 are not required to file their campaign contributions. The deadline to file contributions received between Sept. 19 and Oct. 16 is Oct. 21. Following the election, the next deadline to report campaign contributions is Jan. 31. 

There is a $10 per day penalty for candidates who don’t file required campaign contribution reports.

 

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Noe Magaña

Noe Magaña is BenitoLink Co-Editor and Content Manager. He joined BenitoLink as reporter intern and was soon brought on staff as a BenitoLink reporter. He also experiments with videography and photography. He is a San Benito High School alumnus with a bachelor's in journalism from San Jose State and a Liberal Arts Associate's Degree from Gavilan College. Noe also attended San Jose City College and was the managing editor for the City College Times, the school's newspaper. He was a reporter and later a copy editor for San Jose State's Spartan Daily. He is a USC Center for Health Journalism 2020 California Fellow.